Sinai’s Hidden Treasures

Saint Catherine Monastery, Chapel of Helena

Nothing is more mysterious or exciting than ancient discoveries that offer clues to the past. For centuries explorers have journeyed across arid desert landscapes in hope of uncovering jewels, artifacts, and ancient ways of living. For travelers with a taste for adventure St. Catherine’s Monastery, or Santa Katarina, is a unique and unforgettable experience in ancient knowledge, mystique and intrigue.
Saint Catherine’s, with ancient artifacts, jewels and mysteriously preserved texts spans a time long forgotten, in dialects no longer spoken. Its jewels and art stand as a testimony and living history to the past. Through the centuries its priests have meticulously preserved the world treasures contained in its sanctuaries, today maintaining a vast collection of fascinating iconic history.
Overlooking the small monastery are the magnificent Sinai Mountains, and Mount of Moses. Tradition holds it was here that God’s glory settled on the top of the mountain and spoke to Moses. Standing on the top of the mountain, viewing the expanse of the Red Sea in the crisp of an early morning sunrise, shining in yellow-orange brilliance across the sky, one can almost taste the salty elegance of the Red sea in the distance. Colors of rust and sandy gray mix into a hypnotic purplish dance that speak of forgotten mysteries across an unbridled desert, seemingly untouched by time. It is here, among these distant dreams that Saint Catherine’s Monastery stands, as the oldest and smallest Greek Orthodox Church in the world.
It is nestled at the foot of the mount of Moses in the Sinai desert, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its many valuable treasures, and its religious significance. Though secluded in the desert, it contains one of the largest ancient text libraries in the world, second only to the Roman Catholic Vatican in Rome. It also contains more than one fourth of early Christian Byzantine art in the world, dating to early centuries. It contains exquisite jeweled chalices, including a 14th century silver and enamel pearl chalice from King Charles VI of France. The chalice is so unique that it was requested by the Louvre Museum in Paris for display. It also contains an amazing display of Arab mosaics, ornaments, paintings, reliquaries, and others, including 17th century gifts from Empress Catherine of Russia, and Czar Alexander II in the 19th century.
The monastery dates to the fifth century and was built by the orders of Express Helena, mother of Constantine the Great. The chapel was built in the third century, with the fortress built to house the many monks in the 4th century. The fortress was built by Emperor Justinian, and originally had an inner sanctuary overlain with pure gold.

It was originally built to provide the area monks with a place of worship, and to honor the site that is believed to be by both Christians and Muslims, as the site of the Old Testament burning bush where God summoned Moses, writing the Ten Commandments. It is also designated as the site where God summoned Elijah. Visitors climb the exquisite stairway of Elijah along a stone stairway, experiencing natural wonder, and amazing desert views.

St. Catherine Mosaic, Monastery Art, Sinai Desert

 

The monastery is named after Catherine the Great, a fourth century saint, virgin and martyr, a princess and scholar. Concerned about the law of worshiping idols Saint Catherine spoke her concerns to Roman Emperor Maxentius. She was then martyred, and her bones are held in the monastery. Throughout the centuries Saint Catherine’s has been a place of worship for the priests, bishops and monks who find rest and homage in its halls, but has also served as a place of service to the community Christians and Muslims. The monastery’s past also brought visiting monks to learn practices of monotheism. The monks carried religious books, texts and gifts with them, which explains its vast library.

The library contains 5,000 early printed books, 3,500 religious text manuscripts, and 2,000 scrolls in Syriac, Greek, Coptic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian and other languages. It contains New Testament Christian texts, Islamic texts, first print copies of Homer, and Plato, as well as other Hellenistic writings. These were collected as monks traveled to the small monastery through the centuries, leaving books and gifts behind.

Not only is Saint Catherine’s a jewel in the desert, containing unique and historical world treasures, but it also is the site where the oldest, and most complete manuscript of the New Testament, the Syriac Sinaiticus, was found in 1892 by Scottish Sisters, Agnes Smith Lewis, and Margaret Dunlap Gibson. The texts were later photographed and cataloged by Lewis, Gibson, and a British academic team. The photographed copies were studied and transcribed, and eventually taken to England and donated to the Westminster Foundation Library, still studied by scholars today. Portions of the New Testament texts are on display at St. Catherine’s Monastery museum under an illuminated glass case.

The monastery houses approximately 25 monks, who use many of the icons and other artifacts in religious services. The monastery has received as many as 1,000 visitors a day from the nearby Sharm el-Sheikh Resort who travel to the monastery for a glimpse of its rich history, artifacts and world treasured texts. Day tours and travel guides exist throughout Egypt for travelers interested in visiting Saint Catherine’s Monastery. It is a six hour drive from Cairo.

Tonyia Martin Gad is an American freelance writer working and living in Egypt. She is also writing a book entitled “Secrets From the Past” regarding Egypt’s rich history, secrets, legends, and myths.

Video: Saint Catherine Icons (Property of Getty)