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| Places To Visit In
Sinai |
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Saint Catherine
Monastery |
| Set beneath
the mountain where Moses is said to have received the
Ten Commandments, Saint Catherine Monastery has been one
of the world’s great centers of religious pilgrimage
for over fifteen centuries. Within its imposing walls
rests a citadel like no other, incredibly rich in important
religious and historical structures. Among its treasures
is a library of ancient manuscripts and icons second only
to the st1:country-region>Vatican's itself, and a 6th
century church reputed to lie directly on the site of
the Burning Bush. Quite simply, the monastery is a defining
feature of the Holy Land. |
| The
Art of St. Catherine.
Living amidst the isolation
of the Sinai desert, St. Catherine's monks had plenty
of time to develop their artistic talents, and no objects
express their skill better than the thousands of icons
they created through the centuries. For the monks, creating
icons and mosaics was not only a pastime, but an integral
part of expressing their devotion to God. Their efforts
to this end were both beautiful and extraordinarily
prolific.
Most of the icons native to
st2:Sn>St. Catherine were created between the tenth
and fifteenth centuries, following a style which has
come to be called the "Sinaitic School" of
art. Rather than striving for realism, the imagery of
this time period typically reflects a strong interest
in the power of Sinai's biblical landscape. The school
became so influential that many European artists incorporated
elements of Sinai's mountainous terrain into their own
compositions.
As the monastery's influence spread throughout the Christian
world, it's art collection was supplemented by generous
offerings from abroad. Russian czars made significant
donations, as did leaders from Crete, Byzantium, and
Palestine. The result today is a collection of icons
second in size only to the Vatican's.
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It takes about
3 hours to climb the 7,498-foot peak following the
Path of Moses, a stairway of nearly 4,000 steps.
The st2:place>Mountain of Moses
By any other standards, Mt. Sinai would be just
another barren peak lost among the martian landscape
of Southern Sinai. It is neither the highest mountain
in the region, nor the most dramatic; there is no
soaring, heaven-reaching apex, and it is rare to
see anything resembling a divine shroud of clouds
hugging its peak. Were it not for a single, overwhelming
belief that has endured for over fifteen centuries,
Mt. Sinai would probably be a topographical footnote.
But this is the mountain where God spoke to Moses.
That, at least, is the overwhelming belief, and
the belief itself has drawn pilgrims for over a
thousand years. Although no archeological evidence
of Moses' presence on the mountain exists, there
are abundant relics of faith throughout the eons.
Ancient chapels and structures honoring saints and
the Virgin Mary appear all along the main route,
called Sikket Saydna Musa ("The Path of Moses"),
including a stone-hewn arch where, long ago, a monk
once sat and heard confession from the pilgrims.
Nearing the summit, one encounters the natural amphitheater
where the 70 wise men waited while God spoke with
Moses, then finally a small chapel and mosque at
the top.
It seems strange, almost, to speak of a mountain
like Mt. Sinai in clinical terms. There is so
much mystery surrounding the mountain, so much
spiritual projection and adulation, that one can
easily forget that it is, after all, a mountain,
and climbing it requires an individual to be in
moderate shape. It takes about 3 hours to climb
the 7,498-foot peak following the Path of Moses,
a stairway of nearly 4,000 steps. There is a longer,
less strenuous route up the opposite side, though
it is less scenic. In both cases, one should bring
good hiking shoes and plenty of water, the latter
of which st1:GivenName>Moses himself probably
brought when he climbed it.
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