Sinai adventure: Nawamis - Mysterious stone buildings in the Sinai desert

Sinai desert! Spectacular and fascinating, warm and mysterious. A place without borders, where the domed sky ceiling surrounds you warmly in its arms,  and also a place that keeps many many secrets. The desert will welcome you, and will give you the opportunity to welcome it too :)

If you are dreaming of new adventures and experiances and in the same time you want to feel real desert experiance, an exceptional camel safari can bring you to Nawamis site, in the center of gorgeous and peaceful Sinai desert.

The Nawamis site is not visible from the main road, although there is a dirt road leading to it. The wadi leading to Gebel Matamir starts shortly after the Nawamis site. There is a Bedouin settlement close by and the cafeteria at Hajar Maktub, where you can hire a guide or camels. 

And there you will find complexes with small circular stone structures named nawamis. Their name,comes from namus meaning mosquitos in Arabic. According to Bedouin legend, the nawamis were built as protection against mosquitoes by the Israelites of the Exodus during their wanderings in Sinai. The Bedouin also give the more likely explanation that the term namusiyeh (plural nawamis ) refers to any separate or freestanding structure.

From the burial goods and human remains found in the nawamis, we know that they were built around 4,500 BCE as tombs by nomadic herders. These remarkably preserved stone buildings are thus the world's oldest remains of a pastoral nomadic society.

All structures are well-built cylinders made from carefully selected, but not dressed, sandstone. The inner wall was constructed with a corbeling technique. This corbeling technique is well known from later periods. The founder of Egypt's 4th Dynasty, Sneferu (2575-2551 B.C.), built the first Egyptian corbeled chamber in his North Pyramid at Dahshur, at the southern end of the Memphis necropolis. The nawamis are at least 500 years older than the North Pyramid. They thus provide some of the world's earliest known examples of the use of corbeling, along with the roughly contemporaneous megalithic temples on the island of Malta. No doubt the lack of wood in the desert motivated the nomads of Sinai to develop this elegant roofing solution.

How do we date these enigmatic structures? The answer lies in the objects buried with the disarticulated bones in the nawamis. The task is made difficult by the fact that each of the 24 structures which were examinied had been disturbed in antiquity. This means that our dates for the nawamis remain somewhat speculative. To fix the dates of the tombs with certainty, we would need to find an undisturbed, sealed nawamis. Nonetheless, by sieving the sand and rubble inside the structures, evidence was found to date them to the 4 th millennium B.C.

The nawamis culture was a flash in historical time, lasting only about 300 years. When the Egyptians began to build the great pyramids in the mid-third millennium B.C., the nomads who buried their dead in strange stone desert huts had already lived out their history—or at least what we know of it. 

The pyramids, with all their grandeur and majesty, seem built for eternity. What is astonishing is that the small, modest stone structures in Sinai also still stand strong in the battle against leveling time.

Thx to CENTRE FOR SINAI and DISCOVER SINAI, on their very detailed information and amazing web sites :)

All photos taken from einhudra.blogspot.com

Sinai adventure: THE COLORED CANYON - "Hear" the silence and "feel" the energy of the mountains!

The Sinai Desert is probably one of the most attractive areas in the world as the dynamic interaction between rock and desert climate has created spectacular and varied desert sceneries. The landforms are diverse and dramatic, including vast sand dunes, massive granite peaks and deep gorges. When hiking through the rocky and mountainous desert, one can witness many fascinating types of rock when it comes to shape and color. There are green, red, yellow, purple and even blue rocks among many other shades.

Such dramatic landscapes and astonishing shapes are found in particular in the Colored Canyon, an inviting destination for the active and adventurous. 

The Canyon is located about 12 km north of Nuweiba, two hours from Sharm El Sheikh and also easily accessed from any of the camps and resorts in Dahab. It lies in a limestone mountain chain named “El Tih”, where, it is said, Moses was lost for 40 years. The area is only reached by jeep and you need to be accompanied by guides. The small oasis of ‘Ain Furtaga’ is the beginning of the trek leading to this geological wonderland.

The Coloured Canyon presents one of the most magnificent rock formations in the world. As the name of the canyon suggests, the sandstone has been mineralized and stained in a variety of attractive ways transforming the cliffs to a spectacular multi-colored stone. The canyon itself is a water-eroded, narrow and twisting path formed over thousands of years into the rocks, surrounded by spectacular 60 meter cliffs with narrow slots with drops – sometimes referred to as slot canyons - beautiful sculptured walls and cliffs made of sandstone with layers of amazing colors such as pink, purple, silver and gold. Millions of years ago, Sinai was covered by the sea, and the Colored Canyon is one of the amazing legacies left by the ancient ocean upon the landscapes.

With every step you take through the canyon, you will become even more impressed with art-like shapes and imbedded patterns displayed on the cliffs. Keep a close eye out for details and you will find that your imagination can easily fly and pick out human and animal faces on the sides of the walls.

Trekking through the Colored Canyon is a lot of fun, a very popular day trip and a unique expirience, which will definitelt leave you with memorable impressions. So if  you are at Nuweiba, Dahab or Sharm, make sure that you include this trip ;)

References: The Colored Canyon by Lara Iskander.
Photoes by Jan Wisniowski

Sinai adventure: Saint Catherine's Monastery - "where Moses spoke to God"

Saint Catherine’s monastery in the Sinai Desert is one of the oldest constantly working monasteries in the world, a place of uninterrupted prayer and worship since its founding in the 6th century. 

St. Catherine's Monastery

St. Catherine's was built on the site where Moses saw the burning bush and original still grows here today. Above the monastery is Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Because God spoke to Moses in these places, this area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. 

The monastery itself is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

View of St. Catherine's from the mountains above

The geographical locations of these biblical events are not known and a wide variety of theories have been offered by scholars. No particular evidence supports the site on which the monastery is built nor for the peak identified as Mount Sinai. However, the attachment of early Christian monks to these sites is not without significance.

In the early 4th century, St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, built the Chapel of the Burning Bush at the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the miracle.

View from outside the heavily fortified walls of St. Catherine's Monastery

The fortified walls were built around the chapel by the Byzantine emperor and great church-builder Justinian (who also commissioned the Hagia Sophia) starting in 527. The Church of the Transfiguration was completed by Justinian's workers in the 560s, around the time of his death.

The Basilica of the Transfiguration, the main church of the monastery. It was constructed in 527 and commissioned by Emperor Justinian.

The monastery's actual name is the Monastery of the Transfiguration, but it later became associated with St. Catherine of Alexandria, a 3rd-century martyr whose head and hand were brought here for safe keeping in the 10th century. St. Catherine's Monastery became a major pilgrimage destination in the Byzantine Era and it still is today.

Mount Sinai is also revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa (Mount Moses), the place where God handed down his Law. In 623, a document signed by the Prophet Muhammad himself, the Actiname (Holy Testament), exempted the Christian monks of St. Catherine's from the usual taxes and military service and commanded that Muslims provide the community with every help. In recognition of this gesture, the St. Catherine's monks permitted the conversion of a small Crusader chapel within the monastery to a mosque between 1101 and 1106 during the Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171).

The Fatimid mosque

Close to the monastery church is a bright, white tower. This is the minaret of the only mosque within a monastic enclosure. The Fatimid Mosque, still used by the monks, Bedouin grounds-keepers and neighbors, was in regular use until Mameluke rule in the later 13th century, when it was neglected until its restoration in the early 20th century. It must be one of the oldest mosques in the world. 

Side view of the Basilica of the Transfiguration, from near the tower

In 2002, the area centering on St. Catherine's Monastery was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of Mt. Sinai's importance in three major world religions, the natural environment of the area and St. Catherine's historic architecture and art.

If you ask me, absolutely the most impressive at St. Catherine's is the library :) It is  the oldest library in the Christian world and preserves the second largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in the world (outnumbered only by the Vatican Library). Its collection includes more than 3000 manuscripts and more than 5000 early religious books.

The library at Saint Catherine's Monastery

The library also has a precious collection of more than 2000 icons of Christ, Mary and the saints, displayed in a special gallery. These represent almost every school of Byzantine iconography from the 6th to the 18th century.

Mountain landscape near St. Catherine's Monastery

Many visitors to St. Catherine's Monastery also make the hike (or the camel ride) to the summit of Mount Sinai (2285m), a.k.a. Mount Moses or Mount Horeb. This is identified as the mountain where Moses received the Tablets of the Law from God. The main route to the summit is known as the Path of Moses (Arabic:Sikket Sayidna Musa) and is lined with remains of various chapels.

This spectacular place definitely deserves a place in your trip -holiday list and for sure prepare to be dazzled:)

Sinai adventure: The temple of Turquoise lady

Sinai is recently one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world and hugely popular with foreign tourists as a major beach destination of the Egypt. But if you think  that fantastic beaches, year-round sunshine and beautiful clear blue waters are all you can find here, you are wrong :)

Legend says that long long time ago, in ancient Egypt, there was a goddess of sun, music, arts, sky and activities. Her name was Hathour. Sinai was thought to be the place where Hathour put the seeds of her beauty to grow up into unlimited glorious beauty among the high mountains and throughout the narrow valleies.

Pharao Sneferu of the 4th dynasty was the first to make expeditions to the Sinai and they found turquoise. By 3500 bc, the great turquoise veins of Serabit el Khadem had been discovered. 

The first proper temple at this location, used by the miners, was built during the Middle Kingdom. In the new kingdom, the facility was enlarged. Hathour was also called the "Lady of the turquoise" and she became the patron goddess of miners.


The Egyptian largely depended on inspiration to find gems and metals as there was little technology. And the inspiration  was coming from the dreams in "Sleep chambers" at the temples of the Sinai. 

The miner leaders would pray for signs and wait for a dream to tell them where to dig next. As the revenues from the Sinai miners were considerable, the cult of Hathour quickly spread to the banks of the Nile upon the triumphant return of the miners.

The barren top of Jebel Serabit el Khadim…

The pharaonic mining complex of Serabit el Khadem lies into a deepest Sinai, on a small plateau, not far from modern El Tor, the capital of Sinai, which  is about three hours drive from Dahab. 

Today, it is not difficult to reach the ancient turquoise mines, off course with a jeep and a knowledgeable guide. 

Where there are several turquoise mines

Look inside

But the temple of Hathor is situated at the top of a mountain range and one must climb up a long series of steps to the top and then trek back along mountain ridges.

The path up to the top passes several Pharaonic inscriptions

It takes about two hours for the average person to reach the temple, and finally you can't stop asking yourself: how they managed to build a temple at the top of a mountain?!

Temple of Hathor, Serabit el Khadim

The temple at Serabit el Khadem is one of the few pharaonic monuments of the Sinai, and the only temple we know of built outside mainland Egypt.Although many of the hyrogliphics were destroyed by a British attempt to reopen the mines in the mid 19th century, along the path to the temple are a number of engravings that were written by the ancient minors. 

Hieroglyphic tablet of the reigning Pharaoh above the mine

Some of the most interesting portray the ships that would carry the turquoise to Egypt. In the 1905, Flinders Petrie ("Researches In The Sinai") investigated the site, and found the famous proto - Sinaitic script, which is believed to be an early precursor of the alphabet.

Temple of Hathor

The surrpunding area of Serabit el Khadem is more than intersting and had a rugged beauty. The local tribes are responsible for protecting the site from looting and are open to assisting tourists. 

As a touristic destination, Serabit el Khadem trip is more a trek adventure than a pure pharaonic sightseeing tour. What you will need is a lots of water - as there is none to be found along the road and Indiana Jones' hat ;)

References: The temple and mines at Serabit el Khadem in the Sinai by Jimmy Dunn,

            The complete temples of Ancient Egypt by Richard H. Wilkinson.