But first we wanted to climb Mount Sinai where, according to the Bible, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. We opted for a midnight hike that would avoid the brutal desert heat and put us at the top in time to see the sunrise over the rugged mountains of the Sinai desert. We made it to the top at about 4:30 am, about an hour before sunrise. Biggest surprise: The top of Mount Sinai is incredibly cold and windy at night. Good thing for the local Bedouins; they make a killing renting blankets to the freezing tourists. We huddled under our blanket for an hour and were finally rewarded with a sunrise that painted the desolate mountains around us in ever-changing shades of yellow, orange, and purple.
After sunrise we hiked down to Saint Catherine’s monastery, the oldest working Christian monastery in the world, at the site where it is believed that God spoke to Moses at a burning bush. After touching what is supposed to be the same bush (still alive within the center of the monastery) we headed back to Dahab to recover the sleep we missed overnight.
For the next few days, we went snorkeling or scuba diving at several sites in the Red Sea around Dahab. The big highlight was Jeffrey’s first time scuba diving, especially since he got to go with his expert diver brother, David. Even though David is a dive instructor, Egyptian laws required us to use a local instructor. We were fortunate to find Danny Williams (from Western Australia) at a local dive shop. He was a great instructor and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Danny was impressed at how quickly Jeffrey picked up scuba diving… “he’s like a fish in the water!” Jeffrey made two dives of almost an hour each.
Steve was able to complete 5 required dives to complete his Advanced Open Water Diver certification, so he can dive to 30 meters now instead of just 18.
On the final day of diving, we went to the infamous “Blue Hole”, an ocean “pothole” that is about 130 meters (430 feet) deep. There are two ways to enter and exit the vertical hole – a shallow opening at a depth of about 6 meters, and a deep opening at about 52 meters. The Blue Hole and surrounding water has an abundance of coral and reef fish, but it is most notorious for the number of diving deaths that have occurred there, earning it the nickname "Diver's Cemetery".
For divers who stick to standard recreational diving rules (no more than 40 meters depth), the Blue Hole is no more dangerous than any other Red Sea dive site. However, the deep opening to the sea has proved irresistible for many. Accidents are often caused when divers attempt to find the tunnel through the reef (known as "The Arch") connecting the Blue Hole and open water at about 52m depth. This is beyond the PADI recreational diving limit (40 meters) and nitrogen narcosis begins to have an influence. Divers who miss the tunnel sometimes continue descending hoping to find the tunnel farther down and become increasingly disoriented. Egyptian authorities claim that 40 divers have died at this site since records began; however, many local dive guides believe that at least twice as many have died here.
Rest assured, we stayed above 35 meters to enjoy our dive and continue life above water.
- Steve
- Steve
