Sint Catherina Monastery and Mount Sinaï

Places of Interest - Egypt

introduction

In the southern part of the Sinai desert you will find the beautiful and mysterious Sint Katharina monastery and the Sinai or also called Moses mountain. It used to be a long and dizzling journey for pilgrims to come here - nowadays there is simply a bus, although it remains a remote, almost mythical place. In the year 2000 Pope John Paul II visited the monastery which is still inhabited by a group of Greek Orthodox monks.

The Sinai summit is known for the place where Moses would receive the Ten Commandments from God. Since 2002, the Saint Catherine area and thus also the Catharin monastery is put on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Together with the area around it, the monastery forms the Autonomous Orthodox Church of Mount Sinai which falls jurisdictionally under the Greek Orthodox patriarchy of Jerusalem.

highlights

Saint Catherine's Monastery:

On the site of the biblical Burning Bush, the place where God spoke to Moses was also the spot where the Roman empress Helena had a chapel set up in 337. In the 6th century, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I added a fortified monastery, with high walls to protect the monks and pilgrims from raiding.

He also had a basilica built. St. Katharina has been the patron of the monastery since the Middle Ages. She was tortured and killed in the 4th century because of her Christian faith in Alexandria. According to legend, her body was carried away by angels while her remains were found 6 centuries later on the nearby Katharina mountain.

The entrance to the monastery and the walls in the south and west are still original, the other walls were rebuilt after an earthquake in the 14th century. The most sacred place of the monastery is the Chapel of the Burning Bush, right behind the choir of the church (basilica). The shrub that can still be seen here, according to legend, is a cutting of the biblical bush. The cemetery is located in the orchard. The striking bell tower dates from 1871, the nine clocks of which were a gift from Tsar Alexander II. On the monastery grounds there is also a mosque erected in 1106 to protect the monastery against Muslims. However, the mosque is not used since the "mihrab" is not aimed at Mecca.

The monuments of the monastery include manuscripts and icons from the early history of Christianity. The library includes some 3,000 manuscripts in Greek, Arabic, Old Syriac, Georgian and Slavic. The most valuable handwriting found in the Catherine Monastery is the Codex Sinaiticus, a bible from the 4th century. Today, a large part of this is in the British Library in London. However, the St. Catherine's Monastery still preserves the Codex Syriaticus, a manuscript from the 5th century. There are currently about 22 Greek Orthodox monks in the monastery, which together with the monastery of St. Anthony belong to the world's oldest still used monastery. Unfortunately, as a tourist you can only visit the chapel next to a macabre room full of bones.

You may also view parts of the iconic possessions and crosses. Obviously the monastery is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Sinai mountain:

The Sinai mountain is a 2285 meter high mountain overlooking the St. Katharina monastery. For both Jews, Christians and Muslims, Sinai is a sacred mountain. It is the mountain where, according to tradition, God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses at the summit.

The reception of the Ten Commandments is described in the book of Exodus from the Tanakh and the Bible. The stay of Moses and his people there is described in the last chapters of Exodus and in the whole book of Leviticus and the first chapters of Numbers. There are two paths leading to the top of the Sinai mountain; one is the path of repentance while the other is the camel route.

Many pilgrims climb the mountain at night to sing psalms at sunset on the peak of the mountain as a tribute.

Sint-Catharina-Monastery-Sinai-Dessert-Egypt-Moses-Ten-Commandments-Bible-Pelgrims-Nightwalk

tips & advice (2004)

There is no bus station in Al-Milga - the bus stop and leave from the main square in front of the mosque. You can ask the driver if he stops in front of the town at the roundabout if you want to go to the monastery and/or the budgethostel (see "accomodation").

Al-Milga - Dahab: there should/would be a daily bus at 13:00 via Dahab and Nuweiba towards Cairo.

Name: Fox of the Desert camp

Price: 15 EP

Phone nr. : 470 344

Content:

Located between the town of Al-Milga (to which the camp also officially belongs) and the St. Catherine's Monastery (2 km), this is a perfect strategic place (especially if you want to take the walk on the Mozesberg at night); also for taking public transport (it is 200 meters from the roundabout where you get off by bus) and doing shopping in the village (1.5 km). It is a simple but clean, fun and authentic hostel - they have rooms and Bedouin tents where you can sleep.

The owners are also Bedouin and can tell you everything about the monastery, the region and the night walk. You can also book a safari here if you want to and also eat something.

Climbing the Sinai mountain:

If you want to climb the Sinai Mountain, keep the following things in mind; there are two paths - the path of repentance - and the camel path where the second is a lot easier.

Perhaps wise if you want to walk both paths to take the camel path on the way up and the other on the way back down. This is also wise if you want to enjoy the beautiful view of the road back of the monastery. During the summer (when it gets very hot in the desert) it is wise to start walking at 2 or 3 o'clock at night; it’s going to take about 2 hours on the camelpath so in this way you can see the sunrise on the top and then walk back before it’s getting too hot.

If you want to stay upstairs (on top) you will be asked to stay on the stairs just below the top. This plateau is called the

Elijah basin. There is a 500 year old cypress tree here where the Prophet would have heard God speak for the first time. There are a few simple toilets. Take plenty of food, drinks and warm clothes and a sleeping bag because it can get awfully cold at night and you will not sleep much.

You can make many more great walks in this part of the Sinai.

Sint Catherina Monastery and Mount Sinaï

Places of Interest - Egypt

introduction

highlights

tips & advice (2004)

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