Forget Santiago de Compostela: Moses was no Spaniard, and when he walked, he walked up Jebel Musa in the Sinai Peninsula. Photos by Cairo-based photographer David Degner
Mount Sinai—also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Jabal Musa—is the name of a mountain in Saint Katherine city, in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt The summit of the mountain has a mosque which is still prayed in by Muslims today, and a Greek Orthodox chapel which is not open to the public. The chapel supposedly encloses the rock from which God made the Tablets of the Law. It’s a sometimes restive region, where kidnappings have become something of a routine event, but tourism is still a major part of its allure. Cairo-based photographer traveled there to experience life as a tourist in the Sinai.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/MtSinai_001.jpg?class=2600)
At the bottom of the trail and all along the path to the top of Mt. Sinai there are camels for rent. One of the jobs of the camel touts: describe the height of the mountain and the number of steps left at each of the small coffee shops.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/MtSinai_002.jpg?class=2600)
The path up the mountain has no lights except for the flashlights that tourists bring. On nights with a full moon it’s easy to make out the path, but when the moon is hidden the mountain can be pitch black.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/MtSinai_0031.jpg?class=2600)
A camel from a riding school where instructors teach techniques used to control and ride a camel for long distance treks. The school is in a valley near Mt. Sinai and managed by Godon Wikinson and Yalla Jabaleya.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/MtSinai_005.jpg?class=2600)
A third, less common route up the mountain takes a path by orchards and gardens as it slopes through wadis and canyons.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/MtSinai_006.jpg?class=2600)
Picking fruit from an orchard in Mt. Sinai.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/WidePhoto7_Sinai.jpg?class=2600)
Stained hands from the fruit.
![](https://cdn.roadsandkingdoms.com/uploads/2012/03/widePhoto8.jpg?class=2600)
The not-so-forbidden fruit.