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A triangular thumb wedged into the north end of the Red Sea, Egypt's Sinai peninsula offers rugged, starkly beautiful terrain. Home to deserts marked by silken, shifting dunes, craggy granite peaks and miles of gorgeous beaches, coral reefs and shelves, the Sinai peninsula boasts the most diverse landscape in all of Egypt and history that rivals that of the pharaohs. As the "great and terrible wilderness" of Exodus, the Sinai was the early home of Jehovah, the birthplace of monotheism and much of Western law and the place where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. Today the Sinai beckons modern pilgrims who flock to the peninsula for its biblical history, beaches and some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world. The Sinai's eastern coast hosts miles of reefs that often drop over 30 meters into the clear waters of the Gulf of Aqaba. Here, the Red Sea forms a nearly enclosed basin, offering unusually warm waters and exquisite snorkeling and diving. Of the diving hubs in this region, the liveliest are Sharm al-Sheikh and Na'ama Bay, where divers emerge from the oceanic realm at sundown to revel until the wee hours at local discos and clubs. To the north, the former Bedouin villages of Dahab and Nuweiba offer a quiet alternative, along with camel trekking, equally exquisite diving and some of the best sailboarding in the Sinai. No trip to the peninsula is complete without a stop at the Monastery of St. Catherine nestled at the foot of Mount Sinai. Traditional site of the burning bush and Moses' reception of the Ten Commandments, the fortress dates from the sixth century and is the oldest unrestored basilica in continuous use. On display within the basilica are some of the monastery's 2,000 icons, spanning 15 centuries and embodiying the trends and techniques of Byzantine art. Within the monastery's walled gardens, the monks keep the desert at bay by coaxing olive, apricot, plum and cherry trees into bloom. A sunrise hike to Mt. Sinai's Holy Peak may well be the highlight of a trip to St. Catherine's. The 2 1/2 hour trek will reward the hardy with an absolutely stunning view of the peninsula's craggy peaks, the Red Sea and the distant mountains of Saudi Arabia. Biblical history enthusiasts will thrill at the sight of the 500-year-old cypress tree where the prophet Elijah is said to have heard the voice of God.