|
The Moses Mountain
By any other standards, Mountain Sinai would be just
another barren peak lost among the rough landscape of southern
Sinai. It is neither the highest mountain in the region, nor
the most dramatic shaped; there is no soaring, heaven-reaching
apex, and it is rare to see anything resembling a divine
shroud of clouds hugging its peak. If not for a single,
overwhelming belief that has endured over fifteen centuries,
Mountain Sinai would probably be a topographical footnote - but
this is the mountain where God spoke to Moses.
It seems strange, almost, to speak of 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 2.285 meters 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 Moses
himself probably brought when he climbed up. That, at least,
is the overwhelming belief, and the belief itself has drawn
pilgrims for over a thousand years. Although no archaeological
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 God to speak
with Moses, then finally a small chapel and a mosque at the
top. St. Catherine Monastery Located at the foot of Mount
Moses, St. Catherine’s Monastery was constructed by order of
the Emperor Justitian between 527 and 565. It is built around
what is believed to have been the biblical Burning Bush with a
chapel built atop of it which is a work of art of itself,
including Arab mosaics, Greek and Russian icons, western oil
paintings, wax paintings, fine sacerdotal ornaments, works of
marble, enamels, chalices, reliquaries, including one donated
by Czar Alexander II in the 19th Century, and another by the
Empress Catherine of Russia in the 17th Century.
But of perhaps even greater significance is the
second largest collection of manuscripts in the world (the
Vatican has the largest). The collection consists of 3,500
volumes in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic,
Syrian, Georgian and other languages. About 1850, the fourth
century Codex Sianiticus, which is now in the British Museum
in London, was discovered here. A small chapel (the Chapel of
St. Triphone) which is known as the Skull House as well as a
small mosque dating to the 10th or 11th century, settle within
the walls of the monastery.
St. Catherine has a rich history. It is the
oldest working Christian monastery, though St Antony’s
predates it, and the smallest diocese in the world. The
monastery was originally ordered to be built by Empress Helen,
the mother of Constantine the Great, but was actually built by
Emperor Justitian to house the bones of St. Catherine of
Alexandria. Her lyrics are carved in marble in the Basilica.
The Monastery of St. Catherine is also a
formidable fortification with granite walls standing 12 to 61
meters high, surrounded by gardens and cypresses. Prior to the
twentieth century, the only entrance to St. Catherine’s was a
small door 9 meters above the ground, where people and
provisions were lifted up with a system of pulleys. The
monastery withstood numerous attacks over its 1,400 years
existence thus protecting a rich collection of art. Its
original preserved state is unmatched. Though established and
most of its history under the rules of the Russian Orthodox
Church, it is now under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox
Church.
To know more about the fascinating world
of Sinai, come and visit the land of pharaohs
Bookmark now with
tamry tours
|
