My World: A Mountain in a Desert..

[fahim mohammed]

A mountain in the desert...

A friend of mine, here at OPF ( I do have a few!! ), enquired of me as to what happened to my post ' Har Sinai '.

Nothing really. I had not developed a story appropriate for the ' international ' audience at OPF. The story that would put the iPhone images in context.

And I had to be careful not to include too much of the indigenous culture of this area. After all, this is a far flung part of our ( OPF's ) audience's world. Not to inadvertently hurt sensibilities and sensitivities...I had to make sure, I stuck to a generally accepted version of the importance of this Mountain.

A 3.5 hours 4x4 wheel drive at the beginning of the night across an arid desert from Sharm El Skeikh ( in Egypt ).

Then a 3 hour walk/trek through the rocky desert and valleys.

Afterwards, a climb of 740 steps up.

Maximum breaks along the route, not greater than 10 minutes. Because the top of the mountain had to be reached before sunrise. Why?

A nice walk, said Ayesha. Exhilarating. Some gave up, some were too exhausted to carry on, a few sat it out at the base of the mountain. The physically fit started the ascent of the 740 steps.

Why all this hard work?
To see a bush, a room and reach the top of a mountain.

Climbing a mountain ( notwithstanding some controversy about its significance ) and to see something so ordinary?

Which mountain? The one shown below one; taken from far away. The path leading to it ( and the mountain itself ) is more rugged than the image shows..

And to see the sunrise from the mountain top. Why?

Because it is there!! Why else?

The story shall be continued...might take a few posts though.

 

[nicolas claris]

Bonjour Fahim
an intriguing image, but after all this is an intriguing part of OUR world…
I don't really understand why you insist of different world from OPF.
We may differ in our origins, culture and opinions, but WE have created OPF as an OPEN space so that every one can find a comfortable place to seat in.
I'd be so glad to hear (well, read and see) more about this place and YOUR vision.
Mine may differ (not so sure) but I would be more clever and cultured after…
Ban borders!
Amicalement brother !

 

[fahim mohammed]

Bonjour Fahim
an intriguing image, but after all this is an intriguing part of OUR world…
I don't really understand why you insist of different world from OPF.
We may differ in our origins, culture and opinions, but WE have created OPF as an OPEN space so that every one can find a comfortable place to seat in.
I'd be so glad to hear (well, read and see) more about this place and YOUR vision.
Mine may differ (not so sure) but I would be more clever and cultured after…
Ban borders!
Amicalement brother !

But why see a sunshine from the top of this mountain?

It looks nice!

As to your question my friend. I shall answer it when I see you in person.

Take care and best regards.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Back to my story of the walk in the desert..

My narration draws heavily on religious faith. The Faith of the followers of the Abrahamic religions. Not of historians, geologists, and such like. As such, the narration might not appeal to many. But that is the only way that I relate to this narration.

Poor he was, but of the highest standing. Raised in the house of the richest of nobility. A man with man's follies. Weak at times, afraid of the strong. The shepard stuttered. Not a very convincing speaker. A stuttering speaker that was to lead a people from the bondages of slavery into freedom. A man, who had to ask for his brother's help to convey a Message..a Message for all times. For all men. For all times.

' Let my people go '. Against the most powerful force on his part of the earth at that time, that considered it their entitlement to enslave people. A people whose life was considered as of much less value than the sheep, cows, goats that fed the powerful clan.

' There is no God, but One God ', believe in Him and ' let my people go '.

The same grounds where once walked a man who wanted to see the face of his Creator. To meet Him. Not because he did not believe in Him. But just to satisfy his human curiosity. Did He really Exist?

A mortal was chosen to give the Message to man. As has always been the case. A mortal is chosen. From the highest and noblest tribes of his people. That is as has always been. Poor maybe, but belonging to the highest of noble tribes. Always.

To convey the Message, nothing other than from the noblest of the tribes. And of the highest moral standing among men.

The Message..' I am the Only God. There is no God other than Me, the Lord of the Earth and the Heavens and all that there lies in between. '

The image above is where once walked a Prophet of God. The one chosen to deliver this Message. The same Message that was entrusted to Abraham ( PBUH ) to be delivered to man.

On the top of the mountain, there are these modern constructions...

What you see in the image above is as follows..

The wall on the extreme right is where there is a mosque.
In the center is the church.
On your left is the start of a synagogue.

The three Abrahamic Faiths. The Prophet that is revered by all the three Faiths, once stood here, and where ( according to most traditions ) the Creator gave Moses ( PBUH ) the Ten Commandments.

That is the reason, why this is a sacred and hallowed place; at least for the followers of the three Abrahamic Faiths.

Not far from here flows the river Nile. The Sinai Peninsula. Mount Sinai. Har Sinai. Jabal Musa.

The land of the Pharaohs. The Pharaohs who thought themselves to be invincible. They called themselves gods on earth and of the heavens, and prepared as if they would live and rule forever.

And a land where once lived a man. Chosen as a Prophet. And a happening that took place in this land of Egypt long time ago, as a sign for all mankind.

 

[fahim mohammed]

What about the bush?. As some narrate the story, Moses ( PBUH ) one day saw a burning bush. The fire was confined to the bush and the bush did not burn down.

Moses ( PBUH ) approached the bush, and according to some traditions, God spoke to Moses ( PBUH ) from behind the burning bush. It is supposedly here that Moses ( PBUH ) was commanded ( once again to some traditions ) to lead his people away from the enslavement of the Pharaohs.

At the foot of Mount Sinai ( some traditions consider Mt. Sinai and Mt. Horeb to be one and the same, but not all ) lies a monastery.

The Monastery of St. Catherine. Visited by very many of the Christian Faith, even to this day.

Within the confines of the monastery is maintained what is purported to be the Burning Bush that Moses ( PBUH ) approached, and where he was spoken to by God.

About 300 steps, up the mountain from the monastery is a small abode. Wherein lives a priest. He comes down 3 times a day from his abode to the monastery to offer prays near the Bush. 300 steps down, 300 steps up...3 times a day.

Faith and Belief. As I said before, this place is appreciated more if one relates to the Faith and Beliefs of the people.

I want to mention that a few scholars are of the opinion that Moses did not receive the Ten Commandments at the top of Mt. Sinai. But most Biblical traditions hold Mt. Sinai to be that place.

Within the monastery walls lies a well. The well from which a long time ago, according to tradition, a Prophet of God used to drink water. Moses ( PBUH ) was a shepherd. As were many of God's Prophets ( PBUT ).

The well is now covered by a glass pane. Visitors can peer down and have a look at the bottom.

Ayesha peered down, and can confirm that, yes..there is water in the well.

 

[Asher Kelman]

You are one lucky fellow, Fahim.

Having a great woman as a travel and life companion is our fortune, children our treasures!

This journey back in time to Abraham has lessons for us. I appreciate your pictures, but can't imagine how you managed to schlepp all that way on foot!

Asher

 

[fahim mohammed]

You are one lucky fellow, Fahim.

Having a great woman as a travel and life companion is our fortune, children our treasures!

This journey back in time to Abraham has lessons for us. I appreciate your pictures, but can't imagine how you managed to schlepp all that way on foot!

Asher

We are indeed lucky Asher...very lucky in more ways than one.

Sorry to disappoint you my friend, but I did not travel with Ayesha this time around. She was with some lady friends of hers; who chickened out from the visit to the mountain.

I was ( and am ) feeling a bit old to undertake such adventures right now!!. But modern technology allowed me to stay with her via her iPhone and my Macs; most of the way up the mountain.

Thanks for stopping by.

Take care.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Time to go up the mountain..

Imagine that it is dark all around you, as you walk through the valleys and over the rocky ground. You look up at the sky.

It is ablaze with stars. The milky way winding it way across the heaven.

Now imagine being transported in time over 3000 years ago. Walk over the same path. Look up and imagine what it would have been like.

A man going towards the mountain in search of the Truth. A shepherd. The Prophet. He, too, must have looked up and seen the heavens in all their glory. Did he see some heavenly objects that have since shifted their position? We know Vega was the Pole star during that time...

We are now about 300 steps up the mountain. And we pass the abode of the priest that climbs down and then up 300 steps every day to pray at the Bush in the Monastery down below.

But he is not the only one that prays there. A vast number of people make the journey ( pilgrimage ? ) to the Monastery to pray near the Bush and the water well.

It is all a matter of Faith and Belief. You don't believe..then it is just a rock mountain in the middle of a desert. You believe, then it achieves a significance that is hard to describe.

At last we arrive at the top of the mountain. And see...

A room. The Room marking the place where Moses ( PBUH ) sat in contemplation. The room is locked.
The Greek monks have the key to the door. They are the only ones that enter inside to pray.

But there is a keyhole!! And an iPhone is a pretty handy gadget to have around..We approach the door.

Ayesha puts the iPhone cam over the keyhole; she takes a picture. Then another. There are others waiting behind her to catch a glimpse of what lies inside. The iPhone photos have already reached me, downloaded and into the imaging software...

The inside of the Room where Moses ( PBUH ), according to certain tradition, sat in prayers and contemplation.

As I said, this is a sacred place. A hallowed ground. For the people of the Faith.

Time to slowly descend the 720 steps down the mountain. Then the 3.5-4 hours trek across the desert, and then a
4x4 ride for another 3 to 4 hours to reach the hotel. A night's journey.

It gets cold on the mountain. They say it also snows.

But have we forgotten something? The sunrise? The sunrise from atop Mt. Sinai. No we have not.
They say it is good luck to hold the sun in your hands at sunrise from the top of Jabal Musa.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Time to go. The sun is up. It would get much hotter as the morning turns to afternoon.

A lonely climber makes her way across the rocks of the mountain. When asked about how it felt to have walked those valleys and desert and climbed the mountain; she would reply, a bit of an exercise!

She would add ' worth every step of it '. Reliving history. And so much more!!

' One can never ever forget the desert..' she adds. ' Out there I wondered, why did all of this take place here..in my part of the world..'

One has to wonder, indeed. Why here? In the desert? Barren, arid and wonderful..

' I shall never forget it ' says Ayesha. ' It is difficult to forget, once you have seen it..out of this world '.

And what about the sunrise?

' Oh, that!! '...

Thank you for being with us.