Mount Sinai!

I find that it is pretty easy for me to get so caught up in everyday life that I often forget to stop and take time to appreciate God's beautiful creation that is all around me. In Cairo it seems to be even worse; seeing as how there is very little greenery and no rolling hills or even woods full of trees and flowers. Not to mention the nice brownish layer of pollution that seemingly fills the sky. Needless to say, when Travis suggested a trip to Mount Sinai and the Red Sea, we jumped at the opportunity to escape the noise and pollution for a few days.
Because the 1st of October marks the end of Ramadan (the Muslim's month of fasting), everyone got a week-long holiday (called an Eid in Arabic- pronounced 'eye-eed'). We left Thursday morning and drove 6 hours to get to Mount Sinai. Then, we geared up and started the long hike up the Mountain. For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to take the steep way up- thinking it would take less time (so we could make it to the top by sunset). We forgot to factor in the fact that we would need to stop about every 5 minutes because our muscels were cramping up... so three and a half hours and 4,000 steps later, we finally reached the top! I was filled with such a sense of awe and wonder at the incredible views from the top- and we actually made it in time to see the sunset! It was stunning! After reveling in the fact that we actually made it to the top, and taking some pictures, we began our descent- in the pitch black dark. The fact that we only had one good flashlight made it a difficult journey down the mountain... but what made it bearable was the view of the stars. Words cannot do justice to describe the billions of stars that were filling the night sky. I have not seen anything like it in my entire life. All I could do was stare in awe of our amazing God who created it all. It was such an amazing experience! Here are some pictures from our trip: