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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Palestine International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Happy trails
By Ragi HalimA small booklet put out by the National Parks of Egypt Protectorates Development Programmes caught my attention. The programmes, which aim to raise awareness of the natural resources and historical significance of Egypt's national parks, put out a series of guidebooks for walking tours in Sinai and offer a number of mapped trails that can be trekked with a Bedouin guide.
Leafing through the booklet on the Saint Catherine Protectorate, my interest was piqued by the requirements printed inside. I was warned that I should be reasonably fit in order to hike the trails comfortably and that I should bring my own potable water. I was advised about sturdy shoes, sunscreen, matches ... in short, this is no stroll in the park.
Well, being healthy and in possession of a good pair of walking shoes, I lost no time in heading for southern Sinai armed with good intentions and a lot of enthusiasm. My guide was an equally enthusiastic young Bedouin named Mohamed. Together we chose, for my initiation, one of the more distant routes to the junction of Wadi I'tlah and Wadi Al-Bugiyya -- or, for those in the know, Walking Tour No. 10.
We set off early in the morning, along with a group of other hikers, from Gabal Searu, along a wide wadi (ravine or valley) extending as far as Abu Sayla (the furthest point on the marked trail). Not more than 40 metres into the trail, we found a large boulder with inscriptions left by Nabataeans -- tribes of the Arabian peninsula. It was obviously a trade route in ancient times, and the inscriptions were made by passing Nabataean caravans travelling to and from Sinai, Palestine and Petra, in Jordan. The inscriptions, Mohamed informed me, were details of the size of a caravan, its number of travellers and the merchandise they carried. He explained that the inscriptions served as a record of the caravan, such that if something should happen to it -- an attack by pirates, for example -- other caravans would be able to retrieve the cargo and save the merchants.
Tales of pirates are always enough to make any adventure exciting, particularly when the places we were trekking through are lands traditionally associated with biblical accounts. But Mohamed fired my interest even more when he said that Bedouins believe the inscriptions describe a secret route to hidden treasures. "Bedouin mythology is full of stories about adventurers who lost their lives in search of these treasures," he told me.
On the trail: trekkers take to the hills along the jagged landscape of Saint Catherine Protectorate
The mountains of southern Sinai, its gorges and naked valleys, are both enigmatic and dazzling. I can well imagine treasure being hidden there. Rocks and crevices are criss-crossed with an array of colours from the natural ore and igneous rock, and there are springs and wells. "When the rains come, floods can fill the wadi to a depth of two metres and flow through Wadi Feiran (the longest and widest of them) as far as the sea," Mohamed remarked. Of course, he meant the Gulf of Suez.
At this stage of our trek, the walking was not difficult, but it is impossible to get bored with all there is too see around you. I had the added benefit of my knowledgeable guide, who held my interest with tales of local lore and his experiences. His company and expertise were worth far more than his wages, considering the essential services he provided. Saint Catherine Protectorate is by no means new to me, and I like to think I know a little something about it -- but Mohamed taught me a thing or two, warning us against hargal, a plant he said was poisonous to both humans and camels. Also called dithdath, this plant is known to the botanical world as solenostemma argel, but for the layman, it just means stand back. Solenostemma can be found in a number of places in Sinai, but it seems that there is a profound difference between local hargal and that which grows elsewhere, because Mohamed made sure to note that the hargal used by the Bedouin in the Saint Catherine area was a particular species brought from Dahab, on the Gulf of Aqaba. Bedouin use the plant to protect their tents, made of camel hair, against moths.
For those with a botanical bent, apart from hargal, sakaran (hyoscyamus muticus), qaysoom (achillea fragrantissima), and ratam (lycos raetam) grow in relative abundance here. For the rest of us, this translates into an explanation for why you need your Bedouin guide, lest you find yourself musing over this or that interesting plant and the next thing you know, the camel you thought was going to carry your camping equipment is gasping for air.
As we passed a huge boulder I noticed a large empty space beneath and thought it would make a good spot for shelter during storms, or cold weather. Winters in southern Sinai are not what one expects from the desert: it is cold, strong storms are quite common and it snows. As it turned out, I was hardly the first to notice the spot. Mohamed said that the boulder was known as Hajar Al-Jarashna and it was a well-known landmark.
Saint Catherine is a national park, meaning the natural environment is protected to preserve the delicate balance of flora and fauna of the area, as well as the historic sites. Visitors should take care to observe the environmental protection rules and as a group, we were fully aware of this responsibility. We carried our litter with us, made sure not to contaminate natural water sources, and left plants and animals to be seen, not touched.
We marched on and for the next hour, the walk became more adventurous. We moved along a mountain pass at a high altitude and finally reached the junction separating Wadi I'tlah and Wadi Al-Bugiyya (the horn), where dry waterfalls, steep smooth faces and tunnels in the rock are splashed with dashes of green moss and vegetation. When the wind blows through the narrow pass between the mountains it sounds like a horn.
We were instantly struck with the way a natural landscape can be both curious and yet seem intentionally carved. My friend and I decided to make our way to the summit of Gabal Al-Ras (the head) along a short cut pointed out by Mohamed. It took us about 12 minutes, and we rejoined Mohamed and the group on another summit, Gabal Al-Sarw (Cypress).
From here the sight was breathtaking, and we were all buoyed by the accomplishment of our trek. We were about 300 metres above sea level and the air was fresh. I could see successive mountain ranges receding into the horizon, with the summit of Gabal Abu Gruus (bells) standing out among them. In the hidden wadis I could visualise other trails beckoning me, other mountains to scale. I was hooked.
As we returned to the base, tired legs and the relentless sun were not enough to dampen my excitement, and I knew that I would return soon. Saint Catherine Protectorate covers almost 4,500 square metres and I have hardly brushed the surface.
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