day 6

So today we made like Moses and went to the summit of Mt. Sinai. It was definitely an experience, although not quite the experience that we had expected. We did the prescribed night hike to catch the sunrise, which meant getting up at 2:00 in the morning.

The way up was quick at two hours, but it was two hours of dodging camels and breathing in the aroma of fresh camel poop and urine. When we got to the top it was still completely dark, and it wasn't really crowded at all. But just because it wasn't crowded doesn't mean that it was peaceful. There was a group of people there who were loudly chanting, and periodically yelling. Surprisingly, they magically disappeared just before sunrise. It also started raining a few times, which is pretty unusual for these parts. It was certainly an interesting experience atop Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night, with people chanting, others yelling, sky raining, wind gusting, and trash swirling. Yep. That's right. They had plenty of trash cans on the trail, but I'm not sure if they are emptied frequently enough. But when the wind blows, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and whatever else turns into projectiles so you'd better be careful.

Right now we're on a bus headed back to Cairo. Tomorrow, Citadel!