Wikitravel Sharm El Sheikh

Mount Sinai (Arabic Gebel Musa) is in the middle of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt and rises 2, 285 metres above sea level.

Understand[edit]

Mount Sinai is said to be the place where Moses obtained the Ten Commandments from God; without a doubt, the Arabic title means "Mount of Moses". Because there is little archaeological research to guide this assertion, the mountain is still a popular pilgrimage website and house into Monastery of St. Catherine, a Greek Orthodox monastery established within the 6th century, among the longest-running monasteries worldwide and it self within supposed location of the Burning Bush. The tiny city of al-Minya, beyond your entry toward valley, has sprung as much as focus on tourists.

Your sole option of transport is by roadway. Dahab is 2 hours and 133 kilometers away, Nuweiba is 120km and the same 2 hours away, whilst the journey from Sharm el-Sheikh (230km) is nearer to 3 hours. Most visitors arrive on trips that get to around 1am at base of the mountain to be able to climb Mount Sinai in a single day and watch the sunrise. Any guesthouse in Sinai can arrange for you to definitely join a trip. There are a number of camps, guesthouses and hotels in St. Catherine that may accommodate tourists and travellers alike.

By taxi[edit]

A taxi to/from Dahab or Nuweiba can cost around LE 200 (Dec 2011).

Bypass[edit]

You have two options for getting around and climbing the hill: by foot, or by camel. See when it comes to full scoop.

The Monastery of St. Catherine, [3] at the base of the hill, is the easier associated with the two destinations here. Looking a lot more like a fortress than a chapel, access is by a massive metal gate shut when it comes to night and launched each morning from 9 AM to 12 AM just (day-to-day except Friday and Sunday). Note that the monastery observes the Greek Orthodox rites and is thus also shut for Christmas time and Easter as computed because of the Greek Orthodox diary. It was announced a UNESCO World Heritage web site in 2002.

• Church of St. Catherine. The main church for the complex, finished in 551.
• Basilica. Well-known for a mosaic associated with the Transfiguration (since 2008/07/Feb 2011 in renovation and never in public).
• Moses' Well. a springtime that provides water on monastery and, relating to legend, the positioning where Moses found his spouse for the first time.
• Library...