Mount Sinai and Saint Catherine.

Mount Sinai.

A few ours away from Dahab you can find a mountain called Jebel Musa also known as Mount Sinai or Moses Mountain. According to the history this is where Moses was supposed to receive the 10 commandments. This has for a long time been up for discussion because of some historians and theologists claim that according to the old testament the mountain where Moses received the commandments the mountain was supposed to have a granite peak. There have been many alternative locations set by scholars.

Anyway this is the original claimed location for the Jebel Mousa all the way back to the 3rd century AD and is still considered the holy ground. This is probably one of the biggest attractions in Sinai beside diving and other water sports. All the visitors who wish to go there has to go through Dahab and if you wish to visit the mountain feel free to contact us in Stay Young and we can arrange it for you.

According to the bible moses was up in these mountains when he encountered a burning bush. The burning bush was unconsumed by its own fire and began to speak to Moses as the voice of god. God instructed moses to enter Egypt an free his people from slavery and return them to the mountain. Moses did as God told him and after the encounter with the faro and the aftermath of the 10 plagues Moses returned to the mountain. Upon his return God handed down the 10 commandments to Moses to guide the people away from their evil and stray ways. Moses also received the dimensions for the Arc Covenant and after constructing this Moses and his people left Mount Sinai.

At the top of the mountain is a small chapel built in the honor of the holy trinity. It was built as late as 1934, but it was built inside the ruins of a 16th century church. It is said that the church is built around a stone that god was supposed to have made the tablets from. There are many other historical and biblical references to this site, but personally i recommend looking it up in wicki pedia for a complete reference.

Saint Catherine Monastery

At the foot of the mountain you can find the saint Catherine Monastery, it was built by the order of Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565 AD. The Monastery was built around a chapel called chapel of the burning bush that was ordered built by Empress Helena who some people find fascinating was the mother of Emperor Constantin.

Emperor Constantin is a historical person who is most famous for being the first emperor of rome to end the prosecution of Christians. He is also in some cases accused for censoring the bible when they chose witch part should be a part of the fully official bible.

For most people it goes under the name saint Catherine monastery because the full name is, well... long. The full name is "The Sacred and Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount of Sinai". The reason for the name saint Catherine monastery is because it contains the relics of Catherine of Alexandria. Her relics is according to the story was transported here by angels in year 800 around 500 years after her death.

Inside the walls you can also find a fatimid mosque that has never been used because its not properly aligned with mekka.

The monastery holds a very important historical and cultural value in Sinai and in the world. It has the second biggest library in the world for codices and manuscripts and the only one bigger is the Vatican library. It also has the biggest collection of early icons in the world.

One of the most important codecies you can find in this library is the Codex Sinaiticus. Its dated back to the second quarter of the 14th century and is supposed to have contained the complete old and new testament. Ironically it was borrowed to a German scholar by the name Constantine Tischendorf who borrowed it from the monastery in 1844. He borrowed 43 of the falios with him, but when he discovered the importance of the work he returned for the full work to study it further in Russia. He promised that he would return it at any point when the monastery wanted it, but what happened in the real world was that the Russian government kept it till 1933 when they decided to sell it to england for £100,000. Still the Russians retained some of it. Basically a lot of it is very damaged, but what is remaining is being restored by computer and uploaded for anyone to see on their web page.

The Town and Getting There

There are now several ways to go to Saint Catherine Monastery. You can take a direct bus from Cairo that leaves from New Turgoman Bus Station at 11:00 AM and arrives at 19:00 PM. There is also a return bus from Saint Catherine to Cairo that leaves 6:00 AM.

There are mini buses arranged from El-Tur at 14:00 PM and 21:00 PM that goes from the front of Mecca hotel. You can also catch a mini bus from Suez, but I am not sure about the time table. There is other towns that have mini buses that goes to Dahab like Nuweiba and Taba, but they don't have direct service to Saint Catherine.

You can also take the Bedouin bus from Dahab at 8:00 AM and 16:00 PM from Sheikh Salem House or 07:45 AM and 15:45 PM from Alaska Camp. There is also a return option with the Bedouin bus going from Saint Catherine to Dahab at 11:00 AM and 19:00 PM. The Bedouin bus goes from and to the El-Milga camp not to far from the monastery and cost 45 Le each way, but this is not included national park fee. In this area you can also find camps or hotels to spend the night.

If you would like to visit visit the monastery we can arrange this for you for only 90Le (Egyptian pounds) this equals 12 Euro and all entry charges covered. You will leave Dahab around 10 PM and return the morning after. In this trip you go from Dahab by mini bus. The bus takes about two hours before you reach Saint Catherine Monastery and from there you walk up to the mountain top during the night. When you reach the top you wait for the sunrise witch is the highlight of the trip. After the sunrise you go down to the monastery where you get a tour of a few essential areas, but most of it is closed of for the public.

Personally I am not a very big fan of the monastery since i feel that it is very touristic, crowded and i feel that most of it is closed of from the public by the 25 monks that are living there. One thing i can say is that i really like the town of Saint Catherine, its a Bedouin town that has such a calm and natural beauty over it. There are Coffey shops, restaurants and camps where you can stay for weeks just enjoying the area of the desert mountains.

I can arrange overnight stay in a small selection of Bedouin camps with respective people that we know well and work along with. Many of these camps are quite small and are very basic, but its a really nice ambiance and you can almost get the feel of the life the Bedouins had in those days when the monastery was built.