The story of a monastery and a mountain.
Saint Catherine Monastery is located in southern Sinai, Egypt, below Mount Catherine, the highest mountain in Egypt, near Mount Moses. It is said that it is the oldest monastery in the world. It is considered a major tourist site, as it is visited by tourist groups worldwide. It is a retreat run by the head of the monastery, the Bishop of Sinai. He is not subject to the authority of any patriarch or a Holy Synod but has close relations with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The name of the Patriarch of Jerusalem is mentioned in the masses. However, the guardianship of the monastery was for long periods by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the monks and priests of the monastery were Greeks and not Arabs or Egyptians, as were the bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, which the Greeks controlled for long periods. In addition to the monastery, the Bishop of Sinai manages the churches and holy shrines located in southern Sinai in the area of al-Tur, the oasis of Ferran and Tarfa. The monastery was built on the order of Empress Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine. Still, Emperor Justinian was the one who actually built the building between the years 545 AD to contain the remains of St. Catherine, who lived in Alexandria. The story says that St. Catherine was of a pagan aristocratic family - she was born in Alexandria in 194 AD and was called Zorosia. She was educated and beautiful. Everyone wanted her for her beauty. She rejected everyone and believed in Christianity during the persecution of Emperor Maximinus. It was that they converted to Christianity. About three centuries after the death of Caterina, her holy remains appeared in the dream of one of the monks of the monastery that Emperor Justinian had established, so these remains were transferred and placed in the structure of the church in a marble box next to the main structure.
There is a church in Alexandria in her name. The monastery contains a historical church with ancient gifts from kings and princes, including silver chandeliers and a well that they say is the well of Moses. The monastery is a failure, and it does not grow anywhere else outside the monastery. The monastery represents a piece of historical art, as there are Arab mosaics, Russian and Greek icons, oil frescoes, wax engraving, and others. The monastery also contains a library of manuscripts said to be the second-largest library of manuscripts after the Vatican, a hostel for visitors and a distinctive archaeological tower of bells. The service at the monastery some members of the Bedouin. In addition to the relics of St. Catherine, in the monastery, there is a (Moadama) containing the remains of all the monks who lived in the monastery. Visits are allowed from early morning until noon; after that, it closes its doors to visitors so that the monks devote themselves to their religious duties. All Western tourists and others are obligated to dress modestly when entering the monastery, and there are loose robes that people can wear before entering the monastery. The only entrance to the monastery was a small door 30 feet high, designed to protect the monastery from strangers and intruders, as people lifted and lowered a box moved by a system of winches and pulleys. Now there is a small door under the wall of the monastery.