The Adventure Continues

I'm writing this tonight from the town/protectorate of St. Catherine, a town that takes its name from the monastery beneath the shadow of Mt. Sinai. Mostly we have traveled today, making a nearly 6-hour trip from Jerusalem to Taba at the Egyptian border. We passed through the Dead Sea area again, and into some very desolate territory. There are some kibbutzes in various places, raising different kinds of crops, and we stopped for lunch at a dairy kibbutz where we enjoyed some of their fresh-made ice cream.

At Eliat, the Israeli port town, we toured a stone factory that makes beautiful jewelry from the Eliat stone. Then, it was on to the border. Crossing from Israel into Egypt was a time-consuming process, done all on foot. We had to show our passport numerous times, and drag our luggage behind us. Finally, we met our new guide on the Egyptian side, Mohamed. He is very knowledgeable about Egyptian history and the culture.

We also had a security officer on the bus, which is new. I asked Mohamed about it, and he said the Sinai has been a difficult place ever since the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. We had several checkpoints to pass through, and when we passed one, they would call the next one to tell them we were coming. At one point, we had an armed escort. I told our guide that it's all unnerving for us, but I recognize it's part of their normal life.

We arrived at St. Catherine to our hotel. It's not as fancy as where we've been, but it's in the mountains, it's cooler here, and it's comfortable for a night.

Before dinner, we went to tour the monastery of St. Catherine. This Greek Orthodox monastery sits below Jebel Musa, the Mount of Moses and dates back to early Christian times. It is the traditional location of the place Moses received the Ten Commandments, and there is a tree in the middle that the monks claim was the burning bush. The weather cooled down very nicely and we had a nice walk along the grounds. Then, back to the tourist village for dinner and rest. Tomorrow is mostly driving as we go to Cairo for the rest of our stay. We have to go the long way as the Bedouins who control the short route have had it closed for a couple of years.

Photos from today will follow tomorrow. No wifi at this location means I'm posting this from my phone!

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