St. Catherine's Monastery & City

St. Catherine is the name of both the monastery and city located at an elevation of 1586 m, and it’s 120 km away from the closest city, Dahab.


St. Catherine’s has a long history, though not in its current form.  During Pharaonic times, the area was under the rule of the pharaohs, and was a center for the mining of turquoise, gold, and copper, with old mines and temples having been found not far from the site of the monastery itself.


During Roman times, a monastery was built at the foot of Mount Sinai, the place where it is believed that Moses received the 10 Commandments from God.  The emperor Justinian ordered that a monastery be built on this location.  The monastery enclosed the chapel of the Burning Bush, which was ordered to be built by Helena, Constantine I’s mother to mark the site where Moses was supposed to have seen the burning bush.  It is said that the bush that is located there is the original bush from the story.


Though more commonly known as St. Catherine’s Monastery, its real name is The Sacred and Imperial Monastery of the God Trodden Mount of Sinai.  The monastery celebrates the patronal feast of the transfiguration.


The monastery is associated with St. Catherine of Alexandria, who was a Christian martyr.  Originally sentenced to die on the wheel, she didn’t die and was beheaded instead.  According to legend, St. Catherine’s body was carried to the site of the monastery by angels.  It’s said that monks found her remains in 800 AD.


There are many works of art, including Islamic mosaics, Russian icons, oil paintings and relics donated by Tsar Alexander II of Russia and Catherine the Great of Russia.  There is even one of the largest and most important collections of illuminated manuscripts in the world at the monastery (the Vatican has the largest).  The collection consists of some 4,500 volumes in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian, and other languages.


The surrounding city is one of the newest cities in Egypt.  The government has taken the necessary measures to afford it all the facilities of a true city, such as schools, a hospital, police station, hotels, a fire station, post office, bank, and others.


Just east of the monastery lies Wadi El Sybaiya, the oldest settlement in the area.  This area used to be where Roman soldiers stayed, and now the Jebeliya tribe is descended from them.  In the 1980s, the tarmac road was completed, allowing for easier access to tourists, thus making the city grow.


The city is surrounded by the highest motivation ranges in Egypt.  The altitude of the city and the mountains around it allow the city to enjoy a mild and pleasant climate.  Though summer nights are cool, the winter nights can reach temperatures as low as -14°C.  It’s so cold, in fact, snow is not uncommon during the winter months of December to February.


The city along with the surrounding area form what is known as the St. Catherine Protectorate, created in 1988.  The area is home to many unique plants and animals such as the world’s smallest butterfly, the Sinai Baton Blue Butterfly.  This sensitive ecosystem is a great place to look out for some of the really interesting animals that call the region home, such as foxes, rock Hyraxes, Sinai Agamas, and the Nubian Ibex.

The Fatimid Mosque, which lies within the walls of St. Catherine's Monastery

St. Catherine's has a rich history indeed. So rich that it is a sparkling example of an undiscovered jewel of travel. It has been called the oldest working Christian monastery and the smallest diocese in the world. The Chapel of the Burning Bush was originally ordered built by Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, but the monastery itself was actually built by Emperor Justinian to protect the monks in the region and to honor the site of the Burning Bush. St. Catherine, whose body was reportedly carried away by angels, was discovered five hundred years later at the top of the peak that now bears her name. Her relics are stored in a marble reliquary in the Basilica. We have additional pictures of this church, and of its interior. St. Catherine's is also a formidable fortification, with granite walls measuring 8 to 35 meters tall, surrounded by gardens and cypresses. Prior to probably the twentieth century, the only entrance to St. Catherine's was a small door 30 feet high, where provisions and people were lifted with a system of pulleys, and where food was often lowered to nomads. It has withstood numerous attacks over its 14 hundred year existence, thus protecting a rich store of art. Today, while it is one of the oldest monasteries in the world, its original, preserved state is unmatched.

Though patronized during much of its history by the Russian Orthodox Church, it is now under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of its monks are also of Greek origin, though their ranks include an international flavor.

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