Author Archives: david

About david

I am a world citizen wondering at everything it has to offer.

Saint-Catherine Monastery and Mount Sinai

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After a week of playing in the sea and doing not much else. Today, we decided to go visit the Saint-Catherine Monastery and hike up to the top of Mount Sinai. As usual in Dahab since I arrived, our party was very international with Carolyn (American), Suzie (English) and Rado (Slovakian).

For the cultural aspect, Saint-Catherine monastery has been built to protect the church built close to the burning bush where (based on the book of the exodus) god told Moses to remove his shoes because he was on a sacred soil. And the Mount Sinai is the place where Moses received the 10 commandments from god.

Since the monastery is closed on Fridays and Sundays. We decided to make it a day trip and go to the top of the mount for sunset.

We arranged for a mini-bus the day before costing each of us EGP110 for the round-trip.

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We left early in the morning and made it to the monastery first that is open for 2 hours only in the morning (on the days it actually opens to the public). The church is just amazing with an impressive collection of orthodox icons, mosaics, amazing light features and many other golden items. The most impressive for me was definitely the museum that presents some of the nicest items the monastery owns. That includes very fine gold objects as well as more icons and paintings but also an amazing collection of books like the Codex Syriacus (Vth century) or a version of Iliad and the Odysseus (XIth century).

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Behind the church, you can actually see the burning bush. It is not exactly what I was imagining!

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After a great lunch downtown Saint-Catherine, we started the hike at 2:30PM and reached the top around 5PM. The hike is quite easy if you follow the camel path and then climb the 700 step stair. All along the path, there are small shops that sell drinks (hot and cold) and food as well as crystal stones.

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At the top, you have a nice view of the surroundings and the sunset was just great with plenty of nice colors. And since most of the tourists come for the sunrise, there were no more than 30 persons at the top so it was quite peaceful. We waited a bit longer to see the stars but did not get to see much because of the half moon and the clouds.

We finally decided to go back. It took us around 1 hour to get back to the mini-bus. It is possible to sleep at the top of the mount either under the stars or in one of the Bedouin shops but I was not interested in that for that time.

To give you an idea, the usual tourist trip works like this: you leave the hotel at 11PM, drive to Saint-Catherine in a full mini-bus, arrive their at 1AM, climb to the top of Mount Sinai at night arriving around 3:30AM-4AM, watch the sunrise and go back. Then you usually visit the monastery (in a fatigue haze for some) before going back to your hotel. Not exactly what I am looking for in this trip but it works if you only have 2 weeks of vacation and want to fit the visit in.

All in all, that was a nice change of pace and a great place to visit. Highly recommended :).

[Edited on 5/19/2006 to add links to related pictures]

Dahab – 1 week after

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I made it to Dahab without any trouble. I took the 12:15AM bus from Cairo and arrived yesterday morning around 10AM. The bus ride was event less except for the numerous ID controls.

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I found a cool hotel by the sea with a nice room with a view for a very decent price and decided to make the Penguin Hotel my home for my stay. The staff is quite nice, they have a restaurant on the sea-front and a scuba diving center on premise.

I spent yesterday roaming around the village. Most of the damages have already been fixed and it is difficult to see where the bombs exploded. Military and police presence is very high with dogs and metal detectors everywhere. The Coralia hotels located a bit further south was more a bunker than a vacation village with security all around and ID check at the entrance.

The town is almost empty though. Some of the hotels are totally empty. In the evening, the restaurants have very few clients. Business is very difficult right now.

Around town, you can see placards written in English calling for peace, for support or some claiming Dahab will rebuild and be stronger. It is nice to see that.

It is quite difficult to get an idea of how busy it can be. When all the cushions in all the restaurants on the sea-front are used, it must be quite amazing and maybe frustrating.

In the meantime, the other tourists and I are enjoying a great spot as it must be rare to get it.

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The town has a great feel to it. They built a promenade on the sea front with restaurants between the path and the sea and the hotels on the other side. No building is higher than 2 floors and concrete has been kept to a minimum. The rest of the town is dusty and a bit dirty but almost nobody goes there anyway.

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At night, the restaurants setup candles all around and it becomes very nice, almost magical.

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In the evening, it was so quiet. Seated on cushions, drinking a nice freshly squeezed orange juice, in the dim light of the candles, a warm breeze in the face, looking at the limitless sea extending in front of my eyes, I felt so much at peace I thought I could stay here for a very long time.

In case you did not get it:

Come to Dahab, it is a great place to be!

[Edited on 5/19/2006 to add link to related pictures]

Going to Dahab

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Since very early in my trip preparation, it had been in my plan to go to Dahab at the end of my stay in Egypt and before entering Jordan.

Last week’s events have had me thinking a bit if it was still the right thing to do.

With respect to the bombing. I am not an expert in the question but here is my take. This is an attack against the Egyptians before even being against the tourists. Killing tourists is hitting the economy and the government more than killing Egyptians but I think it is important to notice that it is most likely not an act of hatred against foreigners. A lot of Egyptians cried when they heard about the bombing because they know it will have an effect on tourism and the overall economy.  

I decided to go forward with the plan and go to Dahab. Some people that are dear to my heart have expressed some issues with that idea and while I understand and appreciate their apprehension, I still want to go and I will try to explain here.

First, I have never felt as much safe than since I am in Egypt. Police and army troops are everywhere and very friendly. Tourism is the number one source of currency for the Egyptians and the government is doing everything it can to protect this. Crime is almost nonexistent in Egypt. While I would feel stressed while walking in Paris alone at 2AM, I have been going around and even withdrawing money at an ATM very late in the night without feeling bad at all. Most of the Egyptians will go out of their way to bring you something you forgot! The last time I felt as safe as here was in 2001 when I visited Japan. The only time you could fear for your life in Egypt is when you are taking a cab or a bus and it seems like the street is close to get into a destruction derby.

Second, Dahab is now safer than ever since police and army presence has been increased tremendously. It might be difficult to go around without going through many checkpoints actually. And because of the terrible events of last week, there will be less people there too so it should be very nice.

Third, I had friends and family members expressing issues when I told them I was going to visit Middle East including Syria and Lebanon. We are back to the same point. Terrorism can strike anywhere at any point. It stroke many times in Paris in the 80s and again in the 90s while I was living there. It stroke on 9/11/2000 in the USA while I was living in the suburbs of San Francisco. It stroke again later in Madrid and then in London. There is no way to be safe in any country except if you stay put in your little town in the middle of nowhere. I do not live my life fearing about possible terrorist attacks. It is like thinking you are going to die every time you cross the street, take your car or get into a plane!

Finally, while you cannot really fight terrorism the same way you fight a war, the best way in my opinion is to show that it does not have any effect. Terrorists win when people flee or are scared and when the economy is hit. New York should have just rebuild the twin towers complex the same way (with some structural changes maybe) it was before. Dahab should do that too. Fix the damages, give the people that die proper remembrance and make sure their families are taken care of, investigate and find who is behind these acts and then go on with business as usual (sorry if it sounds harsh). Without wanting to sound presumptuous, I think Gandhi would say something similar.

Anyway, I try to be careful when I am going somewhere and will be even more while I am in Dahab. I have been staying away from tourist buses and big resort hotels for example. If I ever feel unsafe, I will get out and take every measure necessary to insure my protection. Everything will be alright :). I will report from Dahab soon.

Buying a Papyrus

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Friday, I wanted to buy some pieces of papyrus paper before leaving Cairo. These are the only souvenirs I really wanted for myself so it was time to get onto it.

Of course, it is impossible to buy real ancient papyrus since first it is rare and second, it is forbidden to take away anything that is older than 100 years from Egypt.

Before buying, I read a bit about how to buy, what to look for and discussed with some people including some egyptologs I met during my trip as well as one of the clerk at my hotel that is going to the guide school.

When looking for papyrus here, you usually can find four quality grades.

  • The worst grade is not even made of papyrus. It is actually banana leaves that are processed to create the paper. The design is then printed directly on the paper. These can be purchased for some pounds. A large 30cmX10cm would cost EGP5.
  • The second grade is made of real papyrus leaves but the design is still stamped. It is a bit more expensive, maybe EGP10-15 for the same size.
  • The third grade is made of real papyrus leaves. The design contours is stamped but it is then colored by hand. A bit more expensive still. Maybe EGP20-40 for our 30X10 piece.
  • The best grade is made of real papyrus leaves and is fully painted by hand. It usually bears the signature of the artist that made it. I consider that as almost buying art. Prices are way higher and it is difficult to give numbers.

I was looking to buy some of the best grade and had made my choices on what I would like to get.

I went early to Dr Ragab Papyrus Institute. Dr Ragab was an engineer that reintroduced the papyrus plant in Egypt after he realized it had completely disappeared. He then rediscovered the way to make papyrus paper and got the patent for it. Dr Ragab is now dead but he left a company that manufactures papyrus paper and creates very fine reproduction of famous ancient papyrus or famous temple murals. All the papyrus there are fully hand painted so I knew it would give me a good idea of how it should look and practice looking at the details. I got the address from one of my guide books.

Since it is a very famous place thanks to Dr Ragab’s story, prices are set high and it is impossible to discuss the prices with the store clerks. I tried a bit and managed to get 10% discount but the guy would not go lower. It was still too much expensive to my liking so I left.

I met with Karim a bit later and he took me to a place in Giza where I could bargain for a better price. To give you an idea of how big the market is, there are tens, maybe hundreds, of papyrus shops in Giza. All prices in these shops are marked up to include a huge commission for guides that take you there. It is in the order of 50 to 60% based on what I have heard. I selected the 2 pieces I wanted and I started discussing the price. Since Karim told them he did not want a commission, we got the price sharply down and then discussed a bit longer until they reached a price I was happy with. The clerks just serve you the worst lies and tells I have ever heard of since last time I went to shop for a brand new car but I just ignored everything and laughed at it.

I might have paid too much. And if you discuss with some people after you bought something here, you will always end up with some of them telling you you overpaid but at the end, it is not that important. The only important thing is to set a price for yourself and stick to it. If you can strike a deal for your price or lower, then everybody is happy. You did not pay more than you wanted and the shop is making money. If they were not, they would not sell! They will tell you you are killing them but this is just part of the folklore.

Anyway, I am very happy with my acquisitions. I will now be hauling a long cylinder for the rest of my trip. I am sure it will be a great conversation opener! 

For those of you that wonder, I chose the scene of the last judgement of the heart by Anubis and the other one is based on the Dendara Zodiac I so much liked at the temple of Hathor in Dendara.

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[Edited on 5/18/2006 to fix the link and add a link to my own picture of the Dendara Zodiac]