SAINT CATHERINE MONASTERY MOUNT SINAI
General Description
One of the oldest and well-known monasteries in the world, St. Catherine's Monastery, is located on the Sinai Peninsula at the foot of both Mount Sinai and Mount Catherine in Egypt. Founded by the Byzantine Emperor St. Justinian the Great starting around 527, "The Monastery of the Transfiguration", the actual name of the monastery, was completed around 560 by workers of Justinian, the same year Justinian died. In the ninth century, St. Catherine's Monastery was named after St. Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr, who was tortured and beheaded for her religious beliefs. Her remains were discovered at the top of Mount Sinai and relics were brought down to the monastery, where they still remain. In the Byzantine era, St. Catherine's Monastery became a popular pilgrimage destination, and still is today.
Architectural Design
Surrounded by massive protective walls made of hard granite and hewn blocks which measures 2.5m wide and 11m high on all sides, this holy place, previously built by Helena, mother of Constantine I, encloses the original burning bush. The Basilica of the Transformation, the main church of the monastery and the largest worship facility in the monastery, withstood fourteen centuries with little changes. Constructed of monumental Byzantine design, the wooden doors at the entrance are 1400 years old. The ancient gate on the west side of the monastery is bound by three iron doors, which secure the entrance every night. Eventually all doors were sealed and entrance was made using a lift, which also hauled up supplies. Inside at the northern end are three-aisles, a central nave, an Apse and a narthex. The pillar and walls, along with the roof bare inscriptions from the Justinian period. The ceiling, floor, interior decorations, and Iconostasis date back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Exquisite silver sparkling lamps hang from the ceilings and beautiful mosaics, which hang on the walls, make this room very distinctive. 
The monastery houses twelve chapels in all. Inside the walls of the monastery are courtyards in a maze like pattern, an Icon gallery, vaulted arcades, St. Stephen's well, an olive press, a hospice, cells for monks, and a Katholikon. Outside across from the monastery stands the bell tower, where bells continue to ring for Sunday services and feast-days. Also outside are several small gardens, a cemetery, and a subterranean cistern. Containing the largest Christian collection of manuscripts and icons, excluding the Vatican Museum, Saint Catherine Monastery is famous for its extraordinary library.
Harmony with Nature
Known as a nature reserve, Saint Catherine's Monastery located in the private mountains of Sinai, Egypt, 1600m above sea level, displays a type of distinguished privacy. As the highest of the inhabited area in Sinai and at the top of the plateau, the cold temperatures of the winter surround the scene with beauty as ice drapes the mountaintops. The gardens and orchards of the monastery offer a beautiful oasis with ornamental plants, spring laced flowers, and ripe, rich colored vegetables such as olives, plums and apricots. Due to the astonishing historical architecture and art, the natural environment, including the underground water in the wells, the exasperating geography, and the religious icons and relics Saint Catherine Monastery is a renowned tourist attraction which has seen as many as one-hundred tourists per day at times.
Symbolism and Sacred Objects
The Chapel of the Burning Bush, the most sacred space of the monastery, displays the bush that burned without being consumed while God spoke to Moses. Representing the mother of Christ, while holding her son, Moses worships barefooted as commanded by God. Byzantine art collections, mosaics, and liturgical objects, dating back to the fifth and sixth centuries, as well as ancient manuscripts and chalices and reliquaries are among the many sacred objects to be admired and symbolized in the monastery. Relics of St. Catherine of Alexandria, which were believed to be carried by angels to Mount Sinai, have been preserved by the monastery and have become a favorite site for pilgrimages.
How it is used by Worshippers
Sacred to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, Saint Catherine's Monastery offers peace and serenity to religious worshippers. For the Byzantines "light was the very source of goodness, and bright colours contrasted with dark constituted the materialization of light." HRAF Saint Catherine's Monastery, as well as Mt. Sinai, house many worship spaces which offer sources of light. Such spaces are; the peak on the Sinai Peninsula where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God; and the Well of Moses, which provides a continual supply of fresh water through its underground spring, and where it is also believed he met his wife, Zipporah. The monastery holds the best collection of icons in the world, the Charnel house where the remains of archbishops are on display for both visitors and monks, and the Mosque where God handed down the law and gave his personal pledge of protection to Muslims with the document (Holy Testament) signed by Muhammad his self. The large wooden doors, serving as the entrance to this magnificent monastery, welcomes it's worshippers with its inscription which reads "This is the gate to the Lord; the righteous shall enter into it." Watson
Sources
HRAF, Icons in Theory and Practice: An Orthodox Church Example, Author: Kenna, Margaret E., Published in: History of Religions – Vol. 24, no. 4, Publisher: Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. 345-368 p.:ill.
Watson, John, Feature Story: The Physical Components of the Monastery of Saint Catherine in the Sinai of Egypt, Tour Egypt, 04/17/09, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/catherines3.htm
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