Day 10 (Travel), Day 11 (Sinai), Day 12 (Travel)

We've reached Israel. Unfortunately, I can't upload photos at this computer (A couple of days later: I just uploaded some pics). So pictures will have to come later. Until then...

On Day ten we traveled from Petra to the Sinai peninsula via the port of Aquaba. We took a huge ferry across the Red Sea and landed in Egypt. The process of getting our luggage from the ferry and getting through customs was a sight to behold. It was chaos. Thankfully our guide navigated us through the chaos and onto the bus. One sight will probably not leave my mind, though I don't have a picture of it. Our luggage was loaded onto a large rolling cart (about 10 feet by 20 feet with about 6 feet high sides). Ours was the first to go on this cart so it was on the bottom. When the cart was pulled off the ferry, about 20 Egyptian men climbed on top of the cart and began pulling everything off. Luggage and men were flying everywhere. Amazingly by the time we got around to our luggage, it was all there.

We took the bus to our hotel, Morgen Land Village, which was near the traditional sight of Mt. Sinai. The entire area is in a dessert. Water is very sparse. But as we pulled up we were told that the hotel had a pool in the shape of a cross. When we got out and saw the pool and the abundance of water in this barren land, I didn't know whether to cry because of the obscenity of it all or exegete the significance of it. It was a moment of contrasts (as has been most of the trip).

We had dinner and got to bed early, because the next morning we woke up at 1:30 AM to ascend Mt. Sinai so that we could see the sun rise from the summit. It was hard to get up so early but we were all excited to be summiting the mountain that Moses summited to meet God and receive the ten commandments (actually, no one is really sure which mountain that was but this one is the "traditional" sight).

The summit began with a camel ride up about 2/3 of the mountain. The camel ride began with a bang. As we walked up to get our camels, the Bedouin camel guides were arguing and fighting about contracts and who would get the contract for their services. It was loud and contentious. We were told that this took place every year. Eventually the contracts were resolved and each one of us was given a guide and a camel.

The actual experience of riding a camel up a mountain is an experience I hope to never have again in my life. Here is what is like: imagine trying to do the splits and holding it for an hour while bouncing up and down. A camel is a very wide animal, and they don't come equipped with stirrups. But now I can say I've ridden a camel up Mt. Sinai.

I was unsure what to expect of this entire experience and what I did get I could never have expected. There were dozens and dozens of pilgrims making this same trek. A number of Asian Christian groups were among the pilgrims. One such group was Pentecostal and sang and spoke in tongues the entire way up (the latter is contended by others in my group, but having grown up Pentecostal myself, I claim to have a special ear for tongues).

After the camel ride we had about 800 steps to climb to the top. We arrived at the top in the dark and awaited the sun rise. We were quickly joined by at least a 100 other people. Again, many of them were Christian groups and were having worship services on the top of the mountain. The cacophony of noise in various languages was quite an experience. I'd like to say that this was a great spiritual moment for me, but I'd have rather been on another mountain that wasn't the traditional sight and be by myself or with my group. But it was a beautiful sight nonetheless.

A while after the sunrise, we headed back down the mountain, this time via 3000 steps. We went to the hotel to pack up and have breakfast then headed out to St. Catherine's monastery. St. Catherine's holds the distinction of hosting the "original" burning bush as well as the second oldest and biggest collection of ancient books in the world (second only to the Vatican). One of these books was an extremely early manuscript of the New Testament. We were given special permission to visit the library and it was quite an experience. I only wish I hadn't been up since 1:30 AM!


After St. Catherine's we jumped on the bus and drove North to the Sonesta Resort on the Red Sea. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming in the Red Sea or enjoying the beach. It was a great change of pace from the hectic schedule we had been keeping. I spent some time swimming among the coral about 50 feet off the shore. I slept well that night.

Today we got to sleep in a little and then hit the road again. The day was spent in travel from Egypt to Israel. The border crossing between Egypt and Israel was the most extensive yet. Most of us sailed right through, but we have one student who is from Kuwait. His acceptance into Israel was not so easy. The whole process took about two hours while we all waited on the other side. It was certainly a test of patience for him. But he got through eventually, and we moved on our way.

Our first stop in Israel was McDonald's. I'm not exactly sure why we went to McDonald's. And it wasn't just any McDonald's, it was a McDonald's in a mall! Maybe our Israel guides were trying to make us feel at home. I think most of us would have preferred to go elsewhere (especially since many of us had seen Super Size Me).

Besides the odd choice of lunch, our guide in Israel is superb. He is an Palestinian Christian who worked on his M.A. in peace studies in Sweden. He was full of information and the conversation about the Palestinian and Israeli conflict was very helpful and insightful. I am looking forward to learning more about this as we go along.

I mentioned earlier that this whole trip has been a study in contrasts: a cross shaped pool in a barren wasteland, ritzy resorts next to desert lands, conservative dress and American music videos, Christians and Muslims living side by side, and so many more. The contrasts tend to break down the easy boxes in which we put these lands and their people. Learning the nuances would take a lifetime.