The Burning Bush
We arrived at Saint Catherine's Monastery at around 08:00. The Saint Catherine's is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. It is still occupied by monks from Orthodox Christians. Nowadays, it also serves as a pilgrimage spot for tourists and believers from all sectors of Christianity. Within the heavy fortified walls stands a large shrub that is claimed to be the spot of the original Burning Bush mentioned in the Book of Exodus, where God revealed himself to Moses and appointed him as leader of the Israelites.
We waited outside the monastery for about an hour until 09:00. Inside, only the main church, small museum and exterior courtyard where the Burning Bush stands are opened to the public. The courtyard was very crowded. Everyone was trying to take pictures of themselves with the Burning Bush. HC and I toured around a little and slowly walked back to the Mount Sinai parking lot. We were sleepy and tired by the time we reached Bishibishi. At the hotel we grabbed a quick bite, packed our backpacks, and met up with AK in the courtyard.
We took the 14:30 bus leaving for Cairo. It was a long bus ride, passing by the Suez Canal at sunset, and reached Cairo after 8.5 hours. At the bus station in Cairo, we took a taxi to Midan Talaat Harb, a star-shaped plaza at the centre of a shopping district, where our guesthouse was located. It was 23:30 already, but it seemed like 20:00 to me since most of the shops and restaurants were still opened.
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