THE FACTS
Location: The Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
Start point: Sharm el-Sheik
Best time to visit: April - October
Activities: Trekking
Tribe: Bedu: Muezsina / Jebalaya
Duration: 10 days
Guideline Price: From £1,800 (US$ 3,240)
ITINERARY IN BRIEF
Day 1: Arrive at Sharm el-Sheik. Transfer to Dahab, dinner on the beach and overnight in a seafront pension. Dahab ('gold' in Arabic) is situated on the gulf of Aqabar, 100 km north of Sharm el-Sheik.
One of the main attractions of Dahab is the unique on-the-ground restaurants, a mixture of Hippie and Bedouin styles developed over several decades. Large cushions and low tables are placed next to the sea. Most of these restaurants have fish stalls in front, so choosing your fish and having it cooked just the way you like it is the order of the day!
Day 2: Transfer to the Temple of Hathor on the West coast in 4x4s. Attracted by the rich turquoise veins in Sarrabeit el-Khadem, the ruins are the only Pharaonic site in the peninsular and the birthplace of the proto-sinaitic language, the basis of Modern Hebrew.
It is here we meet our guides and camels and have our first night under the stars.
Day 3: We move out after sunrise into the open desert and start our trek SE towards the great ring dyke and the high mountains. Walking approximately four hours each morning, we will rest during the heat of the day and continue for another two hours in the afternoon, making camp before sunset.
Days 4-6: Continuing South East we head across the sand desert towards Wadi Fairan and the high mountains.
Wadi (valley) Fairan is the Sinai's largest wadi and one of its most archeologically important stretches of terrain. It was here, according to local Bedu, that Moses struck a rock with his staff, creating a spring so his people could drink.
Day 7: Arrive at the foot of the escarpment and the ruins of the 5th century BC Nebatean civilisation which had a closely guarded trading network across the Sinai and North Africa. Formed during the power vacuum left by the Babylonian Exile, it was eventually assimilated into the Roman Empire.
Overnight under the Sinai stars.
Day 8: In the morning we will trek up into the great Ring Dyke to the base of Mt Sinai. Climb up Naqb (pass) Freia and onto the Farsh (plateau), where we will get our first sight of Mt Sinai and Mt St Catherine’s. Now in the Jebalaya territory, the descendants of Macedonian people brought in, in the 5th century by the emperor Justinian to build and protect the monastery. Here we spend the night camping in a Bedu garden that dates back to the Byzantium era.
Day 9: We will visit the oldest surviving Monastery in the world of St Catherine’s, situated at the foot of Mt Sinai; it has the second largest library of religious texts outside the Vatican. The prophet Mohamed is reported to have rested there and Napoleon re-built the defensive walls after his defeat at the battle of the Nile.
After lunch we will transfer back to Dahab and your pension for a well earned shower and a cold drink!
The afternoon can be spent shopping, snorkelling or just relaxing at any of the beachfront bars. Dinner will be at our favourite restaurant on the beach.
Day 10: Depart from Sharm el-Sheik for international flights.
Dahab is world-renowned for its scuba diving and snorkeling, especially at the nearby Blue Hole. If people are interested in doing an introduction dive or obtaining their PADI open water, we can arrange this. Please be aware that you must have a 24 hour gap between your last dive and flying!
"Sinai is this great mixing pot of all three of the West's great religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We get to know Sinai as a holy land: a vast expanse crossed time and again by prophets, saints, pilgrims, warriors...and now us!"
HIGHLIGHTS
- Walking through the Old Testament
- Living as, and with, the Bedu people
- Silent starry nights
- Camels and campfires
GETTING AROUND
By 4X4, camel and on foot
EATING AND SLEEPING
Food during a trek is all prepared in the traditional Bedu way; mostly vegetarian it’s both tasty and healthy.
Our favourites are: Baba Ganush (baked Aubergine) and Ful (beans, garlic and Tahini) served with tomatoes that have been grown in the local gardens. Depending on the season, wild dates, mulberries, carobs and figs can be picked along the route. After dinner fall asleep under the clear starry skies on a comfortable mattress and sleeping mat.
Further details on what's included, kit, medical advice, flights and insurance can be read on the NITTY GRITTY page, or give us a ring!