Winter brings back the serenity for one to connect to nature by living a few days in a primitive environment. A trip to St. Catherine is one of the best ways for people to connect with their homeland, surrounded only by the ice, cold, and the spirit of the holy land surrounding them.
St. Catherine Mountain is located in the governorate of South Sinai. It is located on the outskirts of Al-Tur Mountains. The entire area is sacred to the three Semitic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
The area attracts people from all over the world because it revives the spiritual feelings at its 200 religious landmarks, mixed with the thrill and adventure of spending a whole night climbing the mountain to see the sunrise from above.
The area is highly visited during the winter since one can experience the lowest temperatures in Egypt and the humidity is very low.
The trip there usually lasts about four days. Visitors can visit the holy places of the area at first for a day and spend the night climbing St. Catherine Mountain to see the sun rise from the highest point in Egypt, at an elevation of 1,586 m.
“The scene of the sunrise was unbelievably beautiful,” a former visitor Menna Samir said. “Seeing the sun rise from the clouds, which you are standing above, with the edges of the lower mountains far away, it was a breathtaking scene”.
“The trip is not as easy as it seems to be,” Samir said. “Climbing the mountains takes a lot of effort, with the risk that someone might fall if they slip, which is a bit stressful.”
All pictures taken by Mohammed Omar
