June 30, 2009

• Road to Jordan: Journey Down the Mountain

  So Where was I? Ah yes, avoiding certain death trying to return to the bottom of Mt Sinai. And what do we do when we wish to avoid certain death? We phone a friend…namely, god.
  
  This is the church on the very top of Mt Sinai, adjacent to the cave wherein Moses was supposedly given the ten commandments. It is only open twice a year for christmas and I forget.
  
  This is what it looks like inside…neat trick, eh?
  
  This little door leads to the cave where Moses stayed on Mt Sinai
  
  Notice how this adjoining mountain is lacking a proper mountainly point? As the story goes, Moses asked God to reveal himself, and God said, I dont think you’re ready for this jelly, and instead struck the top from the mountain to demonstrate his all-mightiness
  
  By the way, for those of you wondering, cell phone reception was FANTASTIC out here. That was also my flashlight and radio for the trip…yay android
  
  I realize that you will not get the appropriate perspective of how steep parts of this climb were…however consider this…those jumbled stones? They are steps. And those tiny little colored blobs at the very top? They are people. And that is merely the last section before reaching the top of the mountain
  
  Of course, that is the price you pay for views like this.
  
  Again, please not the sheer drop to the side of the tour group, and the woman with her donkey going the opposite way. When I climbed the mountain in pitch black coldness, I was not aware exactly how close I was to the edge. This is probably for the better, and the reason I suspect they advertise hiking Mt Sinai as a night activity
  
  This is what the hotels/waystations on the mountain look like. Stone walls with carpets hung everywhere, and a goodly supply of candy bars and coffee. Actually its more comfortable than it looks. Which is why our group spent the night on the cold hard ground on the summit. Comfort is for sissies
  
  The Mt Sinai Taxi Service, for those unable or unwilling to make the climb under their own power
  
  Look! an honest to goodness camel caravan!
  
  Mt Sinai as seen from the bottom. Sinai is apparently a derivation of the Hebrew word for teeth, and the mountain was named because it looked like a range of broken teeth. Not a bad accomplishment to tack onto the 100 list, is it?
  
  And at the foot of the mountain (but not in between its toes) lies the monastery of St Katherine. It is a greek orthodox monastery, supposedly the oldest christian monastery in the world, and named for Catherine of Alexandria, daughter of the governer of Alexandria. Catherine (aka the pure one), who converted to christianity supposedly had the ability of a used car salesman, to convince anyone who spoke with her to convert, whether they sought her out or came to kill her. She was sentenced to be broken upon the wheel, but when that didnt kill her, she was beheaded. Angels then came and flew her body to the top of Mt Sinai. Around the year 800, monks from the Mt Sinai monastery found her remains and renamed the monastery
   
  Mt Sinai’s monastery holds a number of distinctions, among them most expensive gift shop in all of Egypt. The things the tourists care about however is that it is a holy site to all three major faiths, with written documents of protection from Muhammad (yes, THAT one) and Napolean Bonaparte, the well of Moses, and the legendary burning bush. The library holds the largest collection of codices and manuscripts in the world, second only to the Vatican itself.
  
  This is the room of bones in the monastery, wherein lie all the skulls of the monks who have lived and worked there ages past. It is a reminder to those still there in humility, for when their time comes, they too shall be added to the catacombs with nothing to distinguish them from their forebears. Except the 10 founding monks who get special shelves on the other side.
  
  The famous burning bush, wherein Moses was commanded by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan. So why isnt it on fire? Well, the Hebrew word seneh used in the bible and translated into english as bush more closesly approximates the word brambles. A bush in the desert that is green year round and has no root system is already pretty miraculous, but why is it not on fire?

  Well according to the church, the bush itself was never on fire, but when Moses was commanded by God on his mission, Moses was permitted to see the uncreated energies or glories of god, which appeared to consume the bush without actually causing it damage in the same way that Mary became pregnant without her hymen being consumed. That or Moses was tripping on ayahuasca, a hallucinogen native to the area. Believe whatever tickles your fancy
  
  The Burning Bush’s brambles are believed to still be able to grant prayers, such that if you are touching one and make a wish, it will come true, provided the wish is not for the harm of another in which case it will double back on you. Being the superstitious fellow that I am, I made a few wishes and just for good measure stopped into the church itself and made a few donations with my prayers as well. Never hurts to cover all your bases, right?

  Well, while Moses wandered the desert for 40 years, I dont have that much time, so next time we will be leaving Egypt and continuing on to Jordan to visit the Dead Sea. Will Josh go swimming? Tune in next time to find out!

  • 3:56 pm
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