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. 

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. ...

Originally posted on June 11, 2014 Mt Sinai (Gebel Mousa) and Jebel Safsafa form one massif, with Safsafa towering above the town of St Katherine, while the peak of Mt Sinai is located at the other end, not visible from town. Most people climbing the mountain never realise how many beautiful secrets this range holds, just a few steps off the main tourist path. There are hidden little basins harbouring chapels and hermit cells, gardens, wells and reservoirs, gullies offering a view to different directions, and the stunning sight of Wadi Raha and the town of St Katherine from Ras Safsafa. Instead of the usual route, you could visit all these places in a long day, finishing at the peak of Mt Sinai for the sunset, then either return to town or spend the night up to see the sunrise too. The best route is from Wadi Arbain, just off from the Rasis area of town, passing Hajar Mousa (Rock of Moses) and the Monastery of the Fourty Martyrs (Deir el Arbain). From there head to Kinist el Hmar, and ...