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Sinai
Sinai
Like the third day
The Sinai Peninsula, where, according to the Old Testament, Moses received the Ten Commandments, still resembles a primeval landscape as it did in the times of creation: rugged mountains, deserted deserts, countless canyons and wadis – and diving grounds that are among the most beautiful in the world.
Michael Schroder
12/15/1997
The sky over the desert is gray. It’s raining. For the first time this winter and more intense than ever in the last five years. I feel like a bumbling beginner. Stupidity number one: no rain pants packed. Mistake number two: Michael and I turned off the main road into Wadi Zahgra an hour ago to shorten the route across the Sinai to Dahab on the east coast. One of those canyon-like river valleys that run through the peninsula hundreds of times and that are waterless when it is dry and that can become deadly traps when the water gathers during the rare rainfall and – as at this moment – rushes through the gorges as torrents: the cause of the macabre statistics, that in the deserts of this world more people drown than die of thirst. It is now too late to turn back. Uphill we would have no chance to get back on the road because of the extreme incline and the softened ground. The wheels of our enduros sink deeper and deeper into the mud, and the brown, foaming water sloshes over the engine blocks more and more often. We slide more than we drive, can only occasionally avoid the increasing current in the narrow gorge to the left or right, are now wet to the skin. I haven’t had a look at the spectacular landscape that surrounds us since we started in the morning – and with the best weather – had left the unattractive coastal road at Abu Rudeis. We plunged into a wonderful world of high-rise rock formations, which in Wadi Sidri moved closer and closer together, until in places we could only see the bright blue of the sky through a narrow gap. Wind and weather have furrowed and shaped the soft rock, created bizarre mountains that consist only of corners and edges, cut countless patterns and reliefs, as if hosts of sculptors had worked on them for years. A fantastic desert world, a labyrinth of gorges that, depending on the time of day and the position of the sun, shines in every conceivable shade between red and brown, through which hidden paths and paths lead that have served as connections between Africa and Asia since time immemorial. For merchants, warriors, nomads – and for the prophet Moses, who more than 3000 years ago led the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt to the south of Sinai. The stories of the Old Testament are causing Babylonian voices today. Thousands of tourists from all over the world make pilgrimages to the flanks and to the bare top of Gebel Musa, the Mount of Moses, where the prophet carved the ten commandments on tablets of stone. I was also attracted by the ascent to the almost 2,300-meter-high summit and attracted by the fabulous view over the unique mountain landscape, especially at sunrise. But after our tour through Wadi Sidri, dark clouds suddenly appeared. The biblical mountain was no longer recognizable in the overcast sky, and the shortcut through the nearby Wadi Zahgra to Dahab seemed to us the fastest way to escape the threatening storm – until the rain began. Shortly before midnight. Hectic figures run through the place. Cars are immovable up to their wheels in huge water holes. A wide mudslide made parts of the main road impassable and knocked over electricity pylons. In the flickering light of countless candles, tourists and local Bedouins crouch on wet cushions in the dwellings near the shore, which consist only of simple wooden scaffolding and colorful fabric tarpaulins, and listen to battery-operated radios that receive initial information about the extent of the storm. It will be days before the few roads and slopes that run through the Sinai are open again; I couldn’t have picked a better place to wait for the good weather. A fairytale underwater world begins right at the edge of the desert, along with the diving grounds of the Red Sea, which are among the most attractive in the world. Countless coral reefs stretch right up to the coast, and the contrast couldn’t be more stark: above brown, dead land, only sand and rocks – underwater a frenzy of colors. Full life, rich in species and diverse like nowhere else in these latitudes. Warm ocean currents make it possible: even in winter, the water temperature in the Red Sea does not drop below 22 degrees. Spontaneously I sign up for a one-week diving course, while my random travel companion Michael wants to continue to Israel as quickly as possible. Day after day, like a slowly sinking parachute pilot, I disappear deeper and deeper into this brightly colored wonder world. It takes time for my movements to adapt to the new element and for my head and eyes to be free for what is around me. Completely weightlessly I glide along overgrown coral gardens, watch parrot fish with shrill patterns of purple and turquoise, discover meter-long moray eels and poisonous dragon fish, follow a huge shoal of shiny silvery barracudas, which after a while slowly in circular formation into depths beyond what I as a beginner can reach descends from 25 meters. A quiet world. Just the own rhythmic breathing noise and the barely audible, constant crackling and cracking of the corals, nothing else. It’s hard for me to get back into the saddle of the XT; the road winds up and down like a black ribbon through desert land towards Nuweiba. Dune fields are scattered between ragged mountain ranges and wildly formed rock encyclops. Wide gorges and wadies cut through vertical walls and finally get lost in the inaccessible hinterland. Mile after mile, nothing but sand and stone under a scorching sky. A fascinating and hostile country, almost exclusively inhabited by Bedouins, who have been nomads through Sinai for countless generations. Their tents can only be seen from the street now and then. Simple constructions with roofs made of black goat hair and walls made of burlap. Men sit in the shade of their vehicles while women, veiled except for their eyes, scurry around barely noticeable to serve tea or tend to the handful of sheep and goats. At Nuweiba, a desolate nest of one-story gray houses, the road falls again down to the coast, then sharply divides desert and sea, the dark blue of which relaxes my eyes, which are strained by the light sand. Saudi Arabia appears close enough to touch on the opposite bank. Naked gray rocks growing vertically out of the Gulf of Aqaba. A sight that accompanies me to Tabah. Shortly before the heavily guarded border crossing to Israel I turn back inland, follow the uphill road through rugged mountains until after many kilometers it flows into a wide and barren plain. Hot, still air hangs over this desolate stretch of land where fierce fighting took place during the Six Day War between Israel and Egypt in 1967. At the next intersection, I head south. At some point, steep rocks mark the winding path that should lead me back to Nuweiba. The gorge becomes narrower and narrower, after all the gold-shining stone walls are so close that two cars can pass at the same time. Only in the oasis of Ain Furtega does a path branch off into the only side wadi in this otherwise hopeless gorge. The piste, which was initially firm, quickly disappears in the widening valley, finally disappearing under deep sand, as fine as icing sugar, until after twelve kilometers I reach a high plateau. The view is overwhelming. A colorful realm of rocks surrounds a deep valley basin. Patterned facades made of granite and lime, rugged and inaccessible and only interrupted by numerous gorges and wadies, I walk down into the glowing hot pool. The path leads past a lonely acacia tree, winding its way deeper into the red stone in tight serpentines. Then I discover the well-trodden path to the Colored Canyon, a high and narrow crevice in whose vertical walls wind and water have carved colorful erosion patterns over millennia. The canyon closes me in ever closer. Smoothly polished walls made of multi-colored layers of stone, which were pressed together and shaped by the mighty forces of nature and which finally narrow to shoulder width. Like oversized bowling balls, three tons of stones that have fallen from high above block the narrow, winding path. On all fours I crawl or climb over these smooth, unstable obstacles in this breathtakingly beautiful and quiet natural setting, where the temperatures are like in a Finnish sauna. After several hours, I set out on the steep way back, equally enthusiastic and exhausted. I urgently need the wind in my face again. South of Nuweiba I reach the only connecting road between the east and west coast in this half of Sinai, which in parts curves wonderfully through the slowly rising mountains, the most famous peak of which is the Moses Mountain, which I am now absolutely want to climb. Until then, desert in all variations, multicolored, deserted – and bizarre: Just a few kilometers from the biblical mountain, the Belgian Jean Verame painted small and large rocks, sometimes even entire hills, with a total of ten tons of blue paint. With his Blue Hills, the artist wanted to campaign for peace. The effectiveness of such an action remains to be seen – but the splashes of color fit wonderfully into this brown landscape – three o’clock in the morning. An icy wind is blowing, the temperature is just above freezing point. Shortly before the fortress-like Katharienen monastery, I park my motorcycle – and have to realize that, despite the cold, I am not the only one who wants to be on the summit in time for sunrise today: Almost 1000 tourists are already on the way, despite the steep path not to be missed in the dark. An endless chain of lights chattering loudly slowly wanders uphill, visible from afar. Past the high walls of the monastery, which was built in the 6th century, and finally over narrow, well-worn serpentines. The crowd on the summit plateau, which I reach after two tough hours, is even denser and more hectic. Suddenly there is calm. The first rays of the sun change the color of the eastern sky into a pink shining sea, making the bare peaks of the surrounding mountains of granite and basalt glow deadly. A frenzy of colors that intensifies as the sun rises – a unique spectacle that for most people only lasts for a short time due to the harsh cold. After an hour I am almost alone on the 2285 meter high summit. For a long time I look spellbound over this furrowed primeval landscape of rock and stone, which spreads in front of me in a hallucinogenic light. It is difficult to think that in two days I will land in wintry Germany again.
Info
Despite the terrorist attacks in Cairo, the rest of Egypt is a safe country to travel to. This is especially true for the Sinai Peninsula: deserts and mountains in all variations – and unique diving spots on the Red Sea.
Arrival: For self-drivers, Egypt can currently only be reached via the neighboring countries Libya and Israel, as direct ferry traffic has been discontinued. Ferries currently only operate from Piraeus in Greece to Haifa in Israel. The motorcycle and driver can expect around 400 marks each way. Entry into Israel is relatively easy, while the very bureaucratic transition to Egypt can take a few hours. Since there are also no ferries to Libya, the only remaining route from the west is via Tunisia. Airfreight motorcycle transfers to Cairo are not advisable because of the excessive bureaucracy in Egypt. Documents: Anyone entering Egypt via Israel requires a Carnet de Passage for their vehicle for both countries, which can be obtained from ADAC for a deposit of 6000 marks. In addition, a visa has to be purchased at the Egyptian border, insurance for the motorcycle has to be taken out and new country plates have to be installed. There is also a road toll to be paid. Passport controls take place at regular intervals at so-called checkpoints of the Egyptian military. Travel time: Egypt and especially the Sinai Peninsula are classic winter travel destinations. The best period is from October to April. During the usual holiday times around Christmas and Easter, the tourist (diving) centers along the east coast of Sinai can be very crowded. While it can get very hot during the day, temperatures around freezing point are possible in the mountains at night.Accommodation: In the tourist-oriented places in Sinai (Sharm El Sheik, Nuweiba, Dahab) there is no shortage of accommodation in all categories and price ranges. The Bedouin village from Dahab is decidedly relaxed. You sleep right on the beach in simple camps. A night in airy bamboo or stone huts starts at ten marks. Accommodation near the Katharienen monastery costs from 50 marks. Wild camping is not a problem in the remote side valleys. Rental motorcycles: Two-wheeled vehicles can only be rented by the hour in Sharm El Sheik and Dahab – in poor condition and for exorbitant prices. Currently the only provider of organized tours through Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula is Africa Fun / Sahara Cross. A two-week enduro tour to the highlights of Sinai described in history costs 3999 marks. The price includes flight, rental motorcycle (Yamaha XT500), gasoline, half board, luggage transport in the support vehicle and all transfers. An additional week for diving in Dahab, including course and hotel, costs 950 marks. A one-week diving vacation for 1200 Marks including flight, accommodation, half board and the fees for the diving license can also be booked through the organizer. An adventurous off-road tour through the Libyan desert in eastern Egypt costs 6200 Marks for two weeks with the same operator including a flight, a Yamaha TT 600, gasoline, full board and two support vehicles. The company also organizes guided tours in southern Africa. Information from Africa Fun / Sahara Cross, Tokajerweg 25, 89075 Ulm, phone and fax 0731/553658, e-mail: africafun_sc@hotmail.com. Literature: The range of travel guides about Egypt is extensive. A good choice for self-drivers is “Egypt Individual” by Wil and Sigrid Tondok from Reise Know How for 36.80 marks. The detailed information about the country and its people, complete route descriptions and a complete hotel guide leave little to be desired. Very good photos and reports as well as a good information section can be found in the GEO Special about Egypt, 14.80 Marks. The corresponding Merian issue for 14.80 marks is just as informative. For trips on paved roads, the detailed overview map of Egypt on a scale of 1: 1,000,000 from Freitag and Bernd is enough for 18 marks. More precise is the TPC card H5A on a scale of 1: 500,000, in specialist shops for 19.80 marks. Time required two weeks, distance traveled 1200 kilometers
Dive
The Red Sea is one of the most attractive diving sites because of the fantastic underwater world that is extremely rich in species in the warm currents. An excellent price-performance ratio and the short journey for Europeans are further arguments for a diving holiday on the Sinai Peninsula. In addition, the desert inland offers numerous possibilities for excursions. You can usually dive to the nearby reefs directly from the beach. Countless diving centers, especially in Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab, offer beginners and professionals everything their hearts desire. Organized off-road tours take divers to the most remote beach reefs that stretch along almost the entire coastline. Absolute underwater highlights are the Ras Muhammed National Park on the southern tip of the Sinai near Sharm El Sheikh and the Blue Hole north of Dahab. However, many of the best diving spots are particularly overcrowded in winter, which has already led to irreparable damage to individual reefs. Beginners can complete a one-week diving training course from around 550 marks. From 1200 Marks there is a complete flight, accommodation and diving license, see address under rental motorcycles. In addition to the theoretical lessons, there are usually two dives per day. The equipment is provided, but a medical specialist must issue an appropriate health certificate before the trip. The diving license is valid worldwide. Numerous addresses of diving schools and providers of diving trips as well as diving reports and service stories can be found in the monthly journal UNTERWASSER. The October 1997 edition contains a 90-page section of information about the Red Sea including a booking guide that names 120 diving centers. The booklet can be reordered for eight marks, phone 0911/2162748.
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