Egypt · ST. CATHERINE’S MONASTERY

St Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai

A working monastery. Opening hours are the monks’; dress modestly and expect closures.

At the foot of Mount Sinai, a community of monks has lived here without interruption since the sixth century, which makes it the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery on earth. Visits are short and governed by the monastery’s own hours: the church, the burning bush and the library are open some mornings and not others. Most trips pair it with the climb up the mountain for sunrise, in the cold, from Sharm, Dahab or Cairo.

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