Seeing the Burning Bush and Climbing Mt. Sinai! | Expedition Unknown

I’m at the base of a mountain believed
to be the location of the true Mount
Sinai where Moses received the Ten
Commandments from God.
The Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint
Catherine was built here in the mid-500s,
atop one of the oldest Christian sites
on Earth.
Inside the courtyard, I’m warmly welcomed
by Father Justin of Sinai.

Father, I feel like I’ve stepped into
another time here, and the outside looks
almost like a fortress.

It was built as a fortress to protect the monks,
to honor this holy place, but also this is the
border of the Roman Empire, right?
But the monastery has never been abandoned
and never been destroyed in 1700 years.
What an incredible place.

And there are other connections here to
the story of Moses, like one of the main characters.
Everything was built here because this
is the place of the burning bush, and
this is the burning bush growing behind
the church next to the Chapel of the
burning bush.

Wait, you mean the burning bush, like the burning
bush from the Bible where God speaks to Moses?

While the fire is out and the bush may
not be talking to anyone these days, its
very existence seems miraculous.

It is mentioned by Ageria, who came here
in the year 383, so even in 383, she
mentions in the valley there’s a garden,
and in the garden, there’s a church next
to the bush, and the bush is alive to
this day and sends out green shoots. So
this was described in the 4th Century.
It’s been described by pilgrims ever
since.

That is awesome.

This monastery is filled with miraculous
things. Lead on, I want to see what else
we have here.

The burning bush.
[Music]

Father Justin brings me inside the
monastery’s Library, a treasure trove of
priceless documents stretching back
through the centuries. He’s pulled a few
volumes for me to examine.

The first one is a 10th-century
manuscript of… I’m sorry, this is a
thousand-year-old book?

Yes. Written on parchment.
It’s the texts of Genesis, Exodus, and
Leviticus, and then it has commentary in
the margins. Many years ago, someone took
the entire account of Genesis and Exodus,
and they wrote it out in Greek verses.
This is a 16th-century manuscript of that text.
This is one of your new books, and then
it’s filled with illustrations, and I
believe this is our guy right here, right?

Let’s talk about this illustration in
particular. This mountain that Moses is
standing on. This is Mount Sinai or Mount
Horeb in the Bible, and I know that there
have been a lot of places put forward by
historians and theologians over the
years as the possible real location, but
St. Catherine sits at the foot of the
place that is really considered
where this happened.

Why is that? What is it about this
place that gives it authenticity and
credibility?

Many people ask us, “How do you know that
this is the real Sinai?” Right, we point
out that the Prophet Elijah came to
Horeb, the Mountain of God, and he lived
600 years after Moses, right? And he knew
where it was. So, 600 years after Moses,
they knew where Sinai was. So, when the
monks came here in the latter third and
the fourth centuries, they also picked up
this living heritage that this is the
place where God had revealed Himself in
such a special way.

It is this stunning continuity of
history here that has led so many to
venerate this place, and it is for that
reason that people also attempt to
ascend to the summit.

I know that many people come here to
visit the monastery and also to make the
ascent to the top of Mount Sinai. I’d
like to do that. Do you have any advice
for a first-time climber?

It’s not an easy ascent, okay, but when
you make the ascent, you think,
“I’ll never get there,” but then you
finally do arrive, and it’s such a joy to
see this spectacular landscape.

I can’t wait.

So here’s something I’d like to
give you for the ascent. This is a Bible
that I bought in Jerusalem in 1978, the
first time I made a pilgrimage there.
When you read the scriptures, they come
alive because you’re at the very place,
and it’s something that you can treasure
for the rest of your life.

This is really, really special. Thank you so much.
I will take very, very good care of it, Father.
Thank you so much for your time and for
showing us this awesome place. I really
appreciate it, and all the best on
your ascent to the peak. Thank you, Father.

Cheers.

And so I’m preparing to follow in
Moses’ most arduous footsteps to the
meeting point between God and man.
The climb has always been attempted
well before the light of dawn, and so the next
day, in the frigid desert darkness, I
returned to the foot of the monastery.

Well, it is about 2:30 in the morning, and
I’m here at the base of Mount Sinai. You
know, when we think about Moses leading
the Israelites through the desert, we
think about sweltering heat. Right now,
it’s about 28 degrees Fahrenheit. It is
absolutely freezing, and between us and
the summit is about 2,500 vertical feet
and a nearly three-mile hike in complete
darkness. Let’s do it.

[Music]
Man, it is cold,
and the higher you get, the windier it
gets. It just feels like walking into
nothingness.

[Music]
So, as we come through this pass here, you
can hear the wind just sailing through.
It’s getting colder and colder. I’ve got
my trusty King James Bible here. We’re
about halfway up the mountain, and I have
to say it really does feel so mysterious
here, and it is hard not to feel the
parallels or the description in the book
of Exodus. So much of the talk about
Sinai is about the weather here. They say
that there’s thunder and lightning on
the mountain, the people in the camp
trembled, and Mount Sinai quaked greatly.
And then the Lord came down upon Mount
Sinai to the top of the mount and called
Moses up, and Moses went. And I guess,
so will we.

[Music]
Hundreds of pilgrims are here with me
today. They come by the thousands every
year to connect to the spirit of Moses
and the God he was said to have met on
Sinai.

Come on, you got this. Man.

Fortunately, the mountain is dotted with
simple stone buildings, which serve as
rest stops for the faithful. Inside,
merchants make fresh bread, pilgrims rest,
and get something warm to drink.

[Music]
A hot cup of coffee in this bitter cold
is a bit of a religious experience in
itself.

That shall be caffeinated.
Oh yes.

Thank you. The walls are lined with
photos and notes from people who have
made the climb. After my cup of joe, I hit
the trail, leaving my own scripture for
future travelers.

Coming into this slot canyon here toward the
top of the peak, now it gets really rocky
and really vertical.

[Music]
Come on. This may be the holiest mountain
on Earth, but that doesn’t make it soft.

[Music]
Okay.
God, my knee! I suppose it makes sense
that in visiting Mount Sinai, I’d end up
on one knee. Okay.

I’m okay.

Okay, here we go. Oh man, that’s cool.

[Applause]
All right, well we are getting close.
We’re within a quarter-mile of the
summit, but of course, there’s one last
obstacle. Actually, there’s 750 of them—
these steep stone stairs that go all the
way to the top.

Okay, come on.
Come on.

These are the steps of penitence, which
lead to the very top of Mount Sinai.

[Music]
Oh, if only I had some sort of sign that
would keep walking. It’s freezing. God, no.
Camera department.

Here we go.

[Music]
We are now above
most of the other peaks. You can just see
them, outlines in the darkness. Totally exposed
here now to the wind. Must be close to
the top.

[Music]
Sort of a bottleneck here as we get
close to the top. It’s really a hive of
activity.
There are people here from all over the
world and from every major religion—
Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and
people from just about every country in
the world. I’ve heard every accent and
language imaginable, all of them here to
experience the summit of this holy place.

[Music]