St. Catherine Tour from Sharm El-Sheikh

Location: It lies in the foothills of Moses Mountain 5012 feet above sea level. Set beneath the mountain where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments.

Who built it? It is built by Emperor Justinian for himself and his wife.

Overview: The Monastery was named after St. Catherine (the daughter of Kistery) who was tortured to death by her father for she succeed in converting 50 of his followers to Christianity in 307 AD. Saint Catherine's Monastery has been one of the world's great centers of religious pilgrimage for over 15 centuries. Within its imposing wall resets a citadel like no other, incredibly rich in important religious and historical structure. Among its treasures is a library of ancient manuscripts and icons second only to the Vatican's itself, and a 6th century church reputed to lie directly on the side of the Burning Bush. Quite simply, the monastery is a defining feature of the Holy Land. The Monastery's Library consists of the largest and most important of its type in the world, the library contains a rich collection of 4,500 manuscripts, mainly Greek, but also Arabic, Coptic, Syriac, Slavonic and others.In addition to the manuscripts, the Library contains a considerable number of printed books. About 5,000 of these are old editions, some of which date from the earlier days of the art pf printing. Inside the church there is El-Mouta church (the church of the dead). Ther are also 6 wells, 4 springs and a large garden rich in fruit trees of different kinds and two mills According to the old beliefs, angels took her remain to Mount Sinai, and then around the year 800, monks from the Sinai Monastery found her remains.

Reference: (Egypt Tourist Guide) 16th edition (Best of Egypt) Volume III

What sprang up during the 1960’s as a hippie hangout along the Red Sea has grown into a thriving beach community that offers easy access to some of the best diving location in the world.

Dahab, a coastal village in the middle of the eastern shore of Sinai, is now a booming diving community. It offers a range of accommodations from hostels for budget travelers to luxurious full service resorts. All of this is located right on the water, tucked between the purple mountains of Sinai’s interior and the crystal waters of the Gulf of Aqaba with the shadowy mountains of Saudi Arabia visible across the water in the distance.

In the central part of Dahab there is a well-established strip of restaurants and hotels the allow travelers to lounge by the water while enjoying the full restaurant service. Further north the vibe is more relaxed and less developed and a few miles out of town in either direction are resorts offering more exclusive privacy. All of these places organize trips to the many impressive diving and snorkeling locations nearby.

Through any of the hotels or countless tourism shops, it is easy to organized diving trips or safari trips into Sinai’s interior. Quad bike excursions, camel rides, and day trips to St. Katherine and Mount Sinai deep in the middle of the peninsula are all popular.

About 60 kilometers north of Dahab is the town of Nuweiba, which is even more low-key. Most of the accommodations here consist of simple huts on the beach with a restaurant nearby. They provide the ultimate in relaxation and also the easiest access to excursions to Sinai’s interior.

There is also ferry that leaves from Nuweiba twice daily making the trip across to Aqaba in Jordan and back.