Egypt-Sinai April 2007

Mount Sinai or Mount Moses

Mount Moses, also called Horeb and Sinai – is a mountain located on the Sinai Peninsula. It became famous due to the fact that it was here that after a forty-day fast, Moses received the commandments from the hands of the Most High, which were inscribed on two stone tablets. Information about the exact place where this event occurred is lost. Therefore, since the IV century AD, Christians and Muslims have revered the Sinai Mount Horeb as the Mount of Moses. Mount Sinai in Egypt has become a place of pilgrimage for many Christians from all over the world. As early as the second century AD. hermit Christians began to search for famous places mentioned in the Bible. They began to settle in the Sinai Peninsula, and already in 330 found a mountain under which grew a large thorn bush. The Empress Elena made a donation, which went to the construction of a chapel and a tower at the foot of Mount Sinai. In 547, by order of Justinian the Great, a monastery was built on the site of this chapel, which was named after the saint. Catherine. Excursions to this mountain are quite an interesting and informative journey. But it is worth remembering some rules for a more comfortable pastime. Do not doubt your abilities. Regardless of age, the climb, which lasts 2-3 hours, will not seem so difficult. It is only necessary to correctly calculate your strength, as well as get comfortable shoes and clothes. You should also take things warmer than they should be at this time of year. For example, in the summer, it is not superfluous to grab a thick windbreaker and a warm sweater. It is always much colder at the top than at the bottom, and the wind blows. The ascent to the top is divided into sections, between which there are parking lots for recreation. Do not immediately take a fast pace, you need to properly distribute the forces. If you feel tired, then rest normally. Nothing terrible will happen if you fall behind the group, as groups of pilgrims constantly climb to the top. You can get there with other people, and the “native” group will already be waiting on the spot. It is necessary to drink more regular water and breathe evenly. Also, moral support, especially for children and the elderly, will not be superfluous. At a normal pace and compliance with the rules, the ascent will only be a pleasure. But it is worth saving your strength for the last section, which is the steepest.

The dawn on Mount Sinai is something incredible. It turns the mountains golden, and the valley far below begins to come to life, shrouded in darkness until then, it suddenly lights up with extraordinary colors. According to legend, a pilgrimage to the mountain and the meeting of the dawn here removes all the sins of life from a person.

Egypt – Sinai 3-13 October 2008

Mount Sinai or, as it is called by the Egyptians, Mount Moses is located in the north of Egypt and is one of the Christian shrines. Here, according to the Biblical tradition, the Lord gave Moses the Tablets of the Covenant (stone tablets with the ten commandments inscribed on them). Here, for the first time, God appeared to Moses in the form of a Burning Bush (a burning and non-burning bush of thorns) and called on him to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

Mount Sinai is a place of a kind of pilgrimage feat: there is a belief that a person who overcame 3,750 steps cut by Christian monks in the rocks, climbed Mount Sinai and met the dawn on its top, is absolved of all sins.

Mount Sinai is the center of Christian shrines. The main one is the current monastery of St. Nicholas.Catherine (Greek), where the selfless monastic life has not stopped since the VI century. The monastery houses one of the world’s most valuable collections of ancient manuscripts and icons. On the site of the appearance of the Burning Bush stands a small church, in the courtyard of which the ever-living incarnation of Revelation is green-a thorn tree that can put out new branches from the old root. Basilica of the Transfiguration under the roof with cypress rafters, storing the relics of St. Nicholas. Catherine, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, in the crypt of which monks are still buried in accordance with the ancient Greek tradition, the monasteries behind a high fence, closed to the public, the Church of the Trinity – this is not a complete list of “witnesses” of the events of the early Christian era on the sacred Mount Sinai. Visiting these unique historical monuments, you will make many amazing discoveries for yourself.

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