St. Catherine lies at the foot of the Gebel Musa, in the heart of the South Sinai. 330 AD, King Constantins mother - Queen Helena - ordered the construction of a small chapel by Moses' burning bush. It was called the Church of Instruction. The fort which we experience now, was built around the church during the rule of King Justinians (527-565 AD)

In the 11th Century the monastery was assigned to St. Catherine of Alexandria, who died in 310 AD. Her belongings, said to have been found by monks on the summit of a mountain next to Mount Moses, lie in the Basilika of the monastery. The monastery is run by the Greek Orthodox church. Its rich libraries contain the second largest collection of illuminated manuscripts next to the Vatican. There you can see the burning bush and a large number of antique handmade art: priceless sculptures, beautifully carved doors, exquisite wallpaintings and other pretty, religeous ornaments.

The new museum in St. Catherines was opened in February 2002, it may well be one of the best and most exclusive collections of Christian art in the world. A small but strange museum, with nine rooms was opened to present masterpieces of huge artistic value. Among the exquistitely presented pieces you will find Byzantine pieces from the 6th century, precious manuscripts in armanic out of the 9th century, rare old slawik prayer books, other amazing objects made from silver, gold, ivory, and precious stones. The perhapsmost sought after pieces of the museum are behind a special glass casing, some pages of the Codex Sinaiticus, a bible version of the 4th century-the main book is in the british museum.

You can now experience the collection of the monastery in an undescribable atmosphere, accompanied by Byzantine churchsongs. The museum is open daily from 9-12 am, not on friday, sunday or church holidays. The entry fee is 10 Egyptian Pounds. There is also a national park fee of 3 US$.