The chapel is very Greek orthodox: plenty of gold leaf, and ornamentation. Dragonesque candelabras, icons and crucifixes aplenty. The chapel also houses a prized relic of their patron, St Catherine (she of the wheel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Alexandria) Which is said to be a couple of her fingers. Looks rather like a dried-up chicken drumstick. The highlight, however, was the museum of icons, manuscripts and other treasures. Over the centuries, the monks have received gifts from pious rulers all over the world. The icon paintings are especially striking, with the saints' expressions of deep anguish, or holy serenity, being very affecting. The glittering treasures are nothing compared to the priceless manuscripts, including early copies of Plato and Homer, the Syriac New Testament, and, most important of all, the Codex Sinaiticus, present in facsimile. A real privilege to walk around.
Then by minibus to Nuweiba on the Red Sea, where we stayed in grass huts on the beach. Simply wonderful :^) Had the chance to chill, and went snorkelling. Other than swallowing a couple of pints of seawater, it was wonderful to swim out onto the reef and see pufferfish, sea cucumbers, black urchins, butterfly fish, brain coral, and much more. A really tranquil spot, with fruit cocktails aplenty. In evening we had a Bedouin style meal of Maghrouba: a big pile of rice with chicken, aubergines, etc. A good day.
On Tue 16th we had a lazy morning. Haggled with some old Bedouin women for trinkets. I'm starting to realize that the Arabic in the Berlitz phrasebook only loosely relates to what is actually spoken(!) In the afternoon we travelled to the port for the expected delays in boarding the ferry. One really starts to appreciate the way things work back home. We had to board a coach to be driven 30m to the ferry. That took about half an hour. Disembarking was even more like a Marx Bros movie. The officials seemed entirely clueless, and the crowds just pushed in wherever they could. Our guide, Dan, was a star. On the other side, we witnessed the Jordanians attitude towards the Egyptian workers. They were all forced to sit on the ground while a register was called, and they were manhanled, where necessary, onto a bus. Jordan has a huge percentage of Egyptian workers, and methinks they feel a little threatened. Arriving in Aqaba, one starts to appreciate its strategic and economic importance. You can see Israel across the River, and Egypt and the West Bank are just a stone's throw away. We enjoyed a plenteous feast of mezze dips, kofta and kebabs, then retired.
On Wed 17th, we travelled to WadiRum for a dessert safari by jeep. The landscape is breathtaking. This is Lawrence of Arabia country, and we climbed up the slope to his spring, which still provides water today. Kharazeh canyon has ancient Thamudic pictograms. And we had great fun climbing the red sand dunes. If the sky were pink, you could be on Mars. In the evening we camped at Al-Maghrar, a Bedouin camp led by a lovable nutcase called Muhammed. An elderly English couple and and English and Aussie girl were also staying. They are nurses working in Saudi. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun for the ladies. Our meal was cooked in an undergroun oven which was dug up with great ceremony, accompanied by steaming cups of sweet sage tea from the campfire. Mohammed entertained us with Arabic dancing and stick-balancing. What he lacked in skill, he made up for with enthusiasm. Right, my hour is up! ttfn
1 comment:
Sounds magical Phil, hope you are keeping well. Looking forward to seeing the photos.
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