I have made many trips to Egypt, mainly to enjoy snorkeling in the beautiful sea and relaxing on the beaches. In 2008, I joined a one-day bus tour to Saint Catherine’s Monastery (official name: Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai), which is famous for being the location where Moses saw the Burning Bush.

Saint Catherine’s Monastery

Saint Catherine’s is a Greek Orthodox monastery founded in the 6th century and it’s one of the longest running monasteries in the world. The tourist buses don’t stop next to the Monastery. So on the way to the Monastery you can admire the landscape.

From the outside the Monastery looks a lot like a fortress. That’s because the monks that settled around the site of the Burning Bush were attacked regularly by Bedouins.

When you reach inside you will find the most famous sight. The Burning Bush.

The monks could not be buried permanently in the Monastery. Therefore they were buried for a while and then removed from the earth to be put in this ossuary. This was really special for me as this was the first of its kind I have visited. It’s quite amazing to see all these bones piled up, right?

This is the Bell Tower which in total contains nine bells of different sizes. The bells are still rung for services.

Conclusion

I would recommend this sight to anyone staying in the region. If you have booked a resort vacation in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Taba or Dahab; you might as well take the opportunity to make the day trip to the Monastery. You could also explore the option to hike up Mount Sinai. Unfortunately, that part of the tour was cancelled for me due to the lack of participation. I’m sure I’ll be back to go diving in the Red Sea one day, who knows, maybe I’ll climb up the mountaint then.

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