A Great Day Out From Taba and Taba Heights on Egypt`s Red Sea Riviera
After a few days lounging by the pool or on the beach in Taba or Taba Heights. Even the most chilled out amongst us will start to consider exploring further afield. After all it would be shame to visit a country such as Egypt, so steeped in history and culture, and not venture outside the hotel grounds.
There are some fantastic places to visit from Taba and Taba Heights such as Petra or Jerusalem, but one of lesser known places of interest is St Catherines Monastery.
Why visit St Catherines Monastery? One reason is because not only is this place a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the oldest Christian sites in the world.But this area in the Sinai Desert is where one of the most epic stories of the Holy Bible occurred.
St Catherines Monastery is situated at the base of Mount Sinai. This is the mountain that Moses ascended to speak with God. Where Moses saw the Burning Bush, and where he received the Ten Commandments.
Mount Sinai was also the halfway point on the epic journey of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land of milk and honey in Israel.
The monastery was built on the site of the Burning Bush by the Roman Emperor Justinian in the sixth century A. D.
So who was Saint Catherine? and how did she manage to have Egypt`s highest mountain, a monastery and a church named after her?
Well she was born into a wealthy Egyptian family in Alexandria in AD 294. She converted to Christianity, and converted hundreds of other followers to Christianity, and became one of the first Christian martyrs.
In those days Christians were persecuted by the Roman authorities, and forced to give up their Christian beliefs. But Catherine steadfastly refused to renounce her faith. This so enraged the Roman Emperor Maxentius, that he ordered her to be tied to a spiked wheel as a punishment. The legend goes that she shattered the wheel by touching it. So Maxentius ordered her to be beheaded. After her execution her body disappeared. But according to legend, after her death she was carried by angels to the top of the highest mountain in Egypt. Now named Mount St Catherine in her honour. Three centuries later her body was found, and transported down the mountain and put into a golden casket in the monastery, where it remains to this day.
During your visit to the monastery you can see and touch a modern day descendant of the original Burning Bush in the courtyard of the monastery. You can also see the rather macabre ossuary, This is the room that houses all the skulls and bones of the deceased monks who once lived in the monastery.You will also get the chance to see the monks living quarters,library and various chapels during your visit.
