Dahab and Mt. Sinai

This weekend was a lovely respite from the quotidian chaos of Cairo.

3 friends and I had originally planned to spend the weekend exploring Luxor, but we were unable to get train tickets. Instead, we hopped on the bus to Dahab - a tiny resort town on the Eastern coast of the Sinai. The 10 hour overnight bus ride was not entirely pleasant, but throughout the night I was awed by the great black expanse of desert stretching for miles on either side of the highway - and sunrise over the mountains was stunning, to say the least.

I was surprised by how mountainous the coastal region was! When I imagine Sinai I see a vast, featureless desert, but our route was hemmed in for several hours by dramatic sharp peaks of red rock. In Dahab, the mountains were a constant presence - they loom behind the sparkling bay, making the view even more exotic.

We spent a day and a night in Dahab - no snorkeling this time, but we did dip in the water for a bit, and spent much of our time on the beach and exploring the boardwalk and the town. Off-season Dahab is a gorgeous, serene place, populated by a smattering of laidback German and Dutch divers, and Egyptians who look healthier and more relaxed than their Cairene counterparts. Even their sales-pitches were less insistent! I will definitely go back, preferably before peak season hits.

The next morning we hurried to the bus stop to catch the once-a-day bus to St. Katherine's, home of the mountain most commonly agreed to be Mt. Sinai, only to discover that it would not be coming that day. As tempting as it was to give up and spend another lazy day in Dahab, we perservered and found a minibus driver who would take us. We were joined by a friendly German man named Toby, who was also planning on making the biblical climb. St. Katherine's is a little hamlet nestled in a valley about 2 hours from Dahab. It is home to the alleged Mt. Sinai and St. Katherine's Monastery, which houses (among other treasures) a bush alleged to be the burning bush of biblical fame.

The monastery was mobbed with tourists and pilgrims, and many portions were closed off, but it was nevertheless a beautiful complex, rich with flowering trees and sun-soaked courtyards. We spent several hours reading, snacking, and napping in the sun before our ascent. Our plan was to watch the sunset from the top of the mountain, so we began the 2 hour climb around 3:30. The climb itself was not overly strenuous - just a series of long sandy switchbacks - until we reached the Stairs of Pain and Punishment (not their actual name. But there is a staircase that runs the whole length of the mountain, which has been used for centuries as a form of penance for the monks!). The last half an hour of the hike was composed completely of a steep, narrow rock staircase - rough on the knees and treacherous if mis-stepped!

*****

Much more to say about these lovely places, but I have to run to a meeting soon - I am looking into a volunteer opportunity at a local church, wherein I would work with Sudanese refugee children, teaching English, reading stories in Arabic, and helping with homework.

Love to all!

February, where did you go?

Oops! All of a sudden it's March, and I haven't updated for 2 weeks. This is an excerpt from an e-mail to Mom about last weekend, to catch you all up to speed a bit before I write about this past weekend of travel.

Feb 24:
"This weekend was really relaxing - on Friday night we had 4 lovely friends over for a Shabbat dinner, and on Saturday we went to a gorgeous park in Islamic Cairo. I made lentil soup for the first time on Friday, and it was delicious! I was pretty proud of myself, especially considering I had to go to a special spice shop to find oregano and thyme. They have spices in huge bins here, and we buy them by the 1/8 kilo - 5 LE (Egyptian pounds - 5.5 in a dollar) for 1/4 kilo of spices! We also made stuffed red peppers - stuffed with rice, mushrooms, onions, and paprika - and mashed potatoes, and Sara fried up some delicious sea bass fillets with bread crumbs and rosemary. Our guests brought dessert and helped do dishes - all in all, a wonderful first dinner party.

On Saturday we went to al-Azhar park, which was really gorgeous - and one of the greenest places I've seen in Cairo! It felt like a European park, full of fountains and wide boulevards for strolling. There were couples and families with picnics sprawled on all the grassy lawns. It was a lovely respite from the constant (and dirty) hustle and bustle of downtown Cairo. Admission to the park is 5LE on weekends, but only 3LE (about 50 cents) on weekdays, so we plan on going back often. Also, the park has several snazzy outdoor restaurants - definitely a romantic locale, if ever I have need of one!

I just had a conference with my colloquial Arabic professor, because she wanted to meet with each student individually to discuss our progress and the future of the class. She's very sweet, but a little odd, and not a particularly rigorous or focused professor. So far our lessons have been to unstructured for my taste, and I get a lot more out of my amiyya tutoring, but I hope that she will hit her stride now. Speaking of tutoring, I had a 2 hour session today (for about $10, gotta love the exchange rate!), and I really love my tutor. She's very young - probably only a couple years older than I, though I'm not sure - and she offers the focus and structure that my professor is lacking. Plus, she's really sweet and encouraging, and she says my accent is quite good!"

It's incredible that I've already been in this country for over a month. Time is going by too quickly, but at the same time I've experienced more than I thought possible in just 4+ weeks.