The Monastery of Saint Catherine is located in South Sinai, Egypt, at the foot of Mount Catherine, the highest mountains in Egypt, near Mount Moses. It is said that it is the oldest monastery in the world, and is considered a major tourist attraction, as it is visited by tourist groups from all parts of the world, and it is isolated, administered by the head of the monastery and he is the bishop of Sinai, and who is not subject to the authority of any patriarch or sacred council, but has close relations with the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The name of the Patriarch of Jerusalem is mentioned in the liturgy, despite the fact that the guardianship of the monastery was for long periods of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the monks and priests of the monastery were Greeks and not Arabs or Egyptians, just as the bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, which was controlled by the Greeks for long periods. The Bishop of Sinai manages, in addition to the monastery, the churches and holy shrines in South Sinai in the Al-Tur area, Ferran Oasis, and Tarfa.
The monastery was built on the order of Empress Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, but Emperor Justinian was the one who actually built it between the years of 545 AD to contain the remains of Saint Catherine, who was living in Alexandria.
The monastery represents a piece of multiple historical art. There are Arabic mosaics, Russian and Greek icons, oil frescoes, wax engraving, and more.
The monastery contains a library of manuscripts said to be the second largest manuscript library after the Vatican, a visitor inn and a distinctive monumental bell tower. The service at the monastery some members of the Bedouin.
