I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive, quite the opposite.
(panoramic view from Sinai)
In May, I travelled through the Middle East with 30 students (4 from Duke Divinity) and lay people from around the country. We journeyed through Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Greece over the course of 3 weeks. It was an exciting trip. Nonetheless, in an early morning hike up Mt. Sinai, I was almost abducted.
Out trip to Egypt was primarily to do the hike up Mount Sinai (or what is traditionally thought to be Sinai). The climb up Sinai is about 3800 steps (its referred too as the “steps of penitence)… I wasn’t looking forward to it, just because two days before we had walked through Petra and climbed over 10 miles of dry rugged terrain.
The bus drove us to the site and dropped us off at 1:30am. surprised to find many others there, it felt more like a pilgrimage than one of Max and Steve’s great ideas. ”All these nuns and old people” I thought, “just made this much easier.” Fear about the climb subsided and the challenge gave me great excitement.
In order to preserve energy and not climb in the heat of the day, we began our ascent at 1:30am. To get to the base of the mountain, we walked what felt like forever (probably 0.5 miles) under the moon. We couldn’t see a thing and many of us were tired from the lack of sleep. Yet the anticipation of climbing up the holy Mountain of Sinai gave us some excitement.
Our leaders Max and Steve had arranged for camels to carry us half way up the mountain.
We stood in a line, as directed to by our guide. One by one, we disappeared into the dark covering of the night as bedouins chose who would ride their camels. [What or who is a Bedouin?] Someone grabbed my arm, pulled me into the distance. You could tell we were near the camels as the quality of air changed and we felt the bristles of fur rubbing against our arms and legs.
He finally stopped.
I found myself standing right in front of a camel as my eyes slowly adjusted to the night and had time to focus.
It was huge!
eMy guide helped me to climb on the camel and once seated properly, we waited for the rest of the group to mount theirs. We begin the trek up the glorious Mt. Sinai.
Now, I couldn’t really see a thing, I could only hear voices of my colleagues in the distance but close.
My camel driver began to whip the camel causing the camel some alarm to run. I ended up in the front of the pack. After 2 minutes in the front, my bedouin guide, said we would wait from something. He slowed down our pace to halt as other members of the group zipped by us. Many got a lot of laughs out of my came driver because of his indecisiveness about the pace for which we were to go.
About 15 minutes past by and we remained at a halt. My camel driver stood there, angry about something and yelling into the distance. When I looked toward the mountain, I saw no one. I grew weary and frightened waiting for him to snap or for him to continue n the journey.
I began asking him, “the group?” “the group.” “the group!” adding inflections, using emotion, taking away emotion, i asked in every way I knew possible. I wasn’t sure if he spoke english or not, but I wanted him to know that my group was heading up the mountain without me.
I grew silent in waiting.
He finally continues the path, only, we were going to the left and not the right. The path that he chose led us to the desert and not the mountain. While frightened, I trusted that my new Bedouin friend knew a shortcut of some sort. So for 15 minutes, we walked into the rocky desert of Egypt. With each step, I experienced hesitation, “why did everyone else go up the mountain, and I’m still in the desert?” That’s what it hit me, something is not right.
I started asking about the group and he grew more frustrated with the asking. After about 20 minutes into the desert he stopped.
He started looking around and every possible negative thought came to mind. ”What am i doing here?” ”What if he is going to rob me?” ”What is he’s going to rape me?” ”Maybe he has some friends hiding in the caves, and their all going to come out and steal everything I have on me.”
He stood watching me. And I watched him back. Then suddenly, he dropped his pant, standing their naked. I wasn’t sure whether to look for my safety or look away for his privacy.
He stood there facing me, crouched over a rock, and proceeded to go #2. While this sounds funny, it was a scary moment for me- you’re in the middle of the desert, with a bedouin, who is taking off his pants- whaaaat? so unreal.
It felt like he sat on the rock for a good 5 minutes. Me, still on the camel trying to figure out what to do.
Still sitting on the rock, he yells, ”get off the camel!” I looked disturbed. ”What?” I ask. ”Get off the camel” he yells.
I start saying, “I don’t have any money. No money, just passport and jacket.”
I quickly maneuver my way off the camel trying to maintain some distance between he and I. For all I know, this could go a multiple of ways, and I’ll prepare for anything. I didn’t know whether to scream, run, or cry.
If I scream, my voice will be a distant echo to the other pilgrims climbing Sinai making my camel driver pretty angry. If I run, I’m running into the dark rocky desert- of course he’ll catch me and maybe even kil me. But if I stay, he may take advantage of me.
He sat naked on the rock staring at me.
Tears fell from my eyes and I stared back. I was ready to fight to the death. The logical thing to think at the moment was “Sinai is a pretty good place to die.”
After 5 minutes or so, he pulled up his pants, seating himself at a poop-less rock. He stared some more. About 15 minutes went by when he started yelling for me to get back on the camel.
I got back on. (WHY, you ask? It felt like getting back on the camel was safer than trying o wander through the desert. Chances are, he wasn’t going to keep walking in the desert. Our group was meeting at the half-way point to climb the rest of the mountain, if I wasn’t there it would cause alarm. And in the big picture, I really wanted to climb Sinai. I hoped and prayed that this would be the end of this ordeal. And that’s why I got back on the camel).
He headed back to the path. As soon as we hit the path, he started whipping his horse, who trotted like a horse up Mt. Sinai. It took about a long time to get up there, but with my camel’s horse trot, we made it within 15 minutes of the last camels arrival.
I was greeted by some my colleagues at the top, “you’re the last one, what took you so long.” I responded, “I think I almost died.”
“Aww Charlene, quit playing. Why are you always telling jokes?”
Finally our resident psychiatrist said, “I don’t think she’s lying, she looks like she’s been crying.”
I talked with Max about the whole ordeal and we proceeded to climb the rest of Sinai. We were able to catch the amazing sunrise on Mt Sinai. It was breathtaking and beautiful.
We don’t know what will happen to my bedouin guide, but I’m safe and all in one piece.
While it took me a while to get over the incident, I can laugh about it now. On Mt. Sinai, some are captured by God, and others by Bedouins too!
We did it.
