World Heritage Identification Number: 954
World Heritage since: 2002
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇪🇬 Egypt
Continent: Africa
UNESCO World Region: Arab States
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The Sacred Landscape of Saint Catherine Area: A Religious and Cultural Crossroads
The Saint Catherine Area, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002, is a unique and significant location that bridges the spiritual realms of three major world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Situated at the foot of Mount Horeb, more commonly known as Mount Sinai, this region holds immense historical, cultural, and architectural importance.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The Monastery, founded in the 6th century, is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its initial function. Its walls and buildings of great significance to studies of Byzantine architecture and the Monastery houses outstanding collections of early Christian manuscripts and icons. The rugged mountainous landscape, containing numerous archaeological and religious sites and monuments, forms a perfect backdrop to the Monastery.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (i): The architecture of St Catherine's Monastery, the artistic treasures that it houses, and its domestic integration into a rugged landscape combine to make it an outstanding example of human creative genius.
Criterion (iii): St Catherine's Monastery is one of the very early outstanding examples in Eastern tradition of a Christian monastic settlement located in a remote area. It demonstrates an intimate relationship between natural grandeur and spiritual commitment.
Criterion (iv): Ascetic monasticism in remote areas prevailed in the early Christian church and resulted in the establishment of monastic communities in remote places. St Catherine's Monastery is one of the earliest of these and the oldest to have survived intact, being used for its initial function without interruption since the 6th century.
Criterion (vi): The St Catherine’s area, centred on the holy mountain of Mount Sinaï (Jebel Musa, Mount Horeb), like the Old City of Jerusalem, is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Encyclopedia Record: Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery, officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai, it was built between 548 and 565, and is the world's oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery.Additional Site Details
Area: 60,100 hectares
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions
Coordinates: 28.55623 , 33.97543
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© Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
