The Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai: History and Guide

The Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai History and Guide At the foot of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Law, sits one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world-the Monastery of Saint Catherine. A haven of tranquility for the community of Greek Orthodox monks who live, work, and pray within its walls, it also houses magnificent collections of icons, scripts, and books, some from the very earliest centuries of the Christian era. The monastery's long existence and its priceless and virtually intact collections can almost certainly be attributed to its location, tucked away in the barren rocky landscape of south Sinai-land of Biblical history and legend, of hermits and pilgrims. Besides providing a visitor's guide to the monastery and its marvelous treasures, Jill Kamil traces the history of the monastery and the region from the Old Testament story of the exodus to the martyrdom of Saint Catherine, and through centuries of political strife to the present day, when improved communications and tourism have introduced a threat to the quiet life of the monastery and the ecological balance of south Sinai. Jill Kamil is the author of Coptic Egypt.- History and Guide, Aswan and Abu Sinibel; History and Guide, and The Ancient Egyptians; Life in the Old Kingdom, all published by the American University in Cairo Press, as well as her well-known series of guides to Luxor, Sakkara and Memphis, and Upper Egypt. "Jill Kamil's guidebooks are very well written and easy to peruse. . . . The freshness and highly informative approach has long made them favorites among English-language books for travelers." -Bemard V. Bothmer in Archaeology - A Scarce book, excellent background history plus it's arguably the best guidebook available.