St. Catherine's and Climbing the Mountain!!!

We FINALLY arrived at St. Catherine’s, which is the uber famous Church that was built around the burning bush and at the foothills of the mountain that Moses received the Ten Commandments. Crazy huh? When we checked in, we had a few hours to kill before dinner was served, so we wandered around and breathed in the air. Did I forget to mention the air? It is the most clear and crisp stuff you have ever breathed. Perhaps that is because I was sadly growing accustomed to the grey dinge that passes for air in Cairo, but here it was beautiful. The sky was a crisp blue that had not one iota of smog or impurity in it. Not even a cloud! It was GORGEOUS! As we walked around I took a gander outside and the guide pointed out where we would be climbing. I happened to notice that opposite St. Katherine’s there was this small collection of rocks that one could possibly climb to get a better picture of St. Katherine’s and the trail that we would be taking in the morning. So I climbed it, in my flip flops, with my camera strapped to my back…. And I had a blast! The views just kept getting better and better the higher I climbed, so (mom, stop reading this now) I leaped up a little higher until I was above the church and could see all they way in. It was such an amazing view! Getting down was a bit tricky and I was worried I was going to fall due to the whole flip-flop wearing and me being ungracious as all get out thing, but I made it out with only a slight bruise or two. I was proud of myself. It was like a mini training session for the next day of climbing… or so I thought.

We had dinner at 7:00 and were done by 8:00. Our guide tells us to sleep well and he will see us at 1:00. 1:00 AM. Did I fail to mention that this is a sunrise hike up the mountain? Oh I did, did I? Well, in order to have the opportunity to see the sunrise you have to climb up before the sun rises, in the middle of the night. Which would have been no problem for most people. Most people go to be early and when they have done as much we had that day, they go to bed even earlier. Well folks, 1:00am is early for me. It’s a school night bedtime. I was not a wee bit tired at 8pm, which was expected bedtime. So I popped a simple sleeping pill to help me off of lala land. I wanted to be well rested and ready to climb, is that so wrong? A few hours later, groggy from the lack of actually getting 8 hours of sleep that the pill is supposed induce, I still thought that climbing a mountain at 1am was a great idea. I strapped on my pack and was on my way. The climb was shorter than I expected, it’s amazing how short a climb seems when it’s in the pitch black of night. You’d think that climbing in the dark of night would be boring, but it’s not! Mostly because of the camels, and the ton of other climbers, and guys to help you up in case you feel like giving up. In fact you think that you are doing just fine, right until the stairs. Did I mention the stairs? There are a lot of stairs. About 376 stairs, carved into stone in a trickily uneven fashion. I must say short legs are not helpful when you are climbing things that are not uniform in any way. I must say that it was quite to the workout on the legs. The best part about the whole night climb was the stars. The night was so clear that the stars were so close that you could touch them. The climb took longer because I was stopping all the time to stare up at the sky, that and I had to dodge a bunch of camels who were constantly trying to run me off the path. Once you get to the top of the mountain you get to hang out and wait for the sunrise. It’s freezing! It was quite the different feeling than you get in Cairo. Laying there watching the stars and laughing in hysterical sleepiness was amazing. I was lying at the top of Mount Moses (technically the mountain’s name on account of the whole Moses climbing it and receiving the ten commandments there rumor) staring at the stars. This is not something that I could have imagined ever doing in this lifetime. Then the sunrise! Wow. I cannot even describe the way it looked. It was breathtaking. I am not using any more clichés to describe it because I will make it seem less amazing that it was. A few friends and I started to walk down ahead to beat the crowds and it was a wise choice. We were the only ones walking back and the views got more and more fantastic as I walked on. The sun practically lit the rocks on fire as we were walking back. I took over 100 pictures on just the walk back, if not more. I could not stop myself. Everything was outrageous, most of all the whole me climbing a mountain thing. The whole experience was indescribably incredible, and I am sure it was even more meaningful to those who are religious in any aspect. So at the end of it, there I was, 8:30 am and I had already climbed a mountain, literally! Who knew I could accomplish so much before brunch? I guess starting at 1am will do that that. Look at the pictures, be filled with awe, nothing I am going to write will do it enough justice.