Jebel Musa

Jebel Musa means Mountain of Moses in Arabic. It is also traditionally understood to be Mt. Sinai or Horeb where Moses received the 10 Commandments. There is some debate about that, but this is the best known traditional site.
The 1st picture is of Jebel Musa. It's the one farthest back. The 2nd picture is taken from the trail up the mountain and looks down the valley over St. Catherine's Monastery (see another post). The next picture is farther up the trail and looks off another side. You can see a school hidden in the valley. A few Bedouin families live there, too. The 4th picture looks down the side of the mountain at the twisting trail that leads up to where I took the picture. The 5th picture is Elijah's Basin, just below the summit. The building was a hermitage for monks.
I did not make it to the summit for a number of reasons, including strong winds. It is still amazing to walk where tradition says Moses walked.
The last picture is not at Jebel Musa. It is nearby. We were told that this is the site where the golden calf was placed. While it can't be verified, it is interesting that there seems to be a calf carved in the face of the rock by where the girl is standing, and the top of the rock is a large flat space. My thought is that it's unlikely but not totally impossible.Read more