A blog from the mountains of the Sinai

The legend of Jebel Banat

Serbal view, Go tell it on the mountainThe Sinai has two Jebel Banats; one of them’s near St Katherine; the other, near Wadi Feiran. Jebel Banat means Mountain of the Girls and they’re both beautiful peaks with epic views. The Jebel Banat in Wadi Feiran has an added attraction though: a story. And if anything pulls me to a peak as much as the beauty, views and adventure, it’s a story. And this isn’t just any story; it’s one of the Sinai’s most famous. One the Bedouin were telling centuries ago. And one which is still being told today; I’ve heard everyone from Bedouin guides to taxi drivers and ibex hunters tell it. Like all good stories, it has a message. One they say helped improve the rights of local Bedouin women. One that’s maybe still relevant. It’s about two Bedouin sisters, from Wadi Feiran…

The father of these sisters wanted them to marry two men he’d chosen for them; but the sisters didn’t like them. So they said no. But he insisted. After that, they ran away and hid in the mountains. Someone spotted them though. Then told their father where they were. He went to get them but the girls saw him coming and climbed the mountain. Up on the high cliffs, they tied their hair together, then jumped. They died in front of their father.

Death was better than an unhappy marriage.

You might hear the story told in slightly different ways – the richness of the spoken word – but that’s the gist of it. People say it’s true; I’m not sure when it’s supposed to have happened; but it’s definitely OLD. The first recorded version I’m aware of was published back in 1816.

Jebel Banat, from Jebel Salla, Go tell it on the mountain_result

Anyway, Jebel Banat is a peak that hikers virtually never visit; but it’s beautiful and well worth a climb. Start in Wadi Feiran. Public buses pass through on the way from Cairo or St Katherine so getting here isn’t too tricky (11am from Turgoman, Cairo). Find a guide in Wadi Feiran, asking in local Bedouin gardens. To get to the mountain itself you’ll begin in Wadi Nefuz. This soon becomes a dramatic gorge – a beautiful walk – but you can avoid the gorge with a shortcut too. Both ways meet later then go up to a flat area called Farsh Tibeina. From here, it’s an easy scramble to the top. I looked around the top for any cairns, graffiti or memorials for the sisters but didn’t find any. Maybe the greatest memoria of all though is that – whoever the sisters were – their story is STILL being told. They died but, in a way, they’re still alive…

Ben Hoffler

Sinai walker, author & blogger

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