Sunrise on top of Mt. Sinai

We are now in Dahab, on the red sea coast. When we arrived in our hotel, we were surprised to see many familiar faces, the Canadian sisters, Swedish, and an Aussie couple on the felucca! it’s great, feels like finding old friends back. :) Lonely planet suggests coming here to recover from “chronic pharaonic fatigue”, we happily oblige. :) (we soooo swear by our L.P.) it is indeed very relaxing here, the coast is lined with colorful Bedouin style cafe and restaurants (picture on the left). there’s significantly less street hassles. people are more laid back and friendly and the souvenir t-shirts printed with “Dive now, work later” just says it all!

As restless as us, we decided to balance out the relaxation with some physical activity. that is, to climb Mt. Sinai for the sunrise (where Moses received the Ten Commandments). We started at about 2am, the hike is not so difficult but the darkness adds a bit challenge to it, especially when we have to share the route with camels (and their poops)! One of them even pushed Pascal. what an aggressive creature! the sun rise is so beautiful, the scenery from top is breathtaking. It’s the first time i ever see a cloudless sunrise. definitely worth the hike!

pictures below: the beautiful sunrise and the crowd on the summit

The accuracy of Mayan astrology

two days ago on Mar 21, we were fortunate enough to be here on time to witness the twice a year equinox phenomenon in Dzibilchaltun. The temple here is situated so that every year, on the spring and fall equinox, the sun shines directly through the doorway as it rises. The early morning in the Mayan site feels very different, sacred and spiritual, as the sun rises and sends its beam through the door and some white dressed people (meditating, it was stunningly beautiful. The door was constructed in such accuracy that even taking one step away from the direct line, the sun rise will be out of sight. This is only one example of Mayan´s astrology reflecting on their architecture. Another stunning phenomenon happens on the same day in Chichen Itza, where the sun down casts shadow of a serpent slithering downwards until it joins the head carving at the bottom of the stairway. already stunning by imagination… :)