2006.05.27_Mount Sinai

Inscription on Mount Sinai


Sunrise at Mount Sinai


Pilgrims and tourists at Mount Sinai


HC and me


The 2-hour descend

We left Dahab at 23:00 to embark on the journey to Mount Sinai. An organized bus ride took HC and me and a group of tourists from Dahab onto the desert highway. On the road, it was pitch black with only occasional street lamp at road intersections. We had no idea where we were going. At 01:30 we finally arrived at the parking lot of Mount Sinai. Despite in the middle of the night, the place was crowded with tourists and pilgrims all came for the climb up to the summit to view the spectacular sunrise.

HC and I and our bus group followed a local guide towards a path that I supposed would lead us up. The guide walked extremely fast, while there were many local Bedouins and camel vendors blocking our way and persuading us to rent a camel. A German tourist in our group showed some interest of the camel ride, but he thought it was too expensive. The camel vendors followed our group, and even used their camels to block our way. Our guide couldn't get rid of the camel vendor, but luckily a tourist police appeared from nowhere, stopped the vendor, and let us through.

The hike was not easy, perhaps because it was just too dark. Between the two of us we shared a small flashlight. It took us a little over two hours to reach the end of the path. Along the way we stopped four times for rest. At the end of the winding path there came the steep stone steps, around 700 steps that led us to the top. It took us a great deal of effort to climb to the summit. We reached the top at 04:30.

On the summit there is a small chapel, and a few vendors renting out blankets and mattresses. It was quite chilly up there, but we didn't bother to rent a blanket. At first we stood in front of the chapel waiting for the sunrise. I soon discovered a piece of rock with an unbeatable view towards the east. The rock surface was a little slippery, and if we fell over it could be fatal. The sky turned white at around 05:30, and the sun finally came out at 06:00. I felt so much warmer just by witnessing the rising of the sun behind the ragged mountains. Not until the sun was out that I could realize how crowded the spot actually was. Tourists and pilgrims and their sleeping bags were everywhere: on top of the chapel, on the roof of some distant mud houses, on the path, on stone terraces, on the other side of the chapel, altogether there must be over 200 people.

Under the golden light, the scenery of Mount Sinai and its surrounding was spectacular, arid, rocky, without a single tree in front of the horizon. This is the legendary spot where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

At around 06:15 we began the 2-hour descend to St. Catherine's Monastery.

2006.05.26_Dahab

In the afternoon HC and I went to a diving site called "Islands" for snorkeling. The reefs there were again beautiful and sea life abundant. I swam out to the coral mounts, where I had to pass through a deeper section of open sea. The coral mounts were spectacular, and I thought that they must be what the locals refer to as the underwater "islands".

After the "Islands", HC and I went to the southern tip of Dahab to do more snorkel. There was not much corals in the area, and the water was a lot deeper and as a result colder, despite it was 40 to 45 degrees Celsius above the water. In order to reach the south beaches, we got to walk along a seaside boardwalk and passed by dozens of resort complexes facing the sea. It must be the bombing. All the resorts were extremely quiet. We could only see the local staff killing time with card games and gossips in the shade. We went into one of the complexes and asked for washroom. A staff led us into a resort room to use the toilet. It seemed to me that the entire hotel complex (with at least 50 resort suites) was completely empty. And I got the feeling that it was pretty much the same for all the resorts in the area.

In the evening HC and I returned to Bishibishi for dinner and a brief rest before leaving for our adventure to Mount Sinai. AK didn't go with us. Because of her dives she would not be able to ascend to a high altitude within short period of time.

2006.05.26_Dahab

I decided to do a whole day of snorkeling. I rented the snorkel and flippers at Big Blue, and followed AK and her Italian instructor to Eel Garden. HC decided to do another introductory dive. Along with us there was also an Italian woman, in her early forties, traveling alone with her Dachshund dog. She came from Rome, had worked in a hospital in Trastevere, where I stayed for 4 months for my architectural study in 2002.

I snorkeled in some lagoons at Eel Garden. Apparently the reefs around Dahab is far better than the ones at Aqaba. I snorkeled at areas of around 3-5m deep, and saw uncounted colourful sea life including all kinds of fish, sea urchins, and of course, coral of various colours.

In midday we returned to Big Blue for lunch. While we ate a black cat appeared in the dinning tent. It suddenly jumped towards the Dachshund dog and scratched the dog on its face and nose. The dog screamed and scared to death as David, the diving instructor drove the cat away with a tea pot.

2006.05.25_Aqaba

View of Aqaba from hotel window

After we get up we immediately hired a taxi returning to Royal Diving Centre for our refund. The staff there tried to avoid us again. We refused to leave and at last a manager came out with a big smile and agreed to pay us back the admission. Then the taxi took us to the passenger ferry terminal and arrived at the gate at about 09:30. It took us over an hour to go through the customs and deal with the departure tax. At last we were told to board a shuttle bus. The bus drove up slowly into an entrance at the back of the ferry.

Once on board, we found the Egyptian custom officer to stamp our passport. The ferry didn't leave the dock until way over 11:30, over two hours since we got to the terminal. The ferry sailed southwest towards Egypt. We could see the shore of Saudi Arabia to the east. At around 14:30 the ferry arrived at the Egyptian port at Nuweiba. The port was quite chaotic, and that was our first impression on Egypt. At the minbus / service taxi station we met three Australians. The six of us hired a minivan for our destination Dahab, a backpacker seaside resort town at the Egyptian side of Gulf of Aqaba.

The van took us to the bus station at Dahab. The town seemed to me a little quiet, probably because of the recent terrorist bombing on April 24th. The town looked to me very young and relaxing, without the conventional and cheesy type of honeymoon atmosphere. At the station we met Alex, a staff from Bishibishi Garden Village. He led us to Bishibishi, a relatively new hotel establishment in Dahab. We don't usually trust these kinds of sales, but once we arrived at Bishibishi and met Jimmy the owner, we decided to stay at one of their air conditioned triple room. It turned out to be a good choice. AK decided to take a night dive. Jimmy took us all to Big Blue Diving Centre. While AK stayed for the dive, HC and I returned to Bishibishi for dinner. After dinner, we strolled around the town, dropped by an internet cafe, and bought another disposable underwater camera for the next day.

2006.05.24_Aqaba

In the morning we took the shuttle bus from Crystal Hotel to Royal Diving Centre. At the door we paid 10 JD for admission. A staff inside persuaded us to dive. As an experienced diver, AK immediately went for her dives. HC and I agreed to do the introductory scuba dive at 11:00. The sea in front of the diving centre wasn't the calmest, but we thought we would give it a try. The instructor gave us a short briefing about the equipment, and told us to put on the diving suit. We followed him out to the boardwalk to get into the water. The sea was cold, and I didn't get the way of using my mouth to breathe in the waves. After some minutes in the water I still couldn't learn to breathe through my mouth. At the end, I returned to the boardwalk. HC overcame the challenge and went down with the instructor to a deeper dive.

In the afternoon HC and I went for snorkeling. With the snorkel, I learnt how to breathe through my mouth, and gradually I could enjoy the world under the water. Each of us had a disposable underwater camera and we saw some nice reefs, not extremely spectacular, but we did see a lot of colourful fish. We snorkeled for a few hours and returned to the diving centre and found AK had done with her dives already. Upon leaving we tried to get the refund of the entrance fee. The policy was that whoever dives at the centre does not need to pay admission. The staff hesitated for a while and told us that the cashier was closed for the day. We had no choice but decided to return the next morning. At night we had dinner at Pizza Hut, and did a little shopping at a sneaker shop.

2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 7

After the Khazali Canyon, our Wadi Rum experience was almost over. We did more camel riding, had a brief lunch, a short nap, and at least we rode back to Rum Village. While we waited for our hired taxi at the Visitor Centre, we went into the official Wadi Rum shop. I bought a black T-shirt with the Rum-art (ancient rock carving of animals) printed on it. We reached Aqaba in late afternoon. For some reason, we ended up having Chinese food for dinner. It was a decent size restaurant on the second floor of a commercial building. We weren't the only table there but of course it was not full. I wondered if it would ever get full. The food was fine. We were all tired and hungry. After the meal, we were quite satisfied.

2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 6

From time to time, we got off our camels to walk on the sand, or climb another rock mount, and so on. Two to three hours on the camel back was really not the most pleasant experience. Perhaps because of the heat or lack of good vegetation around, HC's camel was a little grumpy at a point that it refused to walk and kneed down all of a sudden, almost throwing HC down onto the sand. I was glad that at least my camel seemed content about what it was doing. Every time we got off the camel after about riding for an hour, we could hardly walk.

The "desert mountains" near and far dominated the landscape everywhere we went. At last we were led to the Khazali Canyon. We didn't have time to go in too deep, but deep enough to see the dramatic sunlight shone through the narrow gap high up and reached the gorge floor in a dramatic fashion. A perfect spot for some nice photos.

2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 5

We had a small breakfast when we get up. Soon after, our guide of the second day came, along with three camels. The camels were quite skinny, but tall. It was our first time to ride a camel in the desert. We were kind of excited but also worried since we had heard many painful stories about camel riding in the past. We walked to the camels. The guide made a "shuzzz" noise and successfully made the camels to knee down. One by one each of us climb onto a camel. It turned out that my camel was actually the "nicest" one, well trained and relatively well disciplined.

Forgot how long the ride really was, maybe an hour, or an hour and a half, in open desert, over rolling sand dunes. As the morning went by the desert was warming up quickly. I was always trying to find the "best" position on the camel, so that I could balance myself without killing my thighs and comfortably take pictures with my FM2. Every time we passed by scattered plants our camels would venture off a little, lower their heads to chew on the leaves, and always cause a chaotic moments by pulling all camels onto one side, since all of our camels, including the one rode by the guide, were tied together with ropes.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 4

Near our camp site, we climbed another rock mount where we watched the sun set behind layers of rock mountains. It was dry and windy. The desert was open and vast. Despite tired, I totally fell in love with the openness of the desert. The sun was fading. As it receded into the horizon, so as the vivid colours of the landscape. The landscape around me gradually became a world of black and white, or so it seemed to me that suddenly the desert had cooled down and the wind was a little chilly.

The dinner of lamb/chicken rice was delicious and we had a good time in the evening at the Bedouin camp site, chatting and laughing with the Bedouin host and guides.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 3

Um Fruth Rock Arch


View from top of Um Fruth


In a desert canyon


Out of a desert canyon

We started off the afternoon with an interesting climb of the Um Fruth Rock Arch. The arch is about 20m high. At first glance, the slope of the rock surface seemed very steep to us. We couldn't even image how we could reach the top. With his bare feet, our guide showed us the way to ascend the slope. The key was: climb in a slight diagonal, move fast, don't stop and never look back. We did what he said and finally reached the top. Of course, climbing back down was another challenge but we didn't worry too much about it while we enjoyed the view from the top of Um Fruth.

Before heading to the camp site, we were led to a desert canyon where we did a short hike, about 1.5km, by ourselves. The guide came pick us up at the other end. Everything seemed red and orange under the afternoon sun. Perhaps the most unique thing about Wadi Rum is the red colour of its sand, and the rock mounts (or desert mountains as the locals called them). It was a pleasant short walk of good desert scenery.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 2

Our guide making tea


Our guide with another Bedouin


Our 4X4 for the day


Panorama view from where we took a short nap

Our guide from Bedouin Roads drove the Land Rover into the shade of a rock mount. We rested on a large smooth rock surface where we had our desert lunch. There were canned tuna, fresh tomato, mixed beans, cheese, bottled orange juice, and a cup of mint tea. The lunch was simple and light, reminded me of the simple nomadic lifestyle that the Bedouin must have once led. After lunch, we had a hour of nap time in the shade.

Despite circumstances after World War II that led to the majority of Bedouin sedentarisation, the myth of the desert nomads continues to inspire literature and cinema, enrich national heritage and enhance global tourism in the region. Today, most Bedouins in the Middle East live in houses or apartments. The few Bedouin tents that remain in the deserts are mainly for touristic purposes, so as many other components of the Bedouin lifestyle, such as camel caravans are very much entirely replaced by modern means of transportation. Often, it is not easy to differentiate the nomadic traditions with reconstructed lifestyles that are largely based on cultural stereotypes and romanticised interpretations.

2006.05.22_Wadi Rum 1

Inside the Toyota Land Rover


Below the Spring of Lawrence


View from Spring of Lawrence


Red sand of Wadi Rum


Rum art

At 07:30, a taxi came to Petra Moon to pick us up for Wadi Rum. At around 09:00 we arrived at Wadi Rum Visitor Centre. Attayak, our Bedouin guide, greeted us at the ticket office. After we bought our admission ticket to the desert, Attayak drove us into Rum Village, and stopped at the Resthouse Cafe. A Bedouin with blue keffiyeh came over. His name is Shaba, our desert guide for the day. We said goodbye to Attayak and left the cafe with Shaba. The first thing we did was going over to a nearby shop to get bottled water and keffiyeh for HC and me, the Jordanian type with red and white keffiyeh (or shemagh mhadab). Shaba helped us to put on the keffiyeh. We hopped onto his Toyota Land Rover and off we go to the Wadi Rum and began our first ever desert experience.

Our first stop was the Spring of Lawrence. Wadi Rum is the desert where T. E. Lawrence based himself during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks. The spring might be one of Lawrence's favorite spot where he bathed and relaxed. It was a 15 minute climb up a rocky hill, approximately 200m high, to the spring. AK, HC and I found our way up, and were a little disappointed to find the spring was no more than a tiny water pool, perhaps an outlet of underground water. Though we were delighted by the magnificent view down the desert valley.

We carefully descended back to the car. Shaba led us to a black Bedouin tent nearby where AK finally bought her set of head-scarf, a red and black combination. Again Shaba helped her to put it on. Not long after, we reached the second stop. It was a cliff where wall carving of camels, goats, and humans can be found. The wall carvings were made by Nabatean caravans 2000 years ago, depicting some of their stories. Shaba told us that Wadi Rum was once lay on the caravan route between Saudi and Damascus.