Saint Catherine’s Monastery is one of the most wonderful religious places in Egypt. It is considered the most important sightseeing that attracts visitors all over the world. It is one of the oldest monasteries in the world.
It is located on the slopes of 摩西山 in the Sinai Peninsula. This monastery was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2002.
This monastery is known as Saint Catherine’s Monastery, but its original name is Sacred Monastery of the God Trodden.
Who is Saint Catherine?
Saint Catherine lived in Alexandria during the persecution of Christians by the Romans during the period of Emperor Maximinus. She believed in Christianity and succeeded in making 50 people believed in Christianity too, which led to the Romans tortured her and beheaded her in 307 AD.
After 5 centuries, a monk saw a dream that the angels carried Saint Catherine’s body and placed it on the top of the mountain in Sinai, near the monastery, so the monastery was called with her name.
The history of this monastery:
Emperor Justinian ordered to construct this monastery in 527 AD to house the monks of the Sinai Peninsula.
Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great (the first Roman emperor to believe in Christianity), built a small church in this place in the fourth century AD. After that, Emperor Justinian rebuilt this church and included it within the Church of the Transfiguration of Christ the Savior.
It is believed that the location of this monastery is the place where the Prophet Moses spoke to the God and received the Ten Commandments.
The monastery includes many buildings as:
1-The Church of the Transfiguration of Christ the Savior: This church includes 9 churches. The most important church among these churches is the Burning Bush Church.
2-The Fatimid Mosque: It dates back to the 12th century during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah. This mosque was a resting point for pilgrims on their way to Mecca.
3-The library: The monastery’s library distinguishes with including rare books and 6000 manuscripts. During the restoration of the library in 2017, many manuscripts were discovered, like a Greek medical manuscript dating back to the 5th century.
4- The olive press: It is located below the mosque courtyard and is used to press olives to make the oil.
5-The wells: There are 6 wells and 4 water springs in the monastery.
6-Garden: In front of the monastery, there are a lot of fruit trees. Also, these gardens contain the monks’ cemetery.
7- Guest houses: A small house was built in 1863 during the reign of Khedive Ismail, dedicated to housing visitors of the monastery.
8- The monks’ rooms
9- The dining hall
you can visit Saint Catherine with 7 Days in Cairo & Sharm El Sheikh
