Climbing the Heights of Sinai

It's been a couple days since my last bog.  We didn't have internet access at our last stay in Egypt.  We were at Mount Sinai, the location God have Moses the Ten Commandments, and the law.  I would have to say this was one of the highlights of my life thus far.  It was amazing to walk up the same mountain that very same mountain.

We started the climb at 1:30 am.  Yes, you read right.  It's not a typo -- 1:30 am.  Simon, the tour manager introduced us to Solomon.  He was dressed in traditional Middle Eastern dress.  His English was quite good, but a bit broken.  He actually speaks eight different languages.  He led us in the dark on foot for about a kilometre or two before we were met by some Bedouin men with Camels.  We had the choice of riding up and then walking down, or walking up and then down.  Everyone except for Rand chose to ride.  I wanted the experience of the feeling of the same sort of transportation some of the biblical figures would have used.  Part of me wished I hadn't.  That part is my tail bone.

Ancient transportation

Justin taking a photo of the amazing Sinai sunrise

 I don't know if my saddle was built wrong, or my butt is built wrong, but there was a piece of wood digging into my tailbone and it was so uncomfortable and painful that, after about two and a half hours, I finally had to ask the 15 year old Bedouin boy, Rafa, to let me off so I could walk the rest of the way and give my poor tailbone a break.  I noticed later that it was rubbing so much that it wore the skin right off.  That's a hard place to wear a band aid.  Anyway, who's complaining, only my butt.

The trek to the top took over three hours.  We rode about two thirds of the way up and then had to walk the final 750 steps because the camels, apparently aren't made for steeper terrain.  I'm not sure I am either, but I did make it.  It was actually the descent that was the hardest part.  By the time I reached two thirds of the way down I was grunting with each step.  I actually didn't realize it until someone pointed it out.  Then to make me feel better they started to grunt with me.

Mount Sinai

Once at the top, Justin, Ria, and I climbed on top of a huge rock that gave us access to the top of an ancient Orthodox church.  We had the best seats out of the hundreds of people who made the ascent, probably because to get there meant standing on a narrow ledge with a several hundred foot drop to the one side and then climbing the rock with the help of someone boosting, or pulling you up.

Our descent on foot

Once on top, we waited for about forty-five minutes for the sunrise.  While waiting we took several long exposure photos.  I'll post some of those on Facebook after I have some time to process them.

The sunrise wasn't as spectacular as it was built up to be, but being at the summit and taking in God's glory and viewing the same vista that Moses would have seen was certainly worth the pain of getting there.

The descent took us about two hours or so, and like I said, it was good for the first two thirds and then very painful the rest of the way as my knees started to give way.  But, who's complaining -- besides me.  

When we got down, Cam said, "That was the best experience of my life."  I was thrilled that I had the privilege of being a part of making that happen for him and for the others.

Our group has gelled very well.  We are made up of different connections I have, and most did not know each other, but it's like we have been a group all our lives -- another thrill for me.

En Gedi - 1 Samuel 24

After reaching the bottom we had about forty-five minutes to take a quick shower and wolf down some breakfast and try to join a convoy we would be travelling with to the Israeli border where we would meet our guide, my friend, Eitan.  I was excited to see him again after two years.  We got the border and everyone got through the several layers of security quite easily, except for Justin and me.  They kept us back and put our camera bags through the scanners about five or six times each and searched them each time.  That whole process took about forty-five minutes, meanwhile, not only was our group waiting for us, but about two hundred other people behind us in line were held up.  We finally got the go ahead and met the rest of the group.  Eitan and I greeted each other warmly with a hug.  We got caught up while organizing the group's tour bags.

After that we headed towards the Dead Sea where we would spend two nights.  On the way we stopped for a quite bite to eat at Kibbutz dairy farm, and then carried on to our hotel.  Eitan, true to form, was a fount of knowledge along the way.  We arrived at our hotel, got settled in our rooms and hurried down for an amazing buffet dinner.  I went up to my room right after dinner and started to work on this blog, but fell asleep while typing.  My finger rested on the jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj.  I woke up with a jerk and had to delete about 12,000 of them.  

The pools of En Gedi

We had a wake up call at 6:15 the next morning and went to Masada.  This was the place where, in 73 AD, over 900 Jewish Zealots committed suicide before the Romans army could capture them and subjugate them to a life of slavery.  It's an awesome extra biblical story as told by the Jewish historian, Josephus.  After that we went to En Gedi (1 Samuel 24) where David was hiding out from Saul.  We walked along the same pathway that these ancient men would have walked on.  Some of the group experienced the refreshing pools of En Gedi and let the water fall wash over them.

We had a short day and arrived back at our hotel at about 2:00pm and spent the rest of the day having some much needed free time.  Some of the group went shopping, while others floated in the Dead Sea.  You can't swim in the Dead Sea.  You can only float.  The high salt content makes it possible for anyone to float, even those who normally sink like rocks.

Justin and I went to a coffee shop and did some work.  I continued to work on this blog and process these photos and Justin did some work on some events that are coming up at the church.  After that we went back to the hotel for our Shabbat meal.  Eitan taught us the symbolism in the different aspects of the meal.  It brought tears to my eyes as he showed how everything brings glory to God.

After dinner I went back up to room and, again, worked on this blog, and once again, fell asleep without finishing it.  I had my first good sleep since being here - about 6 and a half hours.  I feel quite restd.

We are now in the bus.  We stopped by the Dead Sea, where I gave a devotion on Gideon from Judges 7.  We are stopping at Harod's Spring, then off to Qumran, Beth Shean, and Bethany by the Sea at the Jordan where we will do a baptism.  I am going to publish this now and finish up in the next blog.  Blessings.

Water falls of En Gedi

Cam getting refreshed after a long walk up to the En Gedi Falls