Sinai Exploration Part I

Sorry for the long disappearance. Assalamualaikum. Today I would like to talk on my trip to Sinai which held on February 19th organized by Perubatan Cawangan Iskandariah (PCI). Since it was organized by PCI (official programme) therefore it's a must to have a tagline; Sinai Exploration 2012, Menelusuri Sirah Menempa Sejarah.

Before get through the elaboration, we must know where Sinai is located in the map. 

We went there by 3 bus and a tramco. Umi, Aisyah, Shafira and I travelled on tramco because we all have the visa. It was for safety precautions just in case we got through a road block, the army might check our passport. First we all gathered at MARA Hostel at 2300, Feb 18th then started the journey at 0200, Feb 19th.

1 a.m.

building in front mara hostel

in the tramco

At Suez, we crossed the Syahid Ahmad Hamdi Tunnel. Imagine it as SMART Tunnel Kuala Lumpur.

On the way to Taba, we stopped at Moses Well and Barlif Noktah Hasinah (Citadel). From the well, we can see the Red Sea and it is said that Moses with his followers ran from Pharaoh at that time. Actually, in the beginning, they have 12 wells represent 12 different followers of Moses, only 3 left as the rest are destroyed by Israeli army during their invasion.

About the citadel, it is actually the Israeli Military Camp during their invasion of Egypt. The war was during Ramadhan (holy month for Muslim), when 'someone' (I'm not sure whether it is the leader of the Egyptian army or the ‘ulama’) dream, that to destroy the citadel, they need to use water. Amazingly, it works. The fort is made up of stones only without cement or anything, so, the water seep into it and destroy the machine inside it causing explosion from the inside.

inside 

Then, we had our lunch at Nakheel Town. Overall, it is a spooky town, in the middle of nowhere, with few people rooming around just like the haunted places that you could see on tv. We missed to see Cop Kerajaan Mamalik since we ran out of time.

The journey to Taba, where the Salahuddin Ayyubi Fort and the place with borders of 4 countries (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel). Along the way, we can see El-Teeh Mountain Range. Truly a beautiful view. Even though it is only rocks and no tree at all, it is worth it!

 the fort with the flag

At Taba, we can see the boundaries between Israel and Egypt. It is just beside Hilton Hotel.

Next, we continued our journey to Dahab. The word Dahab is Arabic for gold and is possibly a reference to the geographic locality; gold washed down from the desert mountains may have accumulated on the alluvial flood plain where the town was built. The name may also be a reference to the colour of the sands to the south of the town itself. Some locals attribute the name to the colour of the sky, just after sunset. This info I'd copy&paste from Wiki. I'm too lazy to type.

After we checked in 7 Heaven Motel (our room has 2 queen beds), Umi asked me to go out for dinner. Shafira and Aisyah tagged along us as we were in the same room.

Talk about Dahab, the seafood here is AWESOME!!! We ate at Blue Hole restaurant. Overall, I love the prawns.

the restaurant

At night, Aisyah asked me to tell her a story. Then I told her ghost stories which later on I realized she slept beside me rather than sleeping beside Shafira. By the morning, I woke up first to perform Subuh prayer and Umi told me that her body was cramped due to direct contact with the walls plus, the comforter being monopolized by Aisyah and me. Yes, three persons slept on the same bed. Luckily I was in the middle but then I felt suffocate a little. Felt sorry for Umi!

We ate nasi lemak for breakfast and by bus, we went to the coast.

From the beach, we can see Tabuk Hill as from the coast, if we cross the gulf of Aqaba we can reach Saudi Arabia. There were many interesting water sport activities here, glass boat, canoe, tubes, banana boat, snorkeling, scuba diving and tanning (joking). Since I only had 100 L.E. , I tried canoe with Shafira. I was so excited since this was my first time to experience this.

banana boat

canoe

 in glass boat

view of the corals

Thanks to myself to bring only 100 pound, the intense to shop was less. I just bought a magnet which costs 10 Egyptian pound.

We checked out the motel. Later on, we departed to St. Catherine. It is where we can see the monastery of El-Nabi Haroun and El-Nabi Saleh. Besides, the Golden Calf which located just in front of El-Nabi Haroun monastery where the Moses followers worship it when the Moses went to the mountain for 40 days.

the calf

In the tentative, there was - visiting Wadi Muqaddas. I'm not sure whether we visited it or not as I slept in the tramco. I felt tired at that time. We then checked in Camp Moon Land to rest awhile before depart to see Wadi El-Arba'ien. This was the place where 40 prophets gathered. There were tall pine trees there which being said to be existed hundreds of years ago.

Wadi El-Arba'ien which run on the south side of Mount Sinai where there is a big rock (Mata air 12) of 12 fissures that represent 12 springs which sustain the followers of Moses (Bani Israel) when they were lost in the El-Teeh Mountain Range because they disobey the Allah’s will. Unlucky for me, not having the picture of the rock because we went there during the night. We can see an iron hook at the top of the rock, and Ustaz Amar said that the Israeli, during their invasion on Egypt, they wanted to take the rock with them but couldn’t do so. Allah knows best.

*Dua pendapat tentang mata air 12 kaum Nabi Musa sama ada terbit dari bawah (Uyun Musa) atau terbit dari atas (Mata air 12). Pendapat paling rajih adalah Uyun Musa since peristiwa Nabi Musa dikejar oleh Firaun selepas terbelahnya Laut Merah, Uyun Musa berada tak jauh daripada Laut Merah - hanya ratusan meter sahaja.

Going back to Camp Moon Land (I'm the first one to reach the camp), getting enough rest and slept for 3 hours before the master event.. climbing Mount Sinai!

To be continued in  Sinai Exploration Part II.