But he brought his people out like a flock;
Psalm 78:52
he led them like sheep through the desert.
After finishing up our day in Thebes, we hopped back on the train to go back to Cairo. The next day (Thursday) we spent around Cairo at places like the pyramids at Giza (already mentioned). Friday we had a brief stop at the Cairo Museum before hitting the road east into the Sinai Peninsula. After crossing back under the Suez Canal, we had a brief stop at the traditional site of Elim, a place where Moses and the Israelites passed by (Exodus 15:27). This is an oasis in the desert, which would be welcoming to anyone journeying so far in such a dry place.
We journeyed south, following the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez. Reaching our destination, we departed the bus to hop in several waiting Land Rovers with Bedouin drivers, which would take us deep in the Sinai desert. We started on the paved road, and then moved into the open country, driving on anything from packed stone to open sand. Our drivers raced each other as we got into the open desert, passing each other, taking alternate routes. It was a wild ride!
After an hour we reached our stopping point. We began our half hour hike through the rocky landscape, switching back up a cliff face. The sun was getting low as we reached our destination: Serabit el-Khadem. This had been an ancient Egyptian turquoise mine. A temple to the goddess Hathor is also located there. She was the goddess of mining (among other things).
The sun set as we turned around to hike back to the Land Rovers. The nearly full moon rose to provide a little additional light. Piling back into the Land Rovers, we sped back across the desert in the same fanatical way, except now it was dark, and we couldn’t see as much. As the Land Rovers came to a stop, we knew we weren’t back at our bus. Stopping at a Bedouin tent, we piled inside for lunch (although it was supper time).
(Look closely to see them parked down and right of center)
After a great meal and some Bedouin tea, we piled back into the Land Rovers for the final stretch back to our bus, which took us to our hotel for the short night. After our 10:00 supper, we were ready for bed. The hike up Mount Sinai was the next morning and we needed to get up at 2:30 to leave on time to be up top by sunrise!