Egypt’s oldest monastery witnesses the meeting of three religions and faces tourism and preservation challenges

(Central News Agency reporter Shi Wanqing's special report from Cairo on the 8th) Egypt recently reached an agreement on a relevant contract with St. Catherine's Monastery. The dean agreed to sign the contract to deal with the rights issues of the monastery and surrounding land. Egypt will also promote the "Great Transfiguration Project" in the St. Catherine area of ​​the Sinai Peninsula, hoping to turn this area into an international religious and eco-tourism center.

At the same time, international heritage protectionists are also worried that large-scale construction may change the original natural landscape and religious atmosphere of this mountainous area. The Egyptian government has worked hard to publicize the overall project as "a symbol of sacred transformation in the land of peace" and promised to maintain the unique and sacred religious status of the monastery and ensure that the religious operations of the monastery are not disrupted.

The Saint Catherine Area (Saint Catherine Area), which was officially registered as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2002, is located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Saint Catherine's Monastery (Saint Catherine's Monastery), located at the foot of Mount Moses, is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world and was built in the 6th century AD. At the end of October, the monastery once again attracted great attention from all walks of life when the dean and archbishop Symeon agreed to sign a letter related to the monastery and surrounding land.

The major news related to St. Catherine's Monastery in recent years is that St. Catherine's Monastery and the Egyptian government have been involved in a long-term legal battle due to issues related to its land property rights. Another issue is the "Great Transfiguration Project" launched by the Egyptian government at the end of 2021. This project plans to transform the area around the monastery into an international tourist resort, with large villas, tourist hotels, and modern roads. According to information released by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in June, the project progress has reached more than 90%.

This project has also aroused concerns from the international cultural assets community and the World Heritage Committee, which believe that these reinforced concrete constructions will destroy the historical original appearance of the area and the original sense of natural sanctity that was isolated from the world.

Hamdy El Daly, an Egyptian historian and postdoctoral researcher in anthropology, first said in an exclusive interview with Central News Agency, "Historically speaking, the St. Catherine area has witnessed the most unique chapter in Egypt's humanistic spirit."

He said that St. Catherine's Monastery has maintained religious activities and monastic life since it was built in the 6th century. It is not a monument that is no longer in operation and can only be admired by future generations. Through this ancient building, we can now witness the inheritance of religious traditions over the past 1,500 years. This is the most important historical value of this monastery.

"And this historical memory is closely intertwined with prophets, saints, monks and pilgrims, leaving eternal civilization and religious changes in the St. Catherine area."

For Dali, Saint-Catherine is not only a beautiful mountain town for religious or ecotourism tourists, but also more like an open-air museum of human history. "Islam, Christianity and Judaism coexist in this sacred space; the architecture, art and ancient manuscripts of the three major religions are brought together here to form a profound religious and spiritual heritage." Dali described to reporters the status of this world cultural heritage in his mind in a reverent tone.

Dalí told reporters that in addition to several important Christian-related facilities in the monastery, he also wanted to highlight a unique facility that can bear witness to the "history of religious coexistence" - the mosque built in 1106.

This scholar who specializes in history believes that this mosque, with its round arches unique to Islamic architecture and the Mihrab facing Mecca, not only represents a unique architectural unit within the monastery, but also proves that there was indeed more than one religious group in the Sinai region in history.

Dali described St. Catherine's Abbey as the meeting point of spiritual memory of the three major Abrahamic Religions.

Abraham (Abraham, known as Ibrahim in Islam) is respected as the ancestor of faith by Judaism, Christianity and Islam at the same time; Moses (Moses, known as Musa in Islam) from the nation of Israel is his descendant and an important prophet commonly respected by these three major religions.

"According to religious scriptures, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and received the law 'Ten Commandments' promulgated by God on Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa in Arabic). Since then, the Sinai Peninsula has become an important holy place connecting the historical memories of the three major religions," Dali said.

Dali further elaborates on the core arguments of his research on this period of history. He believes that St. Catherine's Monastery is not just a collection of buildings from different religions, but also a concrete representation of the long-term intersection of different civilizations through historical relics, religious documents and continuing religious activities.

In addition, Dali also mentioned that the cultural value of St. Catherine comes not only from the monastery and its religious monuments, but also from the local ethnic groups who have long lived in the mountains and are responsible for guarding the safety of the monastery and providing logistics, that is, the Bedouins, especially the Jebelia tribe.

The Bedouin are one of the two core ethnic minorities that construct the multicultural landscape of Egypt and Northeast Africa. The other group is the Nubians who are mainly concentrated in Aswan in the southernmost part of Egypt and in the northern part of neighboring Sudan. They are two of the most important indigenous highlights in Egyptian tourism culture today.

Dali believes that the Bedouin play an important role in the preservation and inheritance of the history and culture of the Sinai Mountains, and they cannot be regarded only as tourism service providers.

The Bedouin are known as the botanists and survival wise men of the desert. Dali said that they have long accumulated knowledge about mountainous terrain, medicinal plants and the natural environment. These traditions not only constitute local culture, but also have ecological conservation and sustainable tourism value. If tourism development ignores the participation of local communities, St. Catherine's most important cultural features may be lost.

"Cultural Property News" and "New Lines Magazine" have previously reported that the "Great Conversion Project" may impact the traditional lifestyle and culture of the Bedouin people. For example, tribal traditional houses and ecological camps were forced to relocate; Bedouins were marginalized and their traditional livelihood as mountain tourist guides was strangled.

Dalí called on the ancient Bedouin knowledge to have cultural and ecological value. Therefore, in addition to monasteries, churches, mosques and ancient books, the cultural heritage of St. Catherine should also be integrated into the lifestyle and cultural traditions of local communities and become an important asset for the development of eco-tourism.

Daly also emphasized that the tourism development in the St. Catherine area must also be based on respecting the archaeological, religious and ecological characteristics, and not allowing development to threaten the preservation of historical heritage.

In response to the previous doubts raised by international conservationists, the Egyptian government also publicly promised to maintain religious independence and assured in the Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram that the project would not change the monastery building itself. In addition, the project also includes a "Bedouin Community Development" plan to improve the living conditions of local residents, and will use the "Peace Square" to show the world the positive image of the integration of the three major religions in the St. Catherine area.