5/15/98: Rose early and drove to the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula…
NOTE: Photo above is an oasis full of palm trees in the dessert of the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.
5/15/23: Besides traveling in general, I love road trips. Driving is fun. While in Egypt we had a lovely drive from Cairo through the historical landscape of the Sinai Peninsula. This would be the final stop on the part of our trip that dealt with Bible history. Our destination was the remote southern part of that region, so that we could dip our toes in the Red Sea and climb Jebel Musa, or “Mountain of Moses,” which is the Arabic name for Mount Sinai.
You may recall the story of the Exodus, when the Lord delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt through a series of miracles. There were plagues that humbled Pharoah’s heart, then the opening of the sea so Israel could cross, and finally there was the arrival at Mount Sinai, where God spoke to Moses, providing instructions for a life of flourishing. Besides the exciting or miraculous parts of the story we like to recall with hope, there were moments of darkness as well. The people of Israel grumbled about the discomfort of nomadic life, the food God provided, and in their stubbornness, they even pined to return to slavery in Egypt. They also gave in to fear, refusing to enter their home in the Promised Land, rather than trusting God to provide and protect. They wound up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, until a new generation grew up and trusted God to lead them. For all these reasons, we were looking forward with great excitement to visiting the Red Sea and Jebel Musa.
Ironically, I managed to get a little side-tracked around the crossing of the Suez Canal. Like Israel, I don’t always (ever!?) like admit it when I’m “lost,” and so we did a bit of wandering in the wilderness ourselves. But at least I didn’t cause anyone else trouble, like blocking shipping traffic on the canal!
Thankfully, we made it to the town of Sharm El-Sheikh only an hour later than expected, and we found a pleasant and inexpensive room at a pensione called “Pigeon House.” There we met a nice couple who were also on a year-long round-the-world trip. John and Wendy were from Australia and had already been traveling for 7 months by that point. So we had a lovely chat over dinner.
