The Sinai Peninsula, a 600 000 square mile peninsula situated between the Mediterranean Sea (to the North) and the Red Sea (to the South) forms a land bridge between Africa and Asia. Most of the peninsula is desert and the interior is an arid landscape of jagged mountains and ranges. The south is the most beautiful part of the whole peninsula, with the most exquisite coral reefs and the best diving spots in the world. It is in the Sinai Peninsula that we find mount Sinai and St. Catherine monastery, Sinai’s most famous archeological monument. In ancient times it was the pilgrims route, as it is believed that this is where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.
The Monastery of Saint Catherine
Since the early Christian Period, Sinai was a great attraction for the Christian monks. Becoming a monk was an escape from the Roman violence which was common in the 4th Century A.D. Those who fled the persecution of the Roman Empire have taken shelter in various areas in Egypt, more exactly the areas near water sources.
The mother of Constantine the Great, Empress Helena, built in 342 A.D. a monastery, including a chapel known as the Virgin Mary, at the site believed to be the place where Moses received the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments, the site of the Burning Bush. In the 6th century A.D the Emperor Justinian ordered the building of a church, today known as the Church of Transfiguration and of a high enclosure wall, with protective towers, and supposedly he provided 200 Roman soldiers to protect it against the attacks of the Bedouins.
Saint Catherine lived in Alexandria during the reign of Maximinus in 305-313 A.D, during the persecution of Christians. When she converted to Christianity the Roman tortured her severely, and in 307 A.D. beheaded her. After five centuries, a monk had a vision of her body carried by angels, that placed her on the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai. Following this vision, the monks carried her relics to the Church of Transfiguration, next to the monastery called “The Virgin”. Ever since, the name of the monastery has been known as Saint Catherine. It lies at the foot of “Moses Mountain”, a breath taking site, on a high location, 480m above sea level, with a great climate and plenty of fresh water.
Treasures of the Monastery
The Red Sea Coast
The many mountain ranges on the coast inspired the mariners of antiquity to name it the or the Red Sea. The coast runs from the Gulf of Suez, and it harbors one of the major attractions of the tourism of Egypt: the city of Hurghada. More than 2.5 million people visit Hurghada every year, yielding more than 3 billion dollars to Egypt’s economy. It is located 550 Km from Cairo and it stretches for 60Km along the coast. It has more than 170 hotels and it is still developing. It’s climate makes it possible to practice diving all year, temperatures ranging from 26C to 29C from March to November and 33C in the summer, with a very moderate water temperature also.
The marine life is the main tourist attraction, consisting of lots of coral and colorful fish, very close to the shore.In the present Hurghada is a world centre for sea sports, and the offshore underwater gardens are famous amongst divers. There are also glass bottom boats trough which you can observe the many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs that are developing on the ideal conditions and warm waters.
Thank you for visiting ! If the info you found here helps you, let it help others too. Please refer it to your friends.
You can also do us a favor and link us. Here’s the link information:
Tite: Tourist Egypt – Sinai and the Red Sea
URL: http://tourist-egypt.blogspot.com/2009/05/tourist-egypt-sinai-and-red-sea.html
© 2009 copyright tourist-egypt.blogspot.com Tourist Egypt - Sinai and the Red Sea
No comments:
Post a Comment