It’s not every day you get to experience something utterly transcendental—a moment that imprints itself so deeply in your consciousness that it becomes a part of you. That’s exactly what happened when my wife and I embarked on an adventure to St. Catherine at the top of Mt. Sinai.
The Ascent: Camels and Courage
We kicked off our ascent with a ride on camels, these magnificent beasts of the desert that have facilitated human travel for centuries. To say the experience was humbling would be an understatement. Each step the camel took resonated through our bodies, syncing with the pulse of the earth itself. The rhythmic sway lulled us into a kind of hypnotic state as we journeyed through the rocky terrains, allowing us to marvel at the raw beauty surrounding us.
Yet, the camels could only take us halfway up the mountain. It was time to rely on our own two feet for the remainder of the climb. We disembarked, thanked our four-legged companions, and proceeded upwards.
The Spiritual Stretch: The Final Climb
There’s something profoundly spiritual about climbing a mountain, a sort of stripping down of worldly concerns as you go higher. Each step seemed to echo with history and the collective human spirit. St. Catherine’s Monastery at the base had already set the spiritual scene; the climb only intensified it. With every elevation, our conversations softened, eventually giving way to personal contemplations.
The Summit: A Symphony of Colors
We timed our climb perfectly to reach the summit just as the sun was setting. And oh, what a spectacle it was! The sky transformed into a canvas of colours—bold orange melting into soft magenta, finally surrendering to the tranquil blues of the encroaching evening. There was an air of divinity as if the hues were heaven’s own palette.
Time seemed to freeze, and the two of us stood there, hand in hand, entirely enveloped in the scene before us. Words could hardly capture what we felt; it was an emotion that existed in the realm beyond language.
The Afterglow: Permanent Imprints
We made our descent under the celestial dome, the stars as our guide and the vibrant afterimage of the sunset permanently etched in our minds. More than just a physical journey, this had been an expedition of the soul. And as we made our way back, the colours of that Mt. Sinai sunset seemed to have painted themselves not just in the sky but also in the canvas of our consciousness—a perpetual memento of an experience that was nothing short of miraculous.
And so, our adventure to St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai became more than just a travel tale to recount. It became a spiritual narrative, a testament to the beauty and profound quietude that nature can offer, and a reminder that sometimes the most extraordinary moments in life are the ones that leave you utterly speechless.