Monte Sinai: As one of the most sacred places in the world can become a luxury resort

The 6th century Santa Catarina Monastery is the Christian monastery in the oldest continuous use of the Universal World Images Group/Getty images via BBC for years, visitors climbed Mount Sinai accompanied by Bedouin guides to watch the sunrise over the rocky and untouched landscape or participate in other trails conducted by Beduines. Now, one of Egypt’s most sacred places-venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims-is at the center of heated controversy due to plans to turn it into a tourist megaproject. Known locally as Jabal Musa, Mount Sinai is the place where, according to tradition, Moses received the ten commandments. Many also believe this is where, according to the Bible and the Quran, God spoke to the prophet from the burning bush. 📱 Download the G1 app to see real and free news the 6th century Santa Catarina monastery managed by the Greek Orthodox Church is also there-and apparently their monks will remain after the Egyptian authorities, under pressure from Greece, denied any intention to close it. However, there is still great concern about how the isolated area in the desert – a UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes the monastery, the city and the mountain – is being transformed. Luxury hotels, villages and commercial bazaars are under construction in the region. The place also houses a traditional Beduine community, the Jelbeleya tribe. The tribe, known as Guardians of Santa Catarina, has had its demolished ecological tourist houses and camps, with little or no compensation. They were even forced to remove bodies from their tombs in the local cemetery to make way for a new parking lot. Also read: Liquid in the hand luggage: What are the rules for international travel? AMERICAN VIEW: New interview rule begins in September rules to bring liquids on international flights the project may have been presented as an urgently necessary sustainable development that would increase tourism, but was also imposed on Bedouins against their will, Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer who worked closely with Sinai tribes. “This is not development the way the Jelbeleya see or asked, but how it is when it is taxed from top to bottom to serve the interests of outsiders instead of the local community,” he told BBC. “A new urban world is being built around a nomadic Beduine tribe,” he added. “It is a world from which they have always chosen to remain away, whose construction did not consent and will change their place in their own land.” Local residents, who total about 4,000 people, are unwilling to comment directly on the changes. So far, Greece is the foreign power that has manifested the most about the Egyptian plans, due to its connection with the monastery. The tensions between Athens and Cairo increased after an Egyptian court ruled in May that Santa Catarina – the Christian monastery in the oldest continuous use of the world – is situated on state lands. After a dispute that lasted decades, the judges stated that the monastery had only the “right of use” of the land in which it is and the religious archaeological sites around. Archbishop Jerome 2 of Athens, leader of the Greece Church, quickly denounced the decision: “The properties of the monastery are being taken and expropriated. This spiritual lighthouse of orthodoxy and Hellenism now faces an existential threat,” he said in a statement. In a rare interview, Archbishop Damianos, formerly head of Santa Catarina, told a Greek newspaper that the decision represented “a serious blow to us … and a shame.” His conduct of the case provoked bitter divisions among the monks and motivated his recent decision to resign. The Greek orthodox patriarchy of Jerusalem stressed that the sacred place – on which he has ecclesiastical jurisdiction – had received a letter of protection from the Prophet Muhammad himself. Patriarchy stated that the Byzantine monastery – which uncommonly also houses a small mosque built in the Fatimid era – is “a symbol of peace between Christians and Muslims and a refuge of hope in a world plunged into conflict.” Although the controversial court decision is still in force, a series of diplomatic efforts culminated in a joint statement between Greece and Egypt, ensuring the protection of the Greek-Orthodox identity and the Santa Catarina cultural heritage. Monte Sinai, in Egypt Mohamad Sameh/Unsplash ‘Special Gift’ or Insensitive Interference? Egypt began in 2021 its state -sponsored transfiguration project aimed at tourism. The plan includes the construction of hotels, ecolodges (tourist accommodation) and a large visitor center, as well as the expansion of the nearby small airport and a cable car to Mount Sinai. The government promotes development as “the present of Egypt to the whole world and all religions.” “The project will provide all tourist and leisure services for visitors, will promote the development of the city [de Santa Catarina] And from the areas around, preserving the environmental, visual and patrimonial character of the untouched nature, and will offer accommodations to those who work in Santa Catarina’s projects, “said Housing Minister Sherif El-Shebiny last year. Although the work seems to have been interrupted-at least temporarily-due to financing, the El-Raha plain, with a view to the Santa Catarina Monastery. From new roads continues. It is in this place that the followers of Moses, the Israelites, would have been waiting for their time on Mount Sinai. And critics claim that the special natural characteristics of the area are being destroyed. deliberate to establish an intimate bond between natural beauty and isolation, on the one hand, and human spiritual commitment, on the other. “In 2023, UNESCO highlighted its concerns and asked Egypt to interrupt the enterprises, evaluate its impact and elaborate a conservation plan. Hotel? 6 of the 10 most turbulence flight routes are in South America in July, World Heritage Watch has sent a UNESCO World Heritage Committee to put the Santa Catarina area on the World Heritage List. and study the monastery heritage, including his collection of valuable ancient Christian manuscripts. The king has described the place as “a great spiritual treasure that must be preserved for future generations.” Earlier, it was beginning to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic when it was hit by the brutal war in Gaza and a new wave of regional instability. The government established to reach 30 million visitors by 2028. Under successive Egyptian governments, Sinai’s commercial development has been carried out without consulting the indigenous Bedians. In 1967 and only returned to Egypt after the two countries signed a peace treaty in 1979. Since then, Bedouns complain that they were treated as second-class citizens. The construction of the popular destinations of the Red Sea in Egypt, including Sharm Elheikh, began in southern Sinai in the 1980s. Many see similarities to what is happening in Santa Catarina. Region, it was the guides, the workers, the people they rented, “says Egyptian journalist Mohannad Sabry.” So industrial tourism arrived and they were removed-not just the business, but physically pushed from the sea to the inside. “As happened with the destinations of the Red Sea, it is expected that Egyptians from other parts of the country will be brought to work in the new Santa Catarina complex. The residential areas of the Bedouin. The Santa Catarina Monastery endured many transformations over the last millennium and a half, but when the oldest monks of the place were laid down there, it was still a remote refuge. Views through the alleged remains of the burning bush or visiting a museum that displays pages of the synaitic codex – the almost complete one -time manuscript copy of the New Testament that has survived to this day. Although the monastery and deep religious importance of the place remain, its surroundings and secular ways of life seem to be transformed irreversibly.

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