The area around Mount Sinai, known to locals as Jebel Mousa or the Mountain of Moses, is arguably the holiest and most well-known place outside of Jerusalem to the billions of followers of the world’s three largest religions – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Nestled deep in the mountainous desert that covers most of Egypt’s sparsely populated Sinai Peninsula, visiting this famous but remote site has not traditionally been convenient for most tourists to the region.
While Mount Siani does get some tourist traffic, its most common visitors include faithful pilgrims or adventurous tourists staying at the large hotels that line the southeastern tip of the peninsula, mostly centred around the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el Sheikh. But thanks to a new development plan, the area around Mount Siani is poised to see a significant boost in its accessibility as well as its ability to host visitors for overnight stays or even extended vacations.
Dubbed “The Great Transfiguration” by the Egyptian government, a nod to the Old Testament story from the book of Exodus that took place in this area and which forms a core belief of the three major religions, the project’s master plan aims to facilitate the environmentally friendly development of the nearby town of St. Catherine with the addition of several locally flavored hotels and resorts that complement both the local landscape and the local population. This is meaningful for tourism in the area because until now, there has been nowhere near Mount Sinai for visitors to stay overnight, rendering the site a day-trip destination from the more distant coastal cities and depriving the resident bedouin of more substantial employment and economic opportunities.
In a formal ceremony in early-March, Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouli, came to St. Catherine to preside over the signing of an agreement that will see the German hospitality company Steigenberger Hotels to manage and operate several properties within the new development, with the government still in talks with several other companies about coming on board as well. Also represented at the ceremony were Misr Sinai Tourism Company, which owns the land where the development will occur, and the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), the government agency tasked with overseeing and regulating such projects. Prime Minister Madbouli noted in his remarks that NUCA’s 10 billion Egyptian Pound investment in the project will result in the creation of more than 1,000 new hotel rooms for visitors.
In addition to Mount Siani, the area is also home to St. Catherine’s Monastery. Originally built in the mid-sixth century during the reign of the Roman-Byzantine Emperor Justinian, St. Catherine’s is the oldest continuously occupied Christian monastery in the world and is also home to the world’s oldest continuously operating library, making it a popular site for pilgrims and history buffs alike. Within its high walls that have repelled raids and attacks for more than 15 centuries also lie the Well of Moses and a large ever-green shrub that is purported to be original burning bush from the Old Testament story.
The master plan also includes the expansion of the local airport to be able to accommodate commercial flights. Despite being named St. Catherine International Airport, the facility has never had scheduled public air service on either domestic or international routes. Currently, would-be visitors must journey three hours each way by road from Sharm el Sheikh, or one hour each way if coming from the smaller resort towns of Dahab or Nuweiba further up the Sinai’s eastern coast. However, the creation of a new 3,000-meter-long runway and construction of a new commercial passenger terminal will finally open up the surrounding area to direct flights from Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh, and points of origin even further afield.
