Excursions

Destination number one is the Monastery of St Catherine. In the southern part of the Sinai peninsula there are large granite mountains.

In the midst of this area the Monastery of St Catherine is located. Already in the fourth century many Christians of the first years combined walking on biblical paths with their search for self finding by the solitude of the desert and settled down as hermits at this place. In the sixth century the monastery complex was established on instigation of emperor Justinan with 15 meter high walls at the place, where God should have spoken to Moses through the burning thornbush.

Once here 400 monks had been living. Today only 25 are left, 20 of them from Greece. The monastery is located between the both highest mountains of Sinai, St.Catherine's Mountain, 2.642 ms, and Mount Sinai, 2.285 ms. The Mount Sinai is said to be the place, were Moses received 10 holy laws from god's hands. Therefore, this mountain is called mostly Dshebel Musa or just Mountain of Moses.

Anyway it seems to be great to watch sunrise from the Moses' pike.

Great Pyramid of Cheops

The Great Pyramid of Cheops, the largest of the three at Giza, is estimated to comprise as many as 2.5 million limestone blocks with an average weight estimated at 2.5 tonnes (2.5 tons).

The entire structure was encased in a fine white polished limestone brought from the hills at Tura, on the opposite side of the Nile. This highly prized material was removed in the 16th century and used to decorate mosques in Cairo.

When completed, the Great Pyramid stood 146.6 metres (481 feet) tall, and its base was 230.3 metres (756 feet) square. The capstones (pyramidions) of all the pyramids were made of solid polished granite