Sinai's Religious Heritage

We set off very early to St Catherine from Sharm El Sheikh to visit St Catherine Monastery and climb Mount Moses, as it's called by the locals. The mountain rises at the height of about 2,240 metres and a three hour climb from the monastery. The monks and many visitors believed this is the sacred site where Moses received from Almighty God the Tablets of the Law with The Decalogue.

St Catherine Monastery is a Christian Greek Orthodox monastic centre with an uninterrupted spiritual life of seventeen centuries. According to the Archbishop of Sinai, Father Damianos, ascetic life on the midst of the desert of Sinai Peninsula sets out as of the end of the 3rd Century, maintaining its special characteristics unaltered ever since its erection during the era of Justinian (527-565 AD). Prophet Muhammad (saw), the Caliphs and Sultans, as well as Napolean all placed the monastery under their protection, thereby preserving it from pillage.

According to the monastery's tradition, a delegation of monks were sent to Madinah in 625 AD to request Prophet Muhammad's political protection. The Prophet (saw) accepted the request and signed the Document with his palm "... In Aid of the Christians ..." This was "The Ahtiname" of Prophet Muhammad's "Testament" in which he (saw) ordered his companions to protect the Sinai Monks, in case of need, as well as letting them free to exercise their religious functions and assured them of tax exemption. A copy of "The Ahtiname" is found in the Monastery's Sacristy.

Thus ever since, the monks and the monastery continued to live and practice their faith. However their number continued to decrease and at the beginning of the 8th century there were no more than 30 of them left in the monastery. Many of the Sinai Christians either converted to Islam or left the peninsula. The Mosque within the compound of the monastery (its minaret stood side by side with the bell-tower also known as the Belfry, as in the photo above) was built circa 9th century -- served the Muslims who were the local guardians of the monastery.

Sinai's isolated grandeur has a fascinating beauty that is untainted by the ravages of modern world. Few men (and women) live in the desert. Apart from the coastal towns the peninsula is inhabited by a handful of bedouins who eke out a living from their small flocks, by growing vegetables and dates. The el-Tih region at the centre of the Sinai Peninsula is a broad calcareous plateau. Its southernmost part, within the triangular tip of the peninsula is a moonscape of gigantic mountains amongst which the most important peaks are those of Mount Sinai, of Mount St Catherine, of the Mount St Episteme, of the Mount Ser Baal as well as that of Umm Shumar.

A region through which the Children of Israel wandered 35 centuries ago!