Trek 1: Mt. Sinai (Jebel Musa) and Jebel Safsafa (1 day)

Mt. Sinai is visited by groups on most nights, in the past often up to a thousand people, but the crowds can be avoided easily if you go for the sunset and not the sunrise. The view and colours are just as beautiful and you find only a handful of people around, if any. But there is more to Mt. Sinai than just its peak. Only a few steps off the main tourist path, between Mt. Sinai and Ras Safsafa, there are little magical basins with shrubs and trees, ruined and intact Byzantine chapels, wells, dams and gardens, as well as stunning views down the gullies to different directions. Different routes exist to Mt. Sinai: the best, as far as a hike is concerned, is via Wadi Arbain, through the little interconnected mountain-top basins of Kinist el Hmar, Safsafa, Loza.

Read more: Mt. Sinai (Jebel Musa).


You can click waypoints marked with a green camera symbol to see a photo taken at, near or of the given location.


Trek photos

waypoint 01: Wadi Arbain (Wadi Arbaein, Wadi Leja)


waypoint 02: Hajar Musa (Rock of Moses) and Greek Orthodox chapel

waypoint 03: Monastery of the Forty Martyrs (Deir el Arbain)

waypoint 04: Main path and small path junction

waypoint 05: small path up mountain range’s side

waypoint 06: Kinist el Hmar

waypoint 07: Farsh Safsafa – Farsh Loza Junction

waypoint 08: path to church and garden (visible little in the middle)

waypoint 09: church and garden in Farsh Safsafa

waypoint 10: the path above the top of the garden

waypoint 11: view on Wadi Raha from top of gully

waypoint 12: the higher peak of Jebel Safsafa, with Mt Sinai and Mt Katharina in the background

waypoint 13: The view on St Catherine town and Mt Abbas Pasha from the lower peak of Jebel Safsafa

waypoint 14: view down in Wadi Shaby (north branch)

waypoint 15: view down in Wadi Shaby (south branch)

waypoint 16: Farsh Loza

waypoint 17: Farsh Arimziya (Farsh Abu Deesa, Farsh Zaharur)

waypoint 18: view down on the Monastery of St Katherine from Farsh Arimziya

waypoint 19: Elijah’s Basin with the peak of Mt Sinai above it

waypoint 20: the cutting

waypoint 21: the peak of Mt Sinai (Gebel Musa)

waypoint 22: fork in the road at a shop

waypoint 23: the Monastery of St Katherine

waypoint 24: Ramadan’s Garden

Popular posts from this blog

Geographical features: Jidda / Dyke (Dike)

Image
Originally posted on February 7, 2015 The whole southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula is a mountainous area, while the High Mountain Region proper, sometimes called the Central High Mountains, is the area in the middle around the town of St. Katherine. (See Google Earth screenshots below.) Up to 80% of the massif is granite of different types formed as far back as 600 million years, but there are also mountains that are made of newer, about 10 million year-old black volcanic rock. Sandstone and limestone are found north of the mountainous tip, forming surrealistic rock formations, sandy plains and eroded layered plateaus. In the mountainous area red granite and black volcanic mountains are often found together, as we can see with the Jebel Safsafa-Mt. Sinai, the Jebel Raba-Jebel Ahmar-Mt. Katharina or the Jebel Abu Mahashur-Jebel Abbas Basha ranges. In each case much of the mass of the mountains is made of hard and smooth red granite, but the famous peaks are actually softer crumbling bl...
Read more

Top 10 Tourist Attractions in South Sinai

Image
Originally posted on November 16, 2015 South Sinai features more attractions than most people think, and not all is under water. Known mostly for its Red Sea resorts, coral reefs and great diving, there is a lot to see in the interior too. Following are the 10 best known tourist attractions, the must-see places in South Sinai. 1. Ras Mohamed National Park Located near the resort city of Sharm el Sheikh, Ras Mohamed was the first National Park in the Sinai. It is famous for its underwater life and coral reefs, and so is usually visited for snorkeling and scuba diving, either by car or boat. It is a pleasant spot even if you are not into water sports. It is the southernmost point of the Sinai Peninsula and there are a number of beaches in little cute bays, as well as lookout points. Most tour operators organise programs to Ras Mohamed. >>> See photos 2. Blue Hole The Blue Hole is one of the most famous diving spots in Sinai, found near Dahab. It is submarine sinkhole, around 130...
Read more

Garden of Ramadan Abu Sayyed

Image
Very easy to reach from the town of St. Katherine, it lies just below the holy peaks of Mt. Sinai on one side and of Mt. Katherine on the other side. Mt. Sinai can be reached different ways, and the full day program is definitelly recommended. There is an ancient small Orthodox monastery next to the garden, with a big stone-walled orchard, olive groves, tall cypress trees. The rock of Moses is also in the same valley. Ramadan, the owner of the garden, sometimes plays the traditional stringed intrument, the simsimiyya. He also breeds Rock Hyraxes, a cute hairy mountain creature. The terraced garden has many secluded areas away from Ramadan's family tent, with stone rooms for winter use and shady-windy open arishas for summer. There are clean toilets and showers. There are many fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, all grown organically. The garden is ideal for individuals and smaller groups who want to relax on holy land but don't want to - or unable to - walk too much or too hard. ...
Read more