Accommodations

Most travelers come to St. Catherine’s to camp on the cool summit of Mt. Sinai (10°C in June nights). If not, the monastery’s youth hostel (tel. 77 09 45) offers clean but cramped rooms, each with bunkbeds (without A/C and fans, for LE25, all meals included; attached toilet and shower LE5 extra). Check-in is 8am-2:30pm and 5-7pm (you have to wait for the monks to finish praying). Mosquitoes can be profuse in summer and will suck blood as energetically as Wall Street bond traders. The gates to the monastery close at 9:30pm. A shop at the monastery sells cheap water for your climb up the mountain. Buy lots.

The Alfairoz Hotel has rooms that are even more cramped than those at the monastery (beds LE12, doubles with attached toilet and shower LE56, four-person “LE60 for four-person “chalet."Showers available). From the bus stop, walk straight toward the tourist village and bear left at the fork. The hotel is at the top of the hill. A third, extremely inexpensive option is Zeitouna Camping. The entrance is located at the base of the path to the monastery, but you may want to hire a taxi to drive you the 2km into the campground proper. The stone huts (LE5) offer fresh cushions on raised ledges with thick wool blankets and tented roofs. The bathrooms and low-pressure shower are immaculate. Be sure to arrive before sundown and bring a flashlight or candle since there is no electricity.