Mount Sinai hosts Sinai’s most famous archeological monument – the St. Catherine monastery. Built by the mother of Constantine the Great, Empress Helena, in 342 A.D, on the place where it is believed that Moses received the two tablets – the site of the Burning Bush – it includes a chapel known as Virgin Mary. Emperor Justinian ordered in the 6th century A.D the building of a church – the Church of Transfiguration - and of a high enclosure wall with protective towers to protect it against the attacks of the Bedouins. He also provided it with 200 Roman soldiers to defend it.
Saint Catherine lived in Alexandria during the reign of Maximinus in 305-313 A.D, during the persecution of Christians. When she converted to Christianity the Roman tortured her, and in 307 A.D. beheaded her. Five centuries later, a monk had a vision of her body carried by angels, placing her on the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai. Following this vision, the monks carried her relics to the Church of Transfiguration, next to the monastery called “The Virgin”. Since then, the monastery has been known as Saint Catherine. It lies in a breath taking site, on a high location, 480m above sea level, with a great climate and plenty of fresh water
Saint Catherine lived in Alexandria during the reign of Maximinus in 305-313 A.D, during the persecution of Christians. When she converted to Christianity the Roman tortured her, and in 307 A.D. beheaded her. Five centuries later, a monk had a vision of her body carried by angels, placing her on the peak of the highest mountain in Sinai. Following this vision, the monks carried her relics to the Church of Transfiguration, next to the monastery called “The Virgin”. Since then, the monastery has been known as Saint Catherine. It lies in a breath taking site, on a high location, 480m above sea level, with a great climate and plenty of fresh water