by Mark Escobar

Created on: May 16, 2008

On our way to Egypt through the looking glass of time

Unencumbered by the sweltering heat, we slipped across the border of Palestine and visited Mt. Sinai. That sense of expectation and possibility of what we thought of made us realize to keep focused on our faith and keep our Christian hope alive that despite poverty and the angst of centuries ago, we were still animated by our faith that could be recalled in times past by all those who visited or lived in these places. This however was laden with biblical meaning as we were reminded of the exodus, wanderings of the children of Israel, with the Tables of the Law that God dictated to Moses. The latter is one of the two summits known as the Gebel Musa and the Rases-Safsafeh which are located in this zone, and is now identified with the Mount of Wooden Tables.

As early as 2:00 A.M. we began to climb the rocky Sinai mountain. Along the way we met some desert people known as Bedouins who inhabit there with their camels as their only source of income and means of transportation. We took the camels and paid $10.00 to take us to the summit. It was my first time though to ride in a camel. I got scared when the camel took the edge of the trail road whilst coming down from the top. It was such a scary experience that even made both my thighs so sore.

According to history, the name "Sinai" probably be related to Sin, the goddess of the moon, who was adored by the ancient inhabitants of the desert, or perhaps to the Semitic word "sen" which means tooth. It remained isolated. The mountains here range from 750 to 2500 metres; the most important peaks are the Gebel Musa (Moses' mountain) that reaches 2285 metres and Mount St Catherine (Gebel Kathrina) of 2642, the highest on the peninsula.

Following from this, tradition says that on Sinai celebrated episodes took place: that were connected with Moses, from that of the burning bush to that of the manna falling from heaven. But the main thing here was that of the Tables of the Law which God gave to the children of Israel. It is also worth remembering that through that biblical event passed the armies of numerous powers from those of the Egyptian Tutmosis III and Ramsete II to those the Persian Cambises; from those of Greeks Alexander the Great to those of the Romans of Antioch. Then again, followed the Arabs and the Crusades, Napoleon and Lawrence, up until the last, most recent ones of Israel and Egypt.

During the time of sporadic persecutions, thousands of Egyptian slaves

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