Monastery of St. Catherine and Dahab city resort tours from Sahrm El Sheikh

monastery of St. Catherine from sharp trips

Monastery of St.Catherine + Dahab city

St. Catherine and its library has the largest religious collection next to the Vatican only. It was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, although there was already a church at the site of the Burning Bush erected by the Empress Helena in 330 AD. Byzantine Orthodox monasticism has even earlier roots, and the area is sacred to all three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The monastery was under the protection of the Prophet Mohammed, Arab and Turkish leaders and Napoleon, which helped to preserve it virtually undamaged. In the walled compound there is a Fatimid mosque built next to the Orthodox church, a rare coexistence of religions in today’s World.

We will pick you up approx. 6.30 AM. Drive to St.Catherine takes around 2.30 or 3 hours, we will make one stop to see the beautiful valley with lovely sand dunes. Then, we go directly to Catherine Village, arriving there at about 9.45 AM and visit the monastery of St. Catherine which lies at the foot of Mount Moses in the heart of South Sinai. This is one of the most famous monuments of South Sinai with a lot of attractions like the Church of Transfiguration, The Skull House, Moses Well and the Burning Bush. You will get a guided tour to see all this with all the historical explanations from our licensed guide. After visiting the monastery you will get free time where you can visit the museum of the monastery which contains the oldest icons and manuscripts of the early stage of Christianity. It is the world’s second largest collection of illuminated manuscripts after the Vatican. The entry of the museum costs 25le (not included). You can take photo’s during this free time. Then, we drive back to Dahab City where we get our lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch you will have the chance to go shopping in Dahab or look around this wonderful city. We will arrive back in Sharm el Sheikh approx. at 5 PM and you will be taken back to your hotel.

Trip runs on Monday’s, on Thursday’s and on Saturday’s.