St. Catherine’s Monastery

St. Catherine’s Orthodox Monastery, known as the Sinai Monastery, was founded over 1600 years ago in Egypt. Over the past centuries, the archaic appearance of the ancient architectural complex has hardly changed. The monastery, resembling a powerful fortress, is located at the foot of the legendary Mount Sinai, on the top of which Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. One of the oldest continuously operating monasteries in the world, combined with the exciting aura of the holy places described in the Old Testament, the Torah and the Koran, attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists every year.

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Video: St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt

Contents

Highlights

‘ Cairo. The community is inhabited by monks of Greek origin. The abode is located in a rocky valley at an altitude of 1586 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by mountain ranges with the highest peaks in Egypt – St. Catherine’s Peak (2637 m) and Mount Jabal Musa or simply Mount Sinai, also known as Mount Moses, Mount Horeb (2285 m). In official church documents, the Monastery of St. Catherine has another name, the Holy Monastery of the God-trodden Mount Sinai.

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The monastery houses the world’s oldest book collection with rare manuscripts. The monastery collection of ancient icons has a unique artistic and historical value. Some of them, painted in wax colors in the 4th century, tourists can see in the gallery of the main temple.

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Only a small part of the monastery grounds is open to the laity, including the ancient Basilica of the Transfiguration. The inner monastic buildings and numerous chapels are hidden behind secure gates. Accessible sights tourists can see only on weekdays, before noon. At 3 km from the monastery of St. Catherine is a small town of St. Catherine. Several hotels are built here, there are restaurants, stores, a market works. At the bus station arrive shuttle buses from Cairo and cities of the Sinai Peninsula.

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History of St. Catherine’s Monastery

As early as the 3rd century, early Christian hermits chose deserted and inaccessible places on the high plateau in the center of the Sinai Peninsula for secluded prayers. According to biblical legends, the prophet Moses lived in this region for several decades. Here stands Mount Horeb, on the top of which the prophet received the tablets with the commandments of righteous life. At the foot of the sacred mountain even today grows the Neopalimaya Kupina, near which the desert dwellers gathered to pray together. Over time, a monastic community emerged here, and near the legendary bush appeared a small church dedicated to the Mother of God and buildings to protect the monks from nomads. The travel notes of the pilgrim Etheria (Sylvia of Aquitaine), who visited the Sinai monastery in the fourth century, have been preserved. This brotherhood of ascetics was also described by the ascetic and Christian writer Nilus Sinaiticus in the 5th century.

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%’ Egypt to serve the monks. The descendants of those settlers to this day perform the duties of laborers, deliver groceries to St. Catherine’s Monastery, tend the garden, and patrol the surrounding countryside. They belong to the Bedouin tribe of Jabalia and consider themselves to be Romaeans, the name given to residents of the Eastern Roman Empire centered in Constantinople.

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In 625, Sinai was conquered by Arabs who came from neighboring Arabia. The archimandrite of the monastery sent a delegation to Medina, asking for intercession from the Muslim leader, the Prophet Muhammad, against the raids. The founder of Islam was tolerant of Christians. He sent a letter of protection (Ashtiname) to the Sinai monastery, in which he forbade his supporters to destroy the monastery buildings, to force the monks to military service, to collect taxes from them, to take away any objects from here. However, in 1517, the Turkish Sultan Selim I broke the ban. He took Mohammed’s charter to Istanbul and in return sent a skillfully made copy. The original can be seen in the Topkapi Museum. The calligraphic text of the letter is written in Kufic script on a dressed deer skin. The letter is sealed with the handprint of the Prophet Muhammad and the signatures of his closest companions.

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In the VIII century, one of the monastery’s inhabitants had a vision. In a dream, the monk saw the remains of St. Catherine on the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai. The monk climbed the peak and indeed discovered the relics of the martyr, who was executed in Alexandria in the early 4th century. The saint’s remains are preserved in a silver frame installed in the monastery church, and the monastery has since borne her name.

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In the era of the Crusades, the monastery was guarded by soldiers of the Sinai Order, which still exists today. At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries Egypt was conquered by General Bonaparte. The great commander granted the monastery a patronizing declaration. The document, dated December 1798, is now in the library of the monastery. By the way, collected in the monastery of St. Catherine’s book collection is recognized as the oldest operating in the world. The library, founded around 548, is full of rare manuscripts and medieval folios. This is where the famous Codex Sinaiticus, written in the fourth century, comes from. It contains one of the earliest texts of the Bible in Greek. Now the manuscript is kept in the British Museum. Manuscripts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Ethiopian and Arabic are waiting for researchers. There are Georgian and Armenian manuscripts, first printed incunabula in Latin. Many documents are much older than the monastery itself.

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St. Catherine’s Monastery has a long history of contacts with Russia. It is known that back in 1558, the Moscow sovereign Ivan the Terrible sent the Sinai monks a precious cover on the reliquary with the relics of St. Catherine. Later many Russian autocrats sent rich gifts to the famous monastery. Thus, in 1871, Emperor Alexander II donated bronze bells to the Sinai Monastery. They are installed on the belfry, erected in the same period.

Thanks to the work of scientists of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, founded in 1882 and still active today, the Russian public became acquainted with the history of the Sinai Monastery and the treasures stored within its walls. In 2002, the monastery complex was included in the World Heritage List.

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Walking around the Sinai Monastery

The path to the monastery lies through a green oasis – the monastery garden. Fruit trees and garden vegetables grow on fertile soil brought here from afar. In the garden there is a pogost and a crypt filled with bones and skulls of long deceased monks. One of the skeletons is dressed in black monk’s robes. Centuries ago, he was seated at the crypt, leaning against the stone wall. Tradition has preserved the name of the silent guardian. These are the remains of the monk Stephanos, who guarded the road to the Sinai monastery in the 4th century.

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‘ Mount Sinai. It is lined with fast food and drink stalls, with similar products hawked on trays by Bedouins.

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A hearty lunch is available in the nearby village of St. Catherine. There you’ll find cafes, restaurants and grocery stores.

Where to stay

St. Catherine’s Monastery Guesthouse is open at the monastery. The hostel has a buffet and dining room and offers double rooms and dormitories. You can spend the night here for $24. Reservations should be made in advance by emailing the front desk.

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Several hotels are located in the village of St. Catherine. In the hotel Catherine Plaza 3 * + guests will find 168 rooms, housed in two-story buildings. Free parking is available on site, and there is a swimming pool and jacuzzi. Live music and Bedouin shows are organized in the restaurant in the evenings. There’s a bar in the lounge. All rooms have loggias with mountain views. Room rates range from $44-89 per night, breakfast included.

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Hotel Daniela Village St. Catherine 3* has comfortable rooms of different categories, located in cozy chalets. The restaurant Hala serves oriental cuisine, there is a European menu. Snacks and drinks can be ordered from Karim Cafe 24 hours a day. There is a souvenir store on site and camel rides are available. The cost of a daily stay is $36-82.

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How to get there

From the bus station of the neighboring town of St. Catherine to the monastery shuttle minibuses run. It can be a long wait for transportation, shuttle buses run infrequently and there is no timetable. It is more convenient to get to the bus station or hotel by hitchhiking, local drivers are willing to take passengers. The fare will cost $5.

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At 20 km northeast of St. Catherine Monastery is a small airport with international status St. Catherine – Mount Sinai International Airport. It is very rarely used.

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The main flow of tourists is directed to see the monastery of St. Catherine from the resort towns on the Sinai coast of the Red Sea – Sharm el Sheikh, Nuweiba, Taba, Dahab. The most rational way to see the monastery is to sign up for a bus tour at the hotel administrator or travel agent. In high season groups are sent daily, the standard payment is $ 30-40 per person.

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You can rent a car at the resorts. Renting a small car will cost $20. Asphalted highway leads from the coast to the village of St. Catherine. From there to the monastery of St. Catherine you need to drive about 3 km on a well-traveled stony road.

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Pilgrims wishing to visit the infused monastery and other surrounding shrines fly into Cairo International Airport. There are shuttle buses from the Egyptian capital to St. Catherine’s. For organized groups, Egyptian travel agencies provide their own transportation.

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