Saint Catherine’s Monastery is a working Greek Orthodox monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai in South Sinai. It was built in the 6th century, and a small community of monks still lives there.
Coming from Cairo? Our 5-day tour from Cairo to Dahab gives you a base in Dahab, the easiest town for the monastery trip.
At a glance
| Founded | Built in the 6th century on the orders of Emperor Justinian |
| Status | UNESCO World Heritage Site (Saint Catherine Area, 2002); still a working Greek Orthodox monastery |
| Highlights | The Burning Bush, the basilica, early icons and one of the oldest libraries in the world |
| Opening | Usually mornings only on most days; closed on Fridays, Sundays and Orthodox holidays. Check before you go |
| Dress | Shoulders and knees covered |
| Combine with | Mount Sinai sunrise climb, starting at the monastery |
Saint Catherine’s Monastery, officially the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, has been lived in by monks without a break for about 1,500 years. That makes it one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world. It sits at about 1,550 m in a granite valley under Mount Sinai, the mountain where Jews, Christians and Muslims place the story of Moses.
This guide covers the opening hours and fees, how to get there from Dahab, Sharm El Sheikh or Cairo, what to see inside the walls, and how to add the Mount Sinai sunrise climb to the same day.
The monastery opens to visitors in the morning only, usually from about 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or noon, Monday to Thursday and Saturday. It is closed on Fridays, Sundays and Greek Orthodox feast days. Hours can change for services or security, so confirm with your guide or hotel the day before.
Fees change often and sources disagree, so check the current amounts at the gate. Most organised trips from Dahab and Sharm El Sheikh include them; ask when you book.
Plan 1 to 1.5 hours inside. Groups coming down from the Mount Sinai sunrise arrive at opening time, so the courtyard is busiest between 9:00 and 10:00.
The monastery lies just outside the small town of St Catherine in the high mountains of South Sinai. There is no train and buses are rare, so most visitors come on a tour or with a private driver.
Carry your passport, because police checkpoints on the Sinai roads ask for it. Nights in St Catherine are cool all year and cold from November to March, so bring a warm layer.
Behind the apse of the main church is the Chapel of the Burning Bush, the oldest part of the complex. Tradition places it on the spot where God spoke to Moses from a bush that burned without being consumed. Visitors take off their shoes before entering, and the chapel is often closed to groups.
Outside, against the wall, grows a bramble that the monks say is the same bush, moved a few metres from its original roots under the chapel altar. Close by is the Well of Moses, where tradition says Moses met his future wife, Zipporah.
The granite Church of the Transfiguration is Justinian’s original 6th-century basilica, and its carved cedar doors and roof beams date from the same time. In the apse is a 6th-century mosaic of the Transfiguration, one of the finest early Byzantine mosaics to survive.
The monastery owns about 2,000 icons. Sinai was outside the Byzantine Empire during the iconoclasm of the 8th and 9th centuries, when icons elsewhere were destroyed, so its oldest pieces survived. They include the 6th-century Christ Pantocrator, painted in hot wax. Some of the best icons are on show in the museum.
The library is one of the oldest in continuous use in the world, with thousands of Greek, Arabic, Syriac and other manuscripts. The 4th-century Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest surviving Christian Bibles, was kept here for centuries. Most of it left the monastery in 1859 and is now in the British Library in London, but the monks still hold leaves of it that were found in 1975.
Emperor Justinian built the fortified monastery between about 548 and 565 AD, around an older chapel that Empress Helena is said to have founded in the 4th century. At first it was dedicated to the Transfiguration. The name of Saint Catherine of Alexandria came later, after monks reported finding her relics on the nearby peak that now carries her name.
The high granite walls were built to protect the monks in a remote valley, and they still define the monastery today. Inside them stand the basilica, a bell tower added in 1871, and a small mosque from the Fatimid period. The monks also keep a copy of the Achtiname, a document they hold to be a letter of protection from the Prophet Muhammad. In 2002 UNESCO listed the Saint Catherine Area, including the monastery and Mount Sinai, as a World Heritage Site.
Most visitors pair the monastery with the night climb up Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa, 2,285 m). Groups start at about 1:00 to 2:00 a.m. and walk the Camel Path with a Bedouin guide for 2.5 to 3 hours, reaching the top for sunrise. Some come down by the Steps of Repentance, which end at the monastery, in time for opening at 9:00.
The path is not technical, but the last section is steep and the summit is very cold before dawn. Bring a warm jacket, a torch and water. Our Mount Sinai guide covers the routes in detail.
Book this experience: the Mount Sinai sunrise and St Catherine’s Monastery trip from Dahab, or the Mount Sinai climb and St Catherine Monastery trip from Sharm El Sheikh.
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Yes, if you are staying in Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh and can manage an early start. The visit is short and the opening hours are tight, but few places let you see a 6th-century church, some of the oldest icons in the world and a library still used by monks, all inside one walled courtyard. With the Mount Sinai sunrise added, it is one of the most memorable days in Sinai.
Check the opening day before you go (it is closed on Fridays and Sundays), dress modestly, carry your passport and expect crowds just after 9:00. If you have more days in the area, add the Colored Canyon or the Blue Hole in Dahab.
No. It usually opens Monday to Thursday and Saturday, from about 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or noon, and it is closed on Fridays, Sundays and Orthodox feast days. Confirm the day before you go.
Entry to the courtyard and the Burning Bush has usually been free. The museum (Sacred Sacristy) and the Saint Catherine Protectorate charge small fees in Egyptian pounds. Amounts change, so check them at the gate; most tours include them.
Cover your shoulders and knees. It is a working monastery, and visitors take off their shoes in the Chapel of the Burning Bush. Bring a warm layer, because mornings in St Catherine are cool.
Photos are usually allowed in the courtyard and of the Burning Bush, but not inside the church or the museum. Follow the monks’ signs.
About 1 to 1.5 hours inside. With the Mount Sinai sunrise climb it is a full day from Dahab or Sharm El Sheikh, and 2 to 3 days if you come from Cairo.
Yes. You can go by car for the morning opening hours only. Many travelers still choose the Mount Sinai sunrise and monastery trip from Dahab, which combines both.
Yes. The monastery runs a simple guesthouse just outside its walls, and St Catherine town has small hotels and Bedouin camps. Book ahead in the busy season (October to April).
Join one of our Dahab tours or Dahab day tours with a local guide.
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