As I mentioned earlier, Michael and I had the privilege of hiking up Mt. Sinai early Saturday morning to see the sunrise. It was an incredible experience...one that words can hardly do justice. We left Cairo Friday afternoon to make the 6 hour drive to Sinai. For those of you who don't know, Cairo is quite inexpensive. We spent the night at Desert Fox, which is a very "modest" campsite near the base of the mountain and paid 20 pounds for a place to sleep. (That is equivalent to $4). In spite of the rugged accomodations, we thoroughly enjoyed our time at Desert Fox, especially since we only slept 3 hours.
Our adventure began at 2:00 a.m. when we were woken by one of the camp's workers--his name was Humdee. He was a character to say the least. Anyway, we met our guide and left base camp around 2:45. The moon was full, so we were fortunate to have great natural light even that early in the morning. Due to the crowds of tourists, we chose to take a path less traveled so we could avoid everyone else. The hike took us around 3 hours with a few stops along the way. Once we approached the last leg of the hike, we encountered a couple hundred other hikers. Luckily, we were still able to go quickly without getting stuck behind too many slow-pokes. The final ascent to the top of Mount Sinai consists of several hundred "stairs" that were built by a monk who said that climbing the stairs daily was a means to do his penance. Without a doubt, I believe him.
That stretch of the climb was very challenging. Not to mention, we were now surrounded by other hikers who were, more often than not, dressed inappropriately while also not in good physical shape to complete the task. However, we persevered. Instead of following the main path, we would climb around people who were going slowly of had stopped to breath. We finally made it to the top just in time to see the sun rise. You would have thought no one on that mountain had ever seen the sun rise before by the way they were frantically taking pictures and screaming as the sun rose over the horizon. Regardless, we enjoyed the view but stayed away from the edges since Michael is not too fond of heights. :) 
Descending the mountain was less time consuming, but we still encountered some obstacles. Remember those inappropriately dressed and/or physically unfit hikers I mentioned? Well, they all decided to go down the mountain when we did. AND, they chose the same path we had, which caused us some minor delays. At times, it was more dangerous for us since they were around! Once again, when the opportunity presented itself, we scooted around them and then practically ran down the rest of the way.
Overall, we enjoyed Mt. Sinai in every way. I'm glad we endured the climb and were able to experience the breath taking view while remembering what incredible events have taken place at that very sight. My legs are a little sore, but the pain is well worth the experience.
Love you.
That is my favorite line! Glad you are enjoying Egypt.