For years, tourists have ascended Mount Sinai, accompanied by Bedouin guides, to witness the sunrise over its pristine, rocky terrain or embark on Bedouin-led hiking excursions.
Now, one of Egypt’s most sacred sites—revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims—is at the center of a contentious dispute surrounding plans to transform it into a large-scale tourism development.
Known locally as Jabal Musa, Mount Sinai is believed to be where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Many also hold that it is the location where, according to both the Bible and the Quran, God spoke to the prophet from the burning bush.
The 6th-century St. Catherine’s Monastery, managed by the Greek Orthodox Church, is also situated there. Following pressure from Greece, Egyptian authorities have clarified that they do not intend to close the monastery, allowing its monks to remain.
However, significant concerns persist regarding the ongoing transformation of this historically isolated desert location—a UNESCO World Heritage site encompassing the monastery, town, and mountain. The area is currently undergoing construction to accommodate luxury hotels, villas, and shopping centers.
The site is also home to the Jebeleya tribe, a traditional Bedouin community. Members of the tribe, known as the Guardians of St. Catherine, have already seen their homes and tourist eco-camps demolished with little to no compensation. They have even been compelled to exhume bodies from their local cemetery to make way for a new parking lot.
While the project has been presented as a vital sustainable development initiative aimed at boosting tourism, it has been imposed on the Bedouin community against their will, according to Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer with extensive experience working with Sinai tribes.
“This is not the development that the Jebeleya envision or have requested. Instead, it is being imposed top-down to serve the interests of outsiders over those of the local community,” he stated to the BBC.
“A new urban environment is being constructed around a Bedouin tribe with a nomadic heritage,” he added. “It is a world from which they have always chosen to remain separate, the construction of which they did not consent to, and one that will permanently alter their place in their homeland.”
Local residents, numbering approximately 4,000, are hesitant to speak openly about the changes.
Greece has been the most vocal foreign power regarding the Egyptian plans, due to its connection to the monastery.
Tensions between Athens and Cairo escalated after an Egyptian court ruled in May that St. Catherine’s—the world’s oldest continuously operating Christian monastery—is located on state land.
Following a decades-long dispute, the judges declared that the monastery was only “entitled to use” the land it occupies, along with the surrounding archaeological religious sites.
Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, the head of the Church of Greece, promptly condemned the ruling.
“The monastery’s property is being seized and expropriated. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing an existential threat,” he stated.
In a rare interview, St. Catherine’s longtime Archbishop Damianos told a Greek newspaper that the decision was a “grave blow for us… and a disgrace.” His handling of the situation led to significant divisions among the monks, and he recently stepped down.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem emphasized that the holy site—over which it holds ecclesiastical jurisdiction—had been granted a letter of protection by the Prophet Muhammad himself.
It noted that the Byzantine monastery—which also houses a small mosque built during the Fatimid era—is “an enshrinement of peace between Christians and Muslims and a refuge of hope for a world mired by conflict.”
While the controversial court ruling remains in effect, diplomatic efforts culminated in a joint declaration between Greece and Egypt, ensuring the protection of St. Catherine’s Greek Orthodox identity and cultural heritage.
Egypt initiated its state-sponsored Great Transfiguration Project for tourists in 2021. The plan includes the construction of hotels, eco-lodges, and a large visitor center, as well as the expansion of the nearby airport and the installation of a cable car to Mount Moses.
The government promotes the development as “Egypt’s gift to the entire world and all religions.”
“The project will provide comprehensive tourism and recreational services for visitors, promote the development of the town [of St. Catherine] and its surrounding areas while preserving the environmental, visual, and heritage character of the pristine nature, and provide accommodation for those working on St. Catherine’s projects,” Housing Minister Sherif el-Sherbiny stated last year.
While work appears to have stalled, at least temporarily, due to funding issues, the Plain of el-Raha—visible from St. Catherine’s Monastery—has already been significantly altered. Construction of new roads is ongoing.
This is the area where the Israelites, followers of Moses, are said to have waited for him during his time on Mount Sinai. Critics argue that the unique natural characteristics of the area are being destroyed.
Highlighting the outstanding universal value of the site, UNESCO notes that “the rugged mountainous landscape around… forms a perfect backdrop for the Monastery.”
It states: “Its siting demonstrates a deliberate attempt to establish an intimate bond between natural beauty and remoteness on the one hand and human spiritual commitment on the other.”
In 2023, UNESCO expressed its concerns and urged Egypt to halt developments, assess their impact, and develop a conservation plan.
This has not occurred.
In July, World Heritage Watch sent an open letter calling on UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to place the St. Catherine’s area on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
Campaigners have also reached out to King Charles as patron of the St. Catherine Foundation, which raises funds to conserve and study the monastery’s heritage, including its collection of valuable ancient Christian manuscripts. The King has described the site as “a great spiritual treasure that should be maintained for future generations.”
This mega-project is not the first in Egypt to face criticism for its lack of sensitivity towards the country’s unique history.
However, the government views its series of grandiose schemes as essential for revitalizing the struggling economy.
Egypt’s once-thriving tourism sector had begun to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic when it was impacted by the war in Gaza and a new wave of regional instability. The government has set a goal of attracting 30 million visitors by 2028.
Under successive Egyptian governments, commercial development of the Sinai Peninsula has proceeded without consulting the indigenous Bedouin communities.
The peninsula was captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War and only returned to Egypt after the two countries signed a peace treaty in 1979. Since then, the Bedouin have complained of being treated as second-class citizens.
The construction of Egypt’s popular Red Sea destinations, including Sharm el-Sheikh, began in South Sinai in the 1980s. Many see parallels between those developments and what is currently happening at St. Catherine’s.
“The Bedouin were the people of the region, and they were the guides, the workers, the people to rent from,” says Egyptian journalist Mohannad Sabry.
“Then industrial tourism came in, and they were pushed out—not just pushed out of the business but physically pushed back from the sea into the background.”
As with the Red Sea locations, it is anticipated that Egyptians from other parts of the country will be brought in to work at the new St. Catherine’s development. However, the government asserts that it is also “upgrading” Bedouin residential areas.
St. Catherine’s Monastery has withstood numerous upheavals over the past millennium and a half, but when the oldest monks initially arrived at the site, it was still a remote sanctuary.
That began to change as the expansion of the Red Sea resorts brought thousands of pilgrims on day trips during peak seasons.
In recent years, large crowds could often be seen filing past what is believed to be the remnants of the burning bush or visiting a museum displaying pages from the Codex Sinaiticus—the world’s oldest surviving, nearly complete, handwritten copy of the New Testament.
Now, while the monastery and the profound religious significance of the site will remain, its surroundings and centuries-old ways of life appear destined for irreversible change.
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