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59-728: Horev refers to Mount Sinai in the Scriptures, where the Israelites encamped for a year (see Exodus 3:1 and Psalms 106:19). It is contemporarily known as Jebel Musa ("Mount of Moses " in Arabic). The primary objective of the offensive was to engage the Egyptian army units defending al-Auja on the Palestinian - Egyptian border. The major thrust was then directed towards the Egyptian army bases at El-Arish , intending to trap

118-598: A bank. The township's oldest settlement was in Wadi El Sybaiya, east of the city's monastery, where descendants of Roman soldiers, the Jebeliya, were accommodated. It started growing into a town after the tarmac road was completed in the 1980s and the tourist trade began. Many of the nomadic Bedouins moved to small settlements around the city's monastery, which collectively make up Saint Catherine Town. The districts of El Milga , Shamiya , Raha, and Nabi Harun form

177-418: A bit further up from the wadi floor, away from the devastating flash floods that sweep through after occasional heavy rains. Houses are often built next to huge boulders where the boulder serves as an exterior wall. Natural cracks and holes are used as shelves and candle holders inside the house. Smaller rock shelters and store rooms are constructed under boulders and in walled-up caves and are found throughout

236-610: A natural growth rate of 3% by 2017, the Bedouin population would become a minority in Saint Catherine, dropping to 36% of the total population if the Egyptian Ministry of Planning targets are achieved. The population of Saint Catherine by settlement, according to a survey carried out by St Katherine Protectorate in 1998: In addition to Saint Catherine's Monastery and Mount Sinai , of prime historical interest

295-560: A pleasant climate with mild summer nights and relatively cool winter days. The nights can get very cold on rare occasions, making it sometimes necessary to heat buildings and public places. Saint Catherine is considered to be one of the coldest towns in Egypt along with Nekhel and other locales in mountainous Sinai . Saint Catherine receives infrequent snowfalls during December, January, and February, however, snow has also occurred in late autumn and early spring. Saint Catherine Town lies at

354-433: A short distance from the main paths, with a flat top. According to local legend, if one throws a pebble and it stays on the top, one's wish will come true. According to the governmental plans, the population of the city is expected to increase from 4,603 to 17,378 in 2017. 3,031 (75.1%) of Saint Catherine's population is formed of Jebeliya Bedouins, while the rest are Egyptians, Greeks, Russians and western Europeans. Assuming

413-498: A spiritual guide. He composed The Ladder of Divine Ascent which likens spiritual life to the ladder seen by the Patriarch Jacob extending from earth to heaven (Genesis 28:12-17)." According to the book the ladder "consists of 30 rungs, each step corresponding to a spiritual virtue. Through silence and solitude hermits and monks sought to climb the divine ladder. The first rung instructs the renunciation of all earthly ties and

472-423: A steady pace, replenishing the underwater catchment areas . Water from rain flows quickly in the barren mountains, which may cause flash floods. The highest mountain in Egypt is Mount Catherine , with many other peaks in the area over 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Saint Catherine is in a region holy to the world's three major Abrahamic religions (monotheistic religions), Christianity , Islam , and Judaism . It

531-481: Is 1,586 metres (5,203 ft) above sea level and is 120 kilometres (75 mi) from Nuweiba . In 1994, its population was 4,603 people. In 2002, the Saint Catherine area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . During Egypt’s Pharaonic Era (3200-323 BCE), although Saint Catherine was not yet established as a city, the area was part of the Egyptian Empire in the province of "Deshret Reithu." In

590-510: Is a holy place for the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Locals believe the twelve clefts on it represent the twelve springs mentioned in the Quran (Sura 2:60). It is also mentioned in the Exodus as the rock which sustained the children of Israel (1 Cor. 10:4). There is a small Orthodox (Christian) chapel next to it. According to Swiss orientalist Johann Ludwig Burkhardt ,

649-723: Is a part. For example, it lies next to Mount Catherine which, at 2,629 m or 8,625 ft, is the highest peak in Egypt . Mount Sinai's rocks were formed during the late stage of the evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield . Mount Sinai displays a ring complex that consists of alkaline granites intruded into diverse rock types, including volcanics . The granites range in composition from syenogranite to alkali feldspar granite. The volcanic rocks are alkaline to peralkaline, and they are represented by subaerial flows and eruptions and subvolcanic porphyry . Generally,

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708-589: Is one of several locations claimed to be the biblical Mount Sinai , the place where, according to the Torah , Bible , and Quran , Moses received the Ten Commandments . It is a 2,285-meter (7,497 ft), moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the region known today as the Sinai Peninsula . It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks in the mountain range of which it

767-439: Is planted (grafted) on a more resistant but low-yielding mountain variety. Many species of plants and crops grow here because of the moderate climate. Some fruits include the apple , pear , apricot , peach , fig , pistachio , date and grape . Walnut is rare but grown at a few locations. Mulberry grows wild in some of the wadis, and they belong to the whole tribe. Wild figs grow in many places. Olives are essential to

826-488: Is the palace of Abbas I , the Wali and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan between 1849 and 1854. The palace was built on a mountain at the time called Jebel Tinya, but later named after him and today called Jebel Abbas Basha. The palace was never finished, as he died before it was completed, but the massive 2-metre-thick (6.6 ft) walls made of granite blocks and granite-sand bricks stand firmly. The open quarry on

885-646: Is the place where Moses is believed to have received the Ten Commandments , and a number of events recorded in the Bible took place in the area. Christian monks settled here in the 3rd century, and the Orthodox monastic tradition continues to the present day. The Prophet Mohammed took the monastery under his protection in his Letter to the Monks . There are two ancient churches, and the Monastery of Saint Catherine and

944-413: Is uncertain whether he was murdered or died of a stroke." Because Abbas Pasha suffered from tuberculosis, one of the reasons he began building a palace in the high mountains was for medical reasons. On the other hand, he liked a secluded lifestyle and had other remote palaces. According to tradition, he selected the place after placing meat on the top of Mount Sinai, Mount Catherine and Mount Tinya. Where

1003-499: Is up the 3,750 "steps of penitence" in the ravine behind the monastery. Saint Catherine, Egypt Saint Catherine ( Arabic : سانت كاترين , pronounced [ˈsænte kætˈɾiːn] ; Greek : Αγία Αικατερίνη ; also spelled Saint Katrine ) is a town located in the South Sinai Governorate of Egypt , situated at the foot of Mount Sinai . The city is the site of Saint Catherine's Monastery . The city

1062-648: The 12th Dynasty dedicated to Hathor , goddess of love, music, and beauty, and from the New Kingdom dedicated to Sopdu , god of the Eastern Desert. It can be reached from Wadi Feiran via Wadi Mukattab (the "Valley of Inscriptions"). There is a mass of names (singular of nawamis) near the Oasis of Ain Hudra, as well as a rock with pharaonic inscriptions near the main road to Dahab , which can be found with

1121-469: The Nabataean era ( c. 300 BC–AD 100). In Wadi Mathar (Wadi Shaq) is a hermit cell under a huge boulder. The remains of the monks who died there centuries ago are in the walled-up chamber. Further up is a well-preserved monastic settlement with houses and a round building that might have been a storage room. Byzantine Nawamis , circular prehistoric stone tombs, are found at many locations, such as at

1180-483: The New Kingdom dedicated to Sopdu , the god of the Eastern Desert . Saint Catherine’s City was established between 527 and 565 CE, when Saint Catherine's Monastery was constructed at the foot of Mount Sinai by the order of Emperor Justinian . Today, Saint Catherine City is organized as a township. It has a high school, a hospital, a police and fire brigade, hotels, a post office, a telephone center, and

1239-469: The Roman Army in the 3rd century were commanded to worship pagan gods. They refused and were put to death by being exposed at night to the cold winds of a frozen lake. Those who survived until morning were killed by the sword. On the grounds of this monastery is a chapel dedicated to the hermit Saint Onuphrius . Coming from Upper Egypt , he was said to have lived for seventy years in the rock shelter at

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1298-578: The 16th century BCE, the Egyptian pharaohs built the way of Shur across Sinai to Beersheba and on to Jerusalem . The region provided the Egyptian Empire with turquoise, gold, and copper. Well-preserved ruins of mines and temples are found not far from Saint Catherine at Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Mukattab , the Valley of Inscription. They include temples from the 12th Dynasty, dedicated to Hathor , goddess of love, music, and beauty, and from

1357-797: The Bedouin was taken from the Byzantine settlers, so it is often difficult to tell structures apart. Furthermore, the Bedouin often reused the ruins in later times. However, there are telling clues—Byzantine buildings were scattered close to each other in small settlements, and round buildings are most likely to be from the Byzantine period. While the Bedouin constructed storage rooms under rocks, they would have been too low for hermits to pray in an upright, kneeling position. Rounded walls, niches and shelves, and tiny doors are typical of Byzantine stone dwellings. Stones were laid without mortar and roofs were often absent. Traces of ancient water systems or conduits can also be found which were used to direct rainwater to

1416-527: The Bustan el Birka area, approachable from the settlements of Abu Seila and Abu Zaituna, including churches, houses on hills overlooking gardens in the wadi floor, buildings in clusters and hermit cells under rocks. As another example, a well-preserved church in Wadi Shrayj, can be found after passing other somewhat ruined Byzantine buildings. Further up from the church, are more ruins, some dating back to

1475-474: The Egyptians surrendered in disarray. Following this victory, Alon anticipated no significant Egyptian defenses west of El-Arish and prepared to seize the entire Sinai peninsula . The Negev Brigade, following the 8th Brigade's tanks, crossed the Egyptian border on the night of 28 December and progressed towards El-Arish. By 30 December 1948, they had reached the outskirts of the town's airfield, while units from

1534-754: The Gaza area and one near El-Arish across the border. On 22 December, a battalion from the Golani Brigade (transported by Shayetet 11 ) launched a diversionary attack on positions near the Gaza - Rafah road. In preparation for the offensive, the Israeli army had cleared a route through the desert, bypassing defenses on the Beersheba to al-Auja road. The 8th Armoured Brigade attacked al-Auja from this unexpected quarter on 27 December 1948. After 24 hours of combat,

1593-664: The Harel Brigade moved further west into Sinai. On 29 December, the United Nations Security Council ordered a ceasefire. Before achieving his objective, Allon was ordered by Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to withdraw from Egypt immediately due to threats from the British Government of invoking the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of Friendship and becoming directly involved. Despite protests, but adhering to Ben-Gurion's directive,

1652-637: The Israelis withdrew. On 3 January, they launched an attack on the Egyptian defenses at Rafah , with the same objective of trapping the Egyptian army. After three days of conflict around Rafah, the Egyptian government announced its willingness to enter armistice negotiations on 6 January 1949. On the same day, the Israeli Air Force shot down five RAF Spitfires on patrol in the area, killing two pilots and taking two more prisoners. The British relocated reinforcements to Akaba . Despite protests from

1711-686: The Jebeliya Bedouin believe "that by making [female camels] crouch down before the rock [...] the camels will become fertile and yield more milk". There is also a Bedouin marriage proposal rock in the walled compound. The Monastery of the Forty Martyrs in Wadi El Arbain was constructed in the 6th century in honor of the forty Christian martyrs who died in Sebaste (central Turkey ). Monks relate that forty Christian soldiers from

1770-529: The Jebeliya have always practiced agriculture and are expert gardeners, which is evident in the wadis around Saint Catherine. They continue to live in a symbiotic relationship with the monastery and its monks, and today many Bedouins work with the monastery on its compound or in its gardens. The city also hosts a number of Greeks and Russians , who come to work at the monastery. The Jebeliya are skilled gardeners and craftsmen who have been building gardens, houses, storerooms, water dams and other structures in

1829-427: The Monastery of Saint Catherine and on the top of Mount Sinai and Jebel Safsafa are many other churches, monasteries, and holy sites. The Chapel of Saint Catherine is on the summit of Mount Catherine , the mountain where the body of the saint from Alexandria was placed by angels, according to Christian beliefs. The saint, born Dorothea in 294 AD, was educated in pagan schools but converted to Christianity, for which she

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1888-565: The Rock of Moses. The traditional people of the area, the Jebeliya Bedouin, were brought from south-eastern Europe in the 6th century AD. Originally Christians, they converted to Islam and intermarried with other nomadic tribes. Some segments of the tribe arrived relatively recently from the Arabian Peninsula . Their culture is similar to other Bedouin groups, but they have preserved some unique features. Contrary to other Bedouin tribes,

1947-434: The adjacent Wād Ṭuwā ( Valley of Tuwa), it is considered as being muqaddas ( sacred ), and a part of it is called Al-Buqʿah Al-Mubārakah ("The blessed Place"). It is the place where Musa spoke to his Lord. There are two principal routes to the summit. The longer and shallower route, Siket El Bashait , takes about 2.5 hours on foot, though camels can be used. The steeper, more direct route ( Siket Sayidna Musa )

2006-432: The army, Israel accepted the ceasefire on 7 January. In the concluding Armistice Agreement, al-Auja was designated a demilitarized zone. Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( Hebrew : הַר סִינָֽי ‎ Har Sīnay ; Aramaic : ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ Ṭūrāʾ dəSīnăy ; Coptic : Ⲡⲧⲟⲟⲩ Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), also known as Jabal Musa ( Arabic : جَبَل مُوسَىٰ , translation: Mountain of Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt . It

2065-571: The beginning of Wadi Jebal or in Wadi Mathar. Halfway to Wadi Jebal, is a Roman well, and further on a well-preserved Byzantine church next to a walled garden and spring. Another church is at the spring of Ain Nagila, at the foot of Jebel el Bab. Ruins of other settlements and buildings can be found in Wadi Tinya, Wadi Shaq Tinya, Farsh Abu Mahashur, and other places. The building technique of

2124-419: The climate as desert (BWh). Saint Catherine has the coldest nights of any city in Egypt , and its humidity is very low. The highest mountain ranges in Egypt surround the town, with many smaller valleys leading from the basin to the mountains in all directions. The township is at an elevation of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft). The high altitude of the town and the high mountain ranges which surround it provide

2183-528: The construction of the mountain-top palace, he commissioned the building of the camel path up to Mount Sinai and the Askar barracks on the way to the monastery, which now lies in ruins." There are hundreds of ruins of Byzantine monasteries, churches, and monastic settlements in the area, some of them not much more than a pile of rocks, and others difficult to distinguish from Bedouin buildings, but there are also several very well-preserved ones. Many can be found in

2242-592: The core of the town, at the end of the tarmac road where the valleys of Wadi El Arbain (Wadi El Lega), Wadi Quez, Wadi Raha, Wadi Shrayj and Wadi El Dier connect to the main valley, Wadi Sheikh. There are settlements in Wadi Sheikh that date before the town and other smaller settlements in the valleys. Saint Catherine is the capital of the Municipality of Saint Katherine, which includes these outlying areas. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies

2301-462: The entrance. Leopards are now extinct in Sinai; the last was spotted in the 1980s. In many places, big boulders can be seen with oval-shaped marks engraved on the surface. They are marriage proposal rocks, where a lover drew a line around his foot on the rock face next to his lover's footprint. If the two marks are encircled, their wish was granted and they married. Wishing rocks are boulders, usually

2360-538: The foot of the Sinai high mountain region, the "Roof of Egypt", where Egypt's highest mountains are found. The town also puts pressure on the water resources, as groundwater in the valley is from the mountains. As of September 28, 2011, water from the Nile is being transported to Saint Catherine via a pipeline, built with the help of the European Union. The city of Saint Catherine and other close towns fall within

2419-403: The help of a guide. The Blue Desert (Blue Mountain) can be seen just before reaching Saint Catherine to the left in a wide-open wadi. The display was made by Belgian artist Jean Verame in 1980–1981, who painted many of the boulders over an area of around 15 km (5.8 sq mi) and a hill blue. From the air, it looks like a dove of peace. Beyond the many religious places found around

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2478-739: The majority of the Egyptian army in the Gaza Strip . Commanding the operation was Yigal Alon , and involved five Israeli brigades: The 8th Armoured Brigade , commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh ; the Negev Brigade ; the Golani Brigade ; the Harel Brigade ; and the Alexandroni Brigade . They aimed to maintain the siege of the 4,000-strong Egyptian brigade at Faluja . Additionally, the Egyptians had two more brigades in

2537-476: The meat took longer to decay, suggested a better environment and cleaner air. Another account recalls that this story was actually made up by the monks to keep him away from the holy peaks. Although Abbas is "best remembered for the emancipation of the fellaheen and the construction of the Cairo - Alexandria railway line in 1851", he "had a significant influence on the immediate area around Saint Catherine. Besides

2596-524: The monastery further down in the wadi. The Chapel of Saint John Klimakos (also known as "John of the Ladder"), was built in 1979 in Wadi Itlah to commemorate John Climacus's devotional work in the 6th century AD. Also spelled Saint John Climacus or Climax, the saint spent forty years in solitude in a cave above the existing chapel. "During this time, Klimakos was elected Abbot of Sinai and asked to write

2655-523: The mountainous area. Some of them are easily-visible landmarks, such as in Abu Seila or Farsh Rummana, but most are hard to distinguish from the landscape. Ancient leopard traps can be seen in many places, either under boulders such as in Wadi Talaa, or standing alone as on the top of Abu Geefa. A goat was placed inside as bait, and when the trap was tripped by a leopard, a large rock fell to block

2714-414: The mountains for centuries. The techniques used are similar to Byzantine methods, partly because of the natural environment, and partly because of the interaction between the Bedouin and the monastery. They received seeds from the monks to start crops. They grow vegetables and fruit in stone-walled gardens called Bustan or karm and mastered grafting, where a branch of a higher-yielding lowland variety

2773-438: The natives and are found in many locations. Vegetables are not grown as much as in the past because of the lack of water. Flowers and medicinal herbs are common. Water is often found at higher elevations, either in natural springs or in wells made at dykes called Jidda . The Bedouins built small dams and closed off canyons to make reservoirs. In either case, water is channeled to small rock pools called birka , from where it

2832-464: The nature of the exposed rocks in Mount Sinai indicates that they were formed at different depths from one another. Immediately north of the mountain is the 6th-century Saint Catherine's Monastery . The summit has a mosque that is still used by Muslims , and a Greek Orthodox chapel, constructed in 1934 on the ruins of a 16th-century church, that is not open to the public. The chapel encloses

2891-450: The northern end of the garden, until he died in AD 390. The Monastery of Cosmas and Damianos in Wadi Talaa is named after the martyred brothers who were doctors and treated locals for free in the 3rd century AD. The garden of the monastery, looked after by a Bedouin family, has a long olive grove, some tall cypress trees, and other fruit trees and vegetables. There are more gardens belonging to

2950-557: The principal goals of the Protectorate is to preserve the biodiversity of the fragile ecosystem, with an emphasis on the Nubian ibex and the wild medicinal and aromatic plants . The St. Katherine Protectorate is a major job provider in the area, although the number of local Bedouins employed has fallen sharply since the initial European Union support ended. Snow is the best source of water as it melts slowly, thus releasing water at

3009-549: The region of Saint Katherine Protectorate , which was established in 1988. Its unique high-altitude ecosystem with many endemic and rare species, include the world's smallest butterfly (the Sinai baton blue butterfly ), flocks of Nubian ibex , and hundreds of different plants of medicinal value. The region has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Area. Some of the species are endangered. Sinai agamas , rock hyraxes , and foxes can be seen. Harmless to people, foxes regularly visit

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3068-575: The rock which is considered to be the source for the biblical Tablets of Stone . At the summit also is "Moses' cave", where Moses was said to have waited to receive the Ten Commandments . The Jabal Musa is associated with the Islamic prophet Mūsā ibn ʿImrān (i.e., Moses). In particular, numerous references to Jabal Musa exist in the Quran , where it is called Ṭūr Saināʾ , Ṭūr Sīnīn , and aṭ-Ṭūr and al-Jabal (both meaning "the Mount"). As for

3127-455: The settlement and for irrigation. Typical of the Byzantine era, water conduits or channels directed the mountain rains to cisterns or pools. Water conduits were constructed using natural drainage lines in granite and by cementing flat stones with natural mortar. The outdoor courtyards are thought to have been used for meeting guests and for cooking. A bit further afield, at Serabit al-Khadim, are ancient turquoise mines and pharaonic temples from

3186-633: The supplies. The road, starting at Abu Jeefa and going through Wadi Tubuq and Wadi Zawatin, is still used today. Grandson and successor of the reformist Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805–1848), Abbas Pasha was in many ways the opposite. He had "a lasting distrust of foreigners, strongly opposed many of the Western-inspired changes introduced by his father Mohammed Ali Pasha, and he is remembered as a traditionalist and reactionary who undid many of his grandfather's modernizing reforms. His secretive and suspicious nature led to much speculation over his death; it

3245-414: The top of Jebel Somra, just opposite Jebel Abbas Basha, is still visible with many huge blocks. Other blocks were cut from Wadi Zawatin, at the beginning of the ascent to the palace. The bricks were made on site while the mortar, made of lime and water, was burnt in kilns in the surrounding valleys. To be able to carry out the work, first, a road accessible to camels and donkeys was built in order to transport

3304-522: The town at night to steal and scavenge. Rock hyraxes are often seen frequenting gardens including a wide range having migrated from Europe. Feral donkeys in the mountains have migrated to the region and lower-lying areas (reportedly as far as El Tur) in the winter and return to graze during the summer. Many of them belong to families and are branded. There is a move to reduce their numbers by the Saint Katherine City Council. One of

3363-549: The world, second only to that of the Vatican. Being of religious importance to Jews, Muslims, and Christians the area receives nearly 100,000 visitors annually. While the struggle to limit access and visiting hours has done little to preserve the monastery, it has also provided a measure of protection during political turbulence. The Hagar Musa (Rock of Moses) in Wadi El Arbain, from which the Prophet Moses produced water,

3422-416: Was available for irrigation. Water runs, sometimes for miles, in narrow conduits made of flat rocks which are still visible, but today gardens rely on plastic pipes ( Khartoum ). These gardens are a unique feature of the high mountain area, along with other stone and rock structures. Bedouin houses are small, simple stone structures with cane roofing, either incorporated into the garden wall or standing alone

3481-459: Was executed. Her body vanished, but some three centuries later, monks guided by a dream found it on the mountain. It was brought down and placed in a golden casket in the Monastery, which became known in the 11th century as the Monastery of Saint Catherine. The Monastery of Saint Catherine has been a working monastery from its creation in the 4th century to the present day. It holds one of the most religiously and historically significant libraries in

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