Welcome!

Jabaleya: a Bedouin tribe that traces its roots back to the workers and soldiers recruited by Justinian in the sixth century to assist the monks of St Catherine's Monastery.

Solomon Gemia Atteya Abu Masaoud / Clan: Owled Jindi / Tribe:Jabaleya

Yalla Jabaleya! involves local bedouin families in helping visitors discover the special history, traditions and landscape of the Jabaleya homeland.

We organize star nights, botany hunts, camel riding lessons, tours round the monastery, overnights on Mt Sinai, rock scrambles, hikes, camel treks and jeep safaris.

Our vision is to provide adventure and culture tours of the very highest standards while developing personal contacts with members of the Jabaleya tribe.

For all information, please contact Gordon by email or mobile phone.

email: gordon@yallajabaleya.com (or go to Mailform)

mobile phone: 01 82 82 71 82

Visit the monastery and spend from dusk to dawn on Mount Sinai.

Avoid the sleep deprivation and exposure of the traditional night dash to the summit. Climb the mountain in the afternoon by the little frequented back trails. Stay overnight in the Yallajabaleya! refuge in Elijah's Basin. Join the pilgrims on the summit for sunrise. Descend to the monastery later in the morning for an authoritative tour. Go to Mahmoud's Refuge

Identify the Zodiac and inspect the rings of Saturn.

Identify the principal constellations and learn how to orient yourselves around the night skies. Pick out the Zodiac and discover the path of the sun and the planets. Inspect stellar luminosities and learn about the life and death of stars. Explore the Milky Way and seek out remote galaxies to apprehend the awesome scale of the universe. Go to Gameel's Observatory

Discover the Bedouin herbal arts.

Discover the herbs of Sinai in mountain walks and scrambles. Learn about their chemical potencies and medicinal uses. Take tea and lunch in the Herbal Garden of Dr Ahmed. Go to Dr Ahmed's Herbal Garden

Ride a camel the Bedouin way.

Learn to ride with trained Bedouin teachers, selected camels, differentiated skills and fun exercises. One teacher for every two pupils. Go to Mohamed's Camel Camp

Programmes

Short trips and weekends

For those who wish to escape the bustle of Cairo we offer weekend programmes for groups of between 6 and 12. Many in Cairo can organise their own transport or arrange sharing. If not we can book a pleasant air conditioned microbus or minibus. Guests are encouraged to gather friends together or contact us and we will tell you if others are interested in the trip to make up numbers. Please go to Short Trips and Weekends

Week excursions

These are organised with visitors from outside Egypt in mind but local residents are welcome to join us if there are places available. Please go to Week Excursions

Family holidays

Yallajabaleya! has had the pleasure of working with many family groups, including children from four years old upwards.

Children discover the pleasure of scrambling on rocks, discovering crystals, identifying plants, viewing stars and riding camels, all under the close supervision of trained guides and a teacher of 30 years experience. Go to Tailored Trips

Tailored trips

Please contact us if you would like us to tailor a trip to your interests.

Go to Tailored Trips

Scroll down for some facts about the monastery and mountain.

The fortified monastry of St Catherine built by Justinian in the sixth century

Some facts about Mount Sinai and the Monastery of St Catherine

Mount Sinai and the Burning Bush were discovered by the hermits of the 4th Century who had rejected society to look for God in the wilderness.

The fortified monastery was built by Justinian in the 6th Century, and its Basilica retains one of the finest mosaics of the Byzantine period.

An early abbot of the monastery, John Climacus, wrote a profound meditation on desert asceticism, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, which is still read during Lent in orthodox monasteries around the world.

As the Egyptian church separated from the Byzantine Church to become the Coptic Church, the monastery allied itself with Byzantium and retains its Greek identity to this day.

When a virulent campaign against icons was declared througout Byzantium in the 8th and 9th centuries, the monastery used its seclusion to hold onto its own collection and now has the finest range of early icons in the world.

In the 10th Century, a miracle gave the monastery the relics of St Catherine who became one of the most hallowed saints of Medieval Europe with a sample of her fragrant oil still held in the Sainte Chapelle of Paris.

During the Crusades, knights came with treasures for the monastery and left graffiti carved into the wooden panels of the refectory.

In the 19th Century a German scholar discovered the oldest bible in the world in the library of the monastery and offered it to the Czar of Russia.

Throughout the political turmoil of Arabic invasions, Crusader wars, Turkish hegemony and Nationalist revolution, the monastery has survived to continue in its worship of God and protection of the holy sites.

Please go to the History notes for more detailed discussions

Monastery in the snow (March 2009)

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