Discover Sinai

  This is a screenshot of what the Sinai Photo Archive used to look like. It was part of the Sinai Trekking and Safari website and, like the rest of the site, was available in five languages. As you can see, 27,396 photos were available, all tagged by location and other important keywords. For example, if you searched the tags for “Mt. Sinai + camel + snow”, you would find all the photos taken there after a snowfall that also included a camel. Perhaps more importantly, the archive was created as a supplement to the guidebook. Every location mentioned in the book, however small or little known, was tagged, so readers could get a visual impression of each place. 

  A moderate overnight hike in the Sinai high mountains, with the first day being a little tougher and the second more relaxing. The walk started at Abu Jeefa, descending to Islibet and Wadi Tubuq and passing the spring of Ein Shkaya along the way. A detour was made via Wadi Shaq and Wadi Mathar before returning to the main route at el-Ehded and Wadi Zawatin. The reservoir at Farsh Zaq was still quite full after the rain a couple of months earlier. 

  Another valley very close to St Catherine is Wadi Itlah, running more or less in a straight line from Wadi Tala to a junction further down. The steep Wadi Shaq Tinya joins Wadi Itlah here, descending from the high mountains, and the two merge and continue as Wadi Jinab towards the lowlands at Sheikh Awad. At this junction, a little canyon known as Ubugiya leads to the Bedouin settlement of Abu Seila, from where you can take a car back to town. If water levels are too high in the canyon, there is an alternative route over the hill.

  On my short visit to Sinai in 2026, the first walk I did — as is usually the case — was to the secluded garden of El-Freish and through short Wadi Tala. But instead of returning to town via the usual Naqb el-Raheb pass, I decided to have a look at the valley and its monastery from above, so I chose the route known as Seru. I quickly realized that I am not as strong as I was even a year ago, and the climb took me significantly longer than I had anticipated (40–50 minutes instead of 20). Anyway, I finally reached the top and descended via the Abu Jeefa pass. A nice little walk, with some beautiful gardens and lovely views along the way.