![\"Rebekah](\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7009\/6791471819_4c11f4dc1c_m.jpg\")
<\/a> After our experiences in Egypt, we took the bus eight hours into the desert, following the path of the Israelites out of Egypt. Once over the Suez Canal (or under, as we traveled through a tunnel underneath) we were in Asia! Egypt technically controls the Sinai after Israel withdrew in 1979, but they are not allowed to build up their military there. As a result, Egypt has a hard time controlling Bedouin aggression in the region. Apparently one of these areas of unrest is the fastest route to Mount Sinai, so our tour bus company thus took us the long way around. We went almost to Jordan, then back to the center of the peninsula to visit St. Catharine\u2019s Monastery and Mt. Sinai.<\/p>\nSt. Catharine\u2019s was a very neat experience. Two famous (albeit alleged) parts of the story of Moses reside at St. Catharine\u2019s: the well, which Moses first drew from, and where he met his wife, and the burning bush from which God spoke to Moses. Like most biblical sites, nothing is 100% sure. In the case of the bush, there are a few things to consider. When Moses sees God in the bush, he was out shepherding his flock, which means at some point he would have come to the well to drink and \u201cwater the flock,\u201d and thus, would have been near the well. According to our guide Samer, many attempts have been made to plant parts of the bush in other parts of the Sinai, but to no avail. I don\u2019t know, but it seems that in some way the bush is special to that area.<\/p>\n
The other notable thing about St. Catharine\u2019s was their collection of ancient manuscripts and icons. They are the last remaining icons, the only ones which escaped the Roman icon burning spree. The old icons were beautiful and powerful, but what interested me were the old books. Perhaps the most amazing was one of the first copies of the Gospel of Jesus. So awesome to see actual evidence from that time period, further bolstering the belief that Jesus did actually exist. There were countless other books which exceeded my expectations: Old copies of Homer\u2019s Iliad<\/em> and Odyssey<\/em>, for instance, and the book of Exodus, written in Latin. As Samer would say “simply amazing”.<\/p>\n We then had a packed lunch picnic style at a spot where the rock face looks like a calf\u2026 maybe the golden calf? All of the other guys and I had our lunch at the base of the calf. We then went back to St. Catharine\u2019s to begin our long trek to the summit of Mt. Sinai. The climb to the top was intense. It took the frontrunners of the group about an hour and forty minutes to get to the top. Our legs were aching, and we were very tired, but gazing out upon the Sinai wilderness, the physical pain was worth it. It was stunning. And it really put the Israelites\u2019 journey during Exodus into perspective. Looking at the mountains and landscape that they traveled through, you understand how the Israelites, who were not experienced nomads but slaves, needed God to survive. It was an amazing experience.<\/p>\n -David Everett<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Over our Heads, Your Flag is Waving in the Air”<\/p>\n January 21, 2012<\/p>\n Luxor, Egypt<\/p>\n