Mount
Sinai Egypt
can be reached by various routes – the most direct,
and
challenging one is via the 3,750 Steps of Repentance, named after
the
penitent monk who built them. The Camel Path – named after the
Bedouin
camels
in case of an opportunity to help weary travellers – is slightly
easier
on the knees and takes on average three hours to reach the
Elijah’s
Basin, a hollow in the mountainside marked by a 500-year-old
cypress
tree where God is said to have spoken to Elijah
as
he hid from Jezebel. This is
the
spot where you’re asked to sleep if you decide to spend the night here.
On
the actual summit is the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, a Greek Orthodox
church
built in 1934 on the ruins of a fourth century church. The chapel
once
held beautiful paintings and ornaments, but usually remains locked
now
because of desecration by tourists.
