Moses was even told to remove his shoes, as he was standing on "holy ground" (verse 5). So, we now know that Moses was in Midian, in the "backside of the desert", which seems to us to imply the area opposite the main portion of the desert or, the other side of the mountain which provided the border of the desert. We make this assumption simply because in order to have a "backside of the desert", there must be something which marks a separation of the "frontside" and the "backside".
Yeah, I never understood why "The Holy Land" , god's land, the promised land, and all that is so damned crappy.
Why, if it's Holy Land, to Jews Christians and Muslims, is it so arid, rocky, sandy, treeless, salty, and just downright unpleasant?
Why is the Holy Land so crappy as real estate, but at least 2 religions are fighting over who gets to camp there?
I'd say "keep your sandpiles, I'm moving somewhere that's not so hot and dry."