Monastery of St. Catherine and Dahab City

Monastery of St. Catherine and Dahab City

An excursion to the Monastery of St. Catherine is an opportunity to visit one of the oldest shrines in the world. It is this Christian monastery that has been operating continuously since the 4th century. Since 2002, the monastery has been under the protection of UNESCO and is included in the list of World Heritage Sites. The monastery is located in the center of the Sinai Peninsula at the foot of Mount Sinai – it is also known as Mount Moses (biblical name – Horeb) at an altitude of 1570 m. During all its years of existence, the monastery has never been destroyed or damaged. And thanks to this, he preserved a huge number of icons, ancient manuscripts, which are second only to the library in the Vatican. Catherine’s true name was Dorothea, who was born in 294 in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. She was a beautiful, educated girl with wealthy parents who spoke several languages. A Syrian monk told her about Jesus and converted her to Christianity. And when the girl herself tried to convert the Roman Emperor Maximius to Christianity, he exiled her to martyrdom back to Alexandria. But after the execution her body was not found. And only three centuries later, the monks of the monastery built by Justinian, after their visions, were able to climb Mount Moses where they found the remains of Catherine. Since then, the monastery has been named after St. Catherine, operating continuously for 16 centuries, but without services.

In the program of our excursion you will visit the monastery of St. Catherine itself, the thorn bush located there and the chapel of the “Burning Bush”, the well of Moses, the Basilica of the Transfiguration (the main temple of the monastery), the crypt and cemetery – located near the garden, the monastery garden itself, the ancient library, a large olive grove and you can even try and buy olive oil from olives grown on the holy land by the monks of the monastery.

Excursion program to the “Monastery of St. Catherine and Dahab City”:

– Pick up from your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh       

Our guide will be waiting for you at the gate of your hotel around 05:30 am. The route from Sharm El Sheikh to the monastery is 218 km (on average up to 3 hours drive). On the road, along with contemplating the wonderful nature of the Sinai Peninsula outside the bus window (desert and mountains), the guide will give you information about the program and tell you in more detail about the value of the places you will visit.

– Church of the Basilica of the Transfiguration

After arrival, you will attend the morning service in the Church of the Basilica of the Transfiguration, located on the territory of the monastery, and there you will also have the opportunity to venerate the relics of St. Catherine.

– Burning Bush

The next place you will see will be the Burning Bush bush – a burning, but not consumed bush, in which God appeared to Moses, herding sheep in the desert near Mount Sinai. When Moses approached the bush to see why the bush burns with fire and is not consumed (Exodus 3:2), God called to him from the burning bush, calling on him to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. In the Synodal translation of the Bible, the Burning Bush is indicated as a “thorn bush,” but the sacred blackberry bush actually grows on the territory of the monastery, and it was cultivated by the monks of the monastery. Since the text of the Bible itself does not describe the signs of a burning bush, only its name in Hebrew is known about it. Besides the mention of this word in the context of the burning bush that appeared before Moses, it appears only once more in the Pentateuch (Deut. 33:16), with the same reference to an event that happened to Moses. Subsequently, the bush was moved several meters into the courtyard of the monastery, and in its former place they erected the Chapel of the Annunciation (Chapel of the Burning Bush) with a silver star, which indicates the place where the roots of the bush came out of the ground. By the way, an interesting fact is that they tried to plant the bush in other places in Egypt, but it has not worked out so far, for reasons unknown so far, the bush does not take root anywhere except on the territory of the monastery.

– Well of Moses

Also on the territory of the monastery is the well of Moses – the place where, according to the Bible, Moses met seven girls who were watering sheep with water from the well. They turned out to be the daughters of Raguel (the Midian priest). The monks of the monastery protect and maintain the functionality of the well to this day.

– ancient Library in Monastery of St. Catherine

The Monastery of St. Catherine has a real treasure – the ancient Library, created in 1734 under Archbishop Nikephoros. The most valuable manuscripts of the library are considered to be: twelve leaves of one of the oldest texts of the Bible and Codex Sinaiticus of the 4th century, the Syriac Codex of the 5th century, ten leaves of the uncial manuscript of the 4th century in Greek with the text of the Gospel of Matthew (codex 074), the Greek Gospel of 717 and many others . The monastery’s library contains 3,304 manuscripts and about 1,700 scrolls. Dear tourists, please note that entrance to the library costs an additional fee of £5.

– Ossuary (crypt) and cemetery

You will also see the ossuary (crypt) and cemetery, which are located behind the monastery, near the garden. On the territory of the cemetery there is a chapel of Tryphon and seven graves. These graves are used more than once – periodically, the bones located there are removed from the graves and transferred to the ossuary, which is located in the lower tier of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary. The only complete skeleton in the ossuary belongs to the relic of the hermit Stephen. The relics of Stephen, dressed in monastic clothes, rest in a glass case.

– Garden in Monastery of St. Catherine

The garden is located next to the cemetery and its interest lies in the ancient underground passage that connects it to the monastery, the monks of the monastery still use this passage today. The garden contains pomegranate trees, pears, quince, apple trees, mulberries, cherries, plums, almonds, apricots and grapes. And, also, olive trees are considered to be of great value in the garden – from which the monks produce sacred olive oil. Interestingly, they also grow vegetables for themselves.

– Lunch in Dahab

At the end of our interesting day spent in such a holy place, on the way home we will stop for lunch at a restaurant in the neighboring city of Dahab and you will also have time for shopping there.

– Return back

You will return to your hotel in Sharm El Sheikh around 17:00.

• The journey from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Catherine’s Monastery covers approximately 218 km and takes around 3 hours each way.

• Entrance to the ancient library of St. Catherine’s Monastery is optional and requires an additional fee of approximately £5 per person.

• The excursion includes visits to active religious sites, so modest and respectful clothing is recommended.

• The tour involves walking through the monastery grounds, gardens, and historical areas; comfortable walking shoes are highly recommended.

• Guests will have free time for shopping and lunch in Dahab City on the return journey.

• This excursion is ideal for history enthusiasts, pilgrims, and travelers interested in religious heritage, culture, and ancient Christian sites.