Excursion d'une journée au monastère Sainte-Catherine et à Dahab depuis le port de Charm el-Cheikh

Driving in Egypt is not for the faint of heart. There appear to be no driving rules so the trip there and back was an adventure. The guide knew his history but lacked common courtesties. That might be cultural not sure. However, we did get to see the burning bush, the well where Moses met his wife. We saw Moses mountain from a distance. Also had a tour of a beautiful new catholic church and the village of Sharm-el-Sheik

We went on a day trip to St. Catherine’s from Sharm El Sheikh Airport in March. It is a 5 hour round trip by private vehicle. Our flight arrived several hours late, which normally would have meant that we would have had to cancel our day trip. But Dahab Safari Day Tours kindly made the last-minute rearrangements to allow us to still go. While our flight didn’t arrive until early afternoon, a driver was still there to pick us up and take us to St. Catherine’s, arriving around 5pm. Bedouins were there with camels, which we rode along the trail until it got dark. We then drove to the nearby village of St. Catherine’s, where we ate in a wonderful restaurant which had a wood fire burning inside a traditional tent. By 9pm or so we started our long trip back to Sharm El Sheikh, and the driver was able to make enquiries there to drop us off at the correct harbour where our dive boat was moored. It was around midnight when we returned, later than the original plan all due to our late flight arrival earlier that day, yet he was easy-going about it. So were the bedouin camel drivers, who had waited all day for us to show up. In fact, everyone that looked after us were all very friendly, despite having to work a much longer day. Kudos to each of them for making the trip that much more special. I thought that the mountain was spectacular as darkness was falling, and it was warm and atmospheric as the lights turned on in the lodgings that adjoin to St. Catherine’s monastery. I would have loved to stay overnight and spend at least a full day there exploring Mount Sinai. Unfortunately, our dive boat was departing early the next day, so we had to go back to Sharm El Sheikh. Mt. Sinai is really enchanting, and it definitely looks like this is the real mountain where Moses encountered God! The Sinai Dessert is really beautiful and interesting to see along the way. The driver stopped on the way so that we could take some photos. And we can’t forget the camels, who were led out from their paddock much later in the day than normal. They must have been wondering what was going on. But they were really well-trained, and being my first time around a camel I was surprised to find out that they are really endearing. The whole trip was a highlight of our 2 weeks in Egypt, despite having only a short time to enjoy it. Thanks to Dahab Safari Day Tours for accommodating us!