Mt. Sinai (Jebel Musa) and the Safsafa basins - Discover Sinai

Famous for the Monastery of St. Katherine and Mt. Sinai, the town ofSt. Katherine is on the major tourist path – but the region, apart fromthese two sights, is very little visited. From Cairo there is a daily busservice to St. Katherine; from the resorts on the Red Sea coast it canbe reached by taxi or microbus. There are several camps and hotels intown, as well as restaurants, cafeterias, shops, bank with ATM,pharmacies and a hospital. The Sinai High Mountain Region, as thearea is known, is very unique geographically as well as culturally. Thetown itself is at 1600 metres above sea level, surrounded by dramaticranges with many peaks well above 2000 meters, including Mt.Katherina, the highest in Egypt. Most of the mountains are granite –this, along with a relatively wetter and cooler climate, makes possiblean orchard gardening tradition which has its root in Byzantinemonasticism. The traditional people of the area are the JabaleyaBedouin – the Mountain Bedouin – who have been guarding theMonastery for more than 1500 years. Unlike Bedouin groups in thedesert they have been practicing agriculture and most families owngardens in the mountains. It is an ideal trekking region where trekslasting up to 2 weeks can be organized, staying mostly at theseBedouin gardens along the way. The area is also perfect for a relaxingstay and there are different cultural activities and a few eco-lodges.The highlights of the region:The Monastery of St. Katherine and Mt. Sinai;Mt. Katherina, the highest peak in Egypt;the Palace of Abbas Basha;the peaks of Bab el Donya, Jebel Naja and Jebel Banat on theperimeter of the high mountains;the secluded basins of the Mt. Sinai - Ras Safsafa range andFarsh Abu Mahashur;the granite water pools of Galt el Azraq, Kharazet el Shaq andSidda Nogra;monasteries and Byzantine ruins in Wadi Arbain, Wadi Talla,Wadi Shaq and Bustan el Birka;the surreal scene at the Blue Desert.Locally you can organise a trek at the Sheikh Mousa camp, Fox Campor with individual guides. Guides and camels have to be from the tribalrotating system managed by Sheikh Mousa – either if you organize thetrek with the sheikhs or someone else. If you only climb Mt. Sinai youhave to take a guide from the Monastery guide cooperative, unless youalready have a guide from the sheikhs. The guides at the Monasteryguide cooperative usually do the summit climb only – if you want adifferent programme you have to be clear about it and agree on a price.13