For twenty Egyptian pounds you could rent a heavy woollen blanket and nap on the benches for half an hour before finishing the climb before sunrise. Four or five of the young ones were dozing away but it seemed almost criminal to miss anything at that point. Sleep could wait. We carried on.
The hardest part of the climb is the last forty five minutes, a hike of seven hundred and irregularly placed stone slabs. They had all been placed by a monk many years ago, a massive undertaking. The elevation is only another two hundred feet at this point but it is strenuous. What I remember of this last part of the ascent was our Bedouin guide Mohamed’s kindness with Judy. There he was in his dirt covered jalabiya and flimsy sandals gently taking her hand and slowly and carefully leading her to the top. I followed twenty feet behind, alternately watching my own steps and keeping an eye on the other two, mindful of the exertion but trusting and grateful for Mohamed and his admirable instinct. We made it this far. There was no turning back.
At the summit there is a tiny chapel. We were all gathered, facing east. It was on that very spot where God spoke to Moses who then received the Ten Commandments according to the Old Testament. It is a story that is honoured by Christians, Jews and Muslims. None of us own it. When the sun finally rose, no one spoke. I just absorbed it with all of my senses, several precious minutes that would come and go but which have remained embedded in my spirit and memory.
The descent tortured my knees. The mission had been accomplished and now there were four more hours of work to find our way down. Under a perfectly blue sky, a crooked line of adventurers made its way back to the monastery. Looking back up the sand coloured mountain, I could just spot the little chapel, a tiny dot on the horizon.
So we took the advice of that young Egyptian family. They knew we wanted to climb that mountain and that we needed to. Thank you to them wherever they are.
Will I return to Mt. Sinai? Mohamed was up and down that mountain four times a week and said he never tired of it. It is that sort of place. So my answer is yes, inshallah.
