Discover Sinai

  Looking at Jebel Safsafa and Wadi Shrij from the former Fansina building.  The route to Wadi el Arbain, also known as Wadi Leja, is via the steep Wadi Shrij under the Safsafa-Mount Sinai massif. There are Bedouin gardens along the way and in Wadi Arbain, as well as one of the ancient Orthodox monasteries known as Dier el Arbain or the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs. 

  The view of St Catherine from the Abu Jeefa pass, one of the gateways to the Sinai high mountains. The locations along this walk include Abu Jeefa, Islibet, Wadi Tubuq, El Ehded, Wadi Zawatin, Abu Jidda, Wadi Jibal, and Farsh Rummana. Even in this late in the autumn, the wadis and the gardens are still very green. Many people, among them new generations of gardeners, were up tending their orchards, as they view it as a guarantee for possible harder times. 

Originally posted on June 3, 2014 Most people climb Mt Sinai (Gebel Mousa) at night, starting from the Monastery of St Catherine. The usual Mount Sinai hiking trail starts via the Camel Path, then, after sunrise people descend to Farsh Eliya (Elijah’s Basin) and back to the Monastery via the Stairs of Repentance. You could do the hike during the day as well, it is actually a much more peaceful experience, and the colours at sunset in my opinion are even more beautiful. If you start descending after the sun dipped behind the horizon – it’s still not proper sunset – you have enough time to get back to the Monastery before total darkness. If you do the climb during the day, it’s better to do the circuit the other way around, starting via the Stairs of Repentance and descending via the Camel Path. The big and oddly shaped steps are difficult on the knees and dangerous at dusk, while the Camel Path is easy even when the visibility is not perfect. You could start 2 – 2.5 hours before sunset,...