People from everywhere come here In waves

interior of Church at St Catherine's Monastery

Father Nilus  about him in the next post

There are waves of people coming here. Pilgrims of different types, Indian, Korean, Rumanian, Ukrainian, Bedouin, British, Greek, and Russian pilgrims. Some nuns and priests, some searching for the roots of their faith and culture, some new at it, some old. There are the very intense ones who know when to bob up and down and bow down to the Priest or icon, there are some who don’t know where they are in the service but follow the bobbers and bowers hoping to get it right and to be crossing themselves in the right direction at he right moment. When presented with the relics to venerate, some are naturally good at it and some try to kiss the priest’s hand too which he isn’t ready for! We are all here together with the Greek carpenters doing fine work in the library, with the people serving the Monastery, the guides, the postcard and icon sellers and the cooks as well as Father Justin’s helper who holds the camera as they photograph page after page of manuscript to put online. There are masses of scrawny cats whose night time squeals wake you up and then there are the haughty camels who will be carrying us pilgrims up the mountain tomorrow. Here the Cecil B de Mille film of Moses was partly filmed. Charlton Heston strode along the ridge at the summit of the mountain and was both Moses and the voice of God!  We are a group of 20 people led by a Benedictine Monk, Father Laurence Freeman who lives without the walls of a Monastery passing on the secret wisdom of meditation. We have come from Australia, Los Angeles, from Barbados, from Wales, Cambridgeshire and Islingon! Our leader Abi copes with our different natures, advises us wisely on hand washing and camel riding and Hadi from Egypt negotiates with the Egyptian speaking helpers and soldiers who incongruously point guns at the Monastery just in case of an attack. They look hot and a bit bored. Grandpa and I are here keeping up with all this and loving it. Rather this than golf and bridge and lying on a beach for us although possibly there is one of us who might prefer to be on a Scottish River casting an hopeful fly across those waters. Me, if it didn’t get so hot in the summer or so cold in the winter I think I wouldn’t mind spending much much longer here trying to find the silence and solitude which is so much loved.