Mount Sinai, also called Mount Moses, Mount Horeb, Mount Thur, is located in the southern part on the Sinai Peninsula. According to the texts of the Old Testament, on Mount Sinai was given by the Lord to Moses the law, which consists of the Ten Commandments. On the mountain there is a chapel of the Holy Trinity, which was built in the 4th century and where there is a stone in the form of a slab with the inscribed Law given by the Lord himself. It is called the Tablets of the Covenant. Nearby is a mosque, which was built in the 12th century. At the moment both buildings are closed.
Climbing Mount Sinai
The summit of Mount Sinai is also home to numerous shrines and revered sites that attract thousands of pilgrims each year. To get there, one must climb 2,285 metres in altitude, a climb that takes about three hours. There are two ways to climb the mountain. One way is considered shorter and more difficult due to its steepness and looks like steps cut out in the rock, which are called the Stairs of Repentance. The number of steps is about 3100 and it can be travelled only during the day. The second road is longer and is called the Camel Trail, as it can be travelled part of the way on camels. The trail is dotted with resting tents where you can have hot drinks and sweets. It is considered that the last seven hundred steps should be walked. On the way to the top there are two springs - first the spring of Moses, which pours from the mountain, then the spring of Elijah, which is mentioned in the Old Testament.
Pilgrims began to make ascents to Mount Sinai in the first centuries after the birth of Christianity. One of the first royalty to visit the mountain was the Byzantine Empress Helen, who ordered the foundation of the Temple of the Unburnt Kupina. Another, no less famous pilgrim, was the Prophet Mohammed, who promised protection to the monastery of St Catherine, located at the foot of the mountain. It is worth noting that this monastery has not been attacked or destroyed during its entire existence.
