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Good news from St Catherine’s Monastery

Cheering news from an otherwise tense Sinai peninsula: St Catherine’s Monastery, closed to visitors by the Egyptian authorities since August, has reopened. This ancient house is home to a couple of dozen Greek Orthodox monks and mainstay of the Jabilaya (mountain) Bedouin, whose lives have been interwoven with those of the monks for more than 1,600 years. Alongside the monks they tend the vines, bake holy bread (which they share), man bookshops and build walls. They do a brisk trade catering for visitors who wish to ascend the ”God-trodden” mountain where Moses is said to have received the Commandments. This relation of monk and Bedouin antedates Muhammad — the Jabaliya descend from Christian families sent by Emperor Justinian from Alexandria and the Balkans in the mid-6th century to help the monks to build the present monastic buildings. After the rise of Islam these families became Muslim, with no apparent damage to their relations with the monks.

Click on the link below to read the full article published in The Times on 12th October 2013, written by Janet Soskice, Professor of Philosophical Theology, University of Cambridge, and a guest speaker for the Wind Sand & Stars Historical Odyssey to South Sinai.

A mountain retreat handy for prayer and a challenge | The Times

12.10.2013

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A unique experience and a privilege to share the Bedouin’s way of life, for a short time.

Guest, Sinai Summits, April 2019

It was the most wonderful trip, so glad I took up this opportunity. All beautifully organised – well done.

Icons of St Catherine’s Guest November 2022

Enthralling and beyond my hopes, it was a deeply spiritual experience at many levels. I am still raving about it all to anyone who crosses my path!

Icons of St Catherine’s Guest November 2022

“The whole trip was AMAZING – thank you so much.”

Francis Burkitt, St Catherine tailor made, August 2017

We got more out of our adventure than we had ever hoped for, thanks to a country of huge diversity and historical interest and to a very special guide.

Cunningham family, Jordan, April 2017

So many thoughts about our wonderful trip to St Catherine’s; the fantastic warmth of welcome from the Egyptians, Fathers Justin and Nilus, and the unique history which we felt privileged to be given access to. In my book, how could one not enjoy and be inspired!

Julia Palmer, St Catherine’s Retreat, February 2017

“Huge thanks to all at Wind, Sand & Stars for an amazing trip. John’s passion for Ethiopia fires his erudition and he gave us more insights into the country, past and present, than we could ever have gained from local guides.”

Christine Dunmow, Exploring Ethiopia’s Orthodox History with John Binns 2016

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