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St Catherine’s Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt and known for its sacred peace, is now preparing to open up to the public.
The Greek Orthodox monastery was founded in the 6th century and is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited Christian monasteries.
Moses is said to have received the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai.
This 1,500-year-old monastery was built where the valley ends and Mount Sinai begins.
Known among the faithful for housing relics of St Catherine of Alexandria, its ancient library of rare manuscripts also draws many pilgrims.
Gentle breezes blow across barren, reddish-brown rocks, causing rose bushes and olive trees to flutter.

Spend a few days here, and what you mostly sense is silence.
Christians, Jews and Muslims revere this place, where faith, history and nature all come together in a powerful combination.
But down in the valley, it is bustling with concrete, containers and construction vehicles as today’s Egypt prepares for tomorrow’s tourism.
Hotels and villas are planned, offering upwards of 1,000 rooms plus a promenade with a bazaar, a Peace Plaza and a visitor centre. The sign is already in place.
The government is celebrating the construction project, which is scheduled for completion in October 2026, as “Egypt’s gift to the whole world and all religions”.
A museum and theatre are planned, as well as conference rooms and restaurants. Motorways are being paved and a currently unused airport nearby is being expanded. It is set to cost US$220 million.
It will be a “wonderful destination for all visitors”, whether they come for religious reasons, recreation or nature, says Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
According to state-affiliated media, the aim is to “harness the magic of the region” and transform it into a “must-visit destination”. A large German hotel chain is already on board.

But can a monastery that thrives on peace and seclusion cope with so many visitors? Will not a religious site with a few occasional tourists then become a tourist site with a few religious attractions?
A “delicate balance” is needed, says Father Justin, one of 22 monks living in St Catherine’s Monastery. “Open and accessible to a certain extent, but also preserving quiet times and solitude.”
The monks begin their day at 4am and live in line with a “complex schedule that has been in place for centuries”, Father Justin says. The monastery opens to visitors for three hours a day at present. But change is coming. The project represents “the greatest possible contrast to what the area stands for”, according to World Heritage Watch, an organisation dedicated to protecting Unesco World Heritage sites. The area received this status in 2002.
Unesco has called on the government in Cairo to present a protection plan, halt the construction work and let observers into the country, but so far, nothing has come of this.
The Bedouin have long been faced with a new reality. Members of the Jabaliya tribe, said to be descended from Byzantine soldiers sent in the 6th century to guard the monastery, are believed to be the oldest tribe in the area. The name “Jabaliya” comes from the Arabic word for “mountain”.
They made the construction and operation of the monastery possible in the first place, acting as protectors, mountain guides and camel drivers. Now, their houses have been demolished during the construction work, and an old cemetery has been destroyed. With their bare hands, they dug up the remains of their relatives to bury them further away. Where the cemetery used to be is now a car park.
“They ignore everyone,” says one of the Bedouin of the government’s activities.
St Catherine’s Monastery is in danger of becoming like Sharm el-Sheikh, further south – a place with “five-star hotels and tourists who only stay in their hotels”.

After being forced into the hinterland in Sharm, many Bedouin make their living from waste recycling.
On Mount Sinai, everything appears to be the same as ever. For some, after a laborious climb, all the energy of St Catherine is released.
A Korean tour group is singing Christian songs, and a woman sobs loudly as she says a prayer at the summit. Another sits quietly crying on a rock, watching the sunset.
Down in the monastery, the singing of the monks can be heard coming from a loudspeaker in the small shop, and the smell of burning wax from the votive candles fills the air.
A few rooms above, the library houses more than 3,300 ancient manuscripts.
“You have to protect the people who come here to feel something inside themselves,” says a monk. “Something in their hearts. If you don’t protect it, it becomes a tourist attraction,” he says, placing both hands on his chest.


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Tourism

Can ancient monastery in Mount Sinai, Egypt, cope with massive increase in tourism?

Egypt has big plans for tourism around St Catherine’s Monastery, built in the 6th century at the foot of Mount Sinai. Photo: dpa

Parts of the ongoing construction project near St Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Photo: dpa

St Catherine’s Monastery was founded on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in the 6th century. Photo: dpa

A view of Four Seasons Sharm el-Sheikh. St Catherine’s Monastery is in danger of becoming like Sharm el-Sheikh, said a local Bedouin. Photo: Four Seasons Hotel Group

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Travel & Leisure

Egypt’s plans to expand tourism around the 6th-century St Catherine’s Monastery near Mount Sinai could compromise its peace and solitude


Egypt’s plans to expand tourism around the 6th-century St Catherine’s Monastery near Mount Sinai could compromise its peace and solitude.


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Egypt

Religion

Can ancient monastery in Mount Sinai, Egypt, cope with massive increase in tourism?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Egypt’s plans to expand tourism around the 6th-century St Catherine’s Monastery near Mount Sinai could compromise its peace and solitude

Egypt’s plans to expand tourism around the 6th-century St Catherine’s Monastery near Mount Sinai could compromise its peace and solitude