Up Mount Sinai!

We woke up at two in the morning at St. Catherine's Monastery for the trip up Mount Sinai. The 7 kilometer trail starts right outside the monastery wall. It was a chilly night, with some mist and wind. After several hundred yards on the trail, we hit a camel park run by the local Bedouin tribe. We mounted up and rode camels for about 90 minutes until reaching a camel park higher on the mountain-- about a 5 kilometer ride. From there we hiked the remaining two kilometers to the top of Mount Sinai, following the ancient route of the 700 steps carved into the trail. We reached the summit just before sunrise, and enjoyed it with several hundred others who had made the pilgrimage. After spending an hour or so on top, we hiked all the way down to the monastery, getting back at around 9 in the morning. We were tired. The Bedouins were tired. The camels were tired. Fortunately, the monks at St. Catherine's had behaved while we were on the mountain, so we could nap instead of breaking up any riotous idol worship upon our return.