Mount Siani (from email came in today)

Hey there,

Well, I finally made it out of Dahab. I was tired of being forced to frequent spots which served Bob in a Dylan flavour rather than Marley, of spending days lazing around in the sun, drinking tea and gazing out across the Red Sea at Saudi.

I headed across the desert up into the mountains in the centre of Sinai, to a place called St Katherine, so called because this is where the angels took her body when they rescued her from her eponymous wheel. They probably picked this spot as it is incredibly down with God, and the remarkable conjunction of the Mountain where Moses got the 10 commandments, where the Burning Bush that chatted to him grew, plus the spot where Elijah heard God talking to him, has meant that the tourists have been rolling in for 1700 years.

It's also an area of astonishing natural beauty. The granite mountains come in two kinds, spiky, tall and difficult, and softly undulating and red. The Bedouin who settled down here long, long ago were taught by the Byzantine monks how to build gardens, and as you ramble through the countryside you come aross their wells and walled gardens dotting the wadis and climbing their sides.

I had planned to come and climb Mt Sinai, and maybe do one other trek, but I ended up staying 4 days. It's just a wonderful, beautiful place, and there's a real community feeling amongst the locals and the visitors. Most importantly, they had Earl Grey. I met lots of lovely people & now have numerous invites for when I visit Cairo. One girl had been living in Dahab for 3 years. When I asked her what she had been doing, she said "Mostly Yoga, some Snorkelling." To be fair to her, she occasionally came up to Katherine and lived in caves to get away from it all.

There's some EU money coming in to develop sustainable tourism, and I saw some ex-pats having a "How Eco are you?" argument:

- You mean you use nails?

- But you've got iron hinges on your doors! Anyway, all my roofing is tied together with rope.

- What kind of rope?

- ... [hanging head in shame and defeat] Plastic.

On the first day I visited the monastery, which had been well endowed with lots of icons and early paintings, and also had a cutting from the burning bush which was looking a bit sorry for itself. I then boshed it up Mt Katherine, the highest mountain in Egypt, that afternoon. The view from the top was spectacular, out over the Gulf of Suez to the mainland, and back t'other way to Saudi. Mountains stretched off in all directions, before falling to the desert. The sunset was an incredible mix of colours, bouncing off the slight haze which was at cloud level below us.

On the last day I went up Sinai. Lots of tours go up in the morning for sunrise, but everyone seems too tired to enjoy it. I was recommended by the cave lady to go up in the day, as there's lots to see up there, and it means you don't have to share the top with 600 others. I'm so glad I did, as when I went up I was roaming around in the less explored valleys and came face to face with a Nubian Ibex. Bedouin lore has it that if you ever meet one like that then you must ask it a wish, as it will have been waiting for you - it can smell you a couple of miles off so you won't surprise it. We stood looking at each other, then he turned his head and scampered off. It was just incredible - he was only about 20 odd metres away.

If that wasn't enough, I had sunset to myself up the top, and the clouds made the most amazing swirls and patterns. The whole thing was a transcendental experience - with a great feeling of unity with nature. It's just such a special place, beautiful and peaceful. Cave lady made me promise to come back with someone I loved, and I urge you all to do the same.

Keep on being wonderful,

Simon