The history and significance of the oldest and still inhabited Christian monastery in the world. According to tradition, it lies at the foot of Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the tablets of the law.
n the heart of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, nestled in the desert, but a few kilometers from the Red Sea, isolated and at the same time protected by Mount Horeb that rises above it … the Monastery of St. Catherine, or the Transfiguration, is a jewel of architecture, history and religion.
To get there, you have to cross the desert of El Tih and pass police checkpoints that recur at every change of governorship. After the temporary closure to visitors on 2013, arranged by the Egyptian authorities for security reasons, as a result of the ongoing fighting with jihadist groups, the monastery has suffered a sharp decline in visits.
However, tourists and faithful of the three main monotheistic religions: Christians, Muslims and Jews, continue to arrive, fascinated by the monastery’s ancient and relevant history.