The Land of Turquoise: Sharm el-Sheikh, Gateway to the Holy Mountain
Where the desert meets the Red Sea, the pilgrimage to the mountain begins.
Sharm el-Sheikh sits at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, a meeting of two worlds: rugged red mountains behind, and in front the startling turquoise of the Red Sea, alive with coral gardens. For many travellers it is a resort. For the seeker it is something older: the gateway to the holy mountain.
The Land of Turquoise
The ancient Egyptians called Sinai Ta Mefkat, the Land of Turquoise. Expeditions crossed the sea to mine the blue-green stone sacred to Hathor, who was honoured there as the Lady of Turquoise. Her temple at Serabit el-Khadim still stands high on a Sinai plateau, its pillars carved with her gentle cow-eared face.
Turquoise was a stone of joy, protection and rebirth. To travel to Sinai was to go in search of Hathor’s colour, the colour of the sea in front of Sharm.
Between Sea and Summit
Inland, a few hours’ drive away, rises Mount Sinai, where tradition says Moses received the tablets of the law, and where St Catherine’s Monastery has kept its prayers for more than fourteen centuries. Pilgrims climb through the night to watch the sun rise over a sea of peaks.
Sharm is the place of preparation before that ascent. The water cleanses. The light softens. The body remembers how to float.
Before the mountain asks you to rise, the sea teaches you to be held.
The Albedo of the Red Sea
In the alchemical Great Work, albedo, the whitening, is the stage of purification after the darkness of the nigredo. It is often pictured as washing: water poured again and again until what was clouded becomes clear. Floating above a coral reef, weightless and quiet, breathing slowly, many travellers find that something in them begins to wash clean.
Only after that washing are we ready to climb.
A Practice: The Sea Breath
Lie down and imagine yourself floating on warm, clear water. With each inhale the sea lifts you slightly; with each exhale it lowers you. Let your breath set the rhythm of the waves. When you feel completely held, ask quietly: what am I ready to let the water take?
Read More on the Blog
- The Black Earth Within: Why the Great Work Begins in Egypt
- What Really Happened in an Egyptian Temple Initiation?
Feel called to walk this path?
Book a private call with Kristina to learn about the retreats: The Great Work Pilgrimage and Hieros Gamos: The Sacred Union, or a one-to-one Private Initiation Journey, where Kristina holds personal initiations and activations for you at Egypt’s sacred sites.
Book a private call with KristinaHeader photo: Sunrise on Mount Sinai - Egypt by Ibrahim El-Mezayen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Hawksbill turtle at Elphinstone Reef, Red Sea, Egypt (35150034493) by Derek Keats, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Pez ángel real (Pygoplites diacanthus), parque nacional Ras Muhammad, Egipto, 2022-03-26, DD 155 by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Amphiprion bicinctus Marsa Alam 2 by Magnus Kjaergaard, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons