For centuries, Mount Sinai has drawn pilgrims, adventurers, and seekers of peace from across the world. Visitors would hike up the rugged, rocky slopes with Bedouin guides to witness the breathtaking sunrise or embark on treks rooted in ancient tradition. Known locally as Jabal Musa, the mountain is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims alike as the place where Moses is believed to have received the Ten Commandments. At its base lies the sixth-century St Catherine’s Monastery, one of the world’s oldest Christian monasteries, which also shelters a mosque, a rare symbol of interfaith coexistence.
Today, however, this sacred desert enclave finds itself at the heart of a storm. A sweeping Egyptian state-backed development, branded the Great Transfiguration Project, is reshaping the area into a mega tourism hub. Luxury hotels, villas, shopping bazaars, a visitor centre, and even a cable car up Mount Moses are under construction, turning what was once a remote retreat into a bustling commercial zone.
Bedouins Displaced, Heritage at Risk
The transformation has come at a steep human cost. The Jebeleya tribe, Bedouins who have lived in the region for centuries and call themselves the Guardians of St Catherine, have seen their eco-camps demolished and even been forced to exhume graves from the local cemetery to make way for parking lots. Many have received little or no compensation.
“This is not development as the Jebeleya see it or asked for it,” says British travel writer Ben Hoffler, who has worked closely with Sinai tribes. “It is a top-down project imposed to serve outsiders, not the local community. A new urban world is being built around a nomadic tribe that never consented to it.”
The tribe’s plight echoes earlier waves of industrial tourism in Sinai, where Bedouins were pushed out of Sharm el-Sheikh and other Red Sea resorts. Egyptian journalist Mohannad Sabry notes: “They were the guides, the workers, the hosts. Then industrial tourism came in and they were pushed out, not just from the business but from the land itself.”
A Clash Between Nations and Faiths
The controversy has also sparked diplomatic tension. In May, an Egyptian court ruled that St Catherine’s Monastery sits on state land and is only entitled to use it, rather than owning it outright. The ruling provoked outrage in Greece, which has historic ties to the monastery. Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens condemned the move as “seizure and expropriation” of a spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy. St Catherine’s own Archbishop Damianos called it “a grave blow” before stepping down amid divisions within the monastery.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem reminded the world that the monastery was granted protection by the Prophet Muhammad himself, calling it “an enshrinement of peace between Christians and Muslims and a refuge of hope.” Diplomatic efforts eventually led to a joint Egypt-Greece declaration vowing to preserve the monastery’s Greek Orthodox identity.
Sacred Landscape Altered
Unesco, which lists the monastery, the town, and Mount Sinai as a World Heritage Site, has raised repeated alarms. It highlights the intimate bond between the rugged mountains and the monastery’s spiritual solitude, a bond critics say is now being broken by bulldozers. In 2023, Unesco urged Egypt to halt developments and submit a conservation plan. None has materialised.
The Plain of el-Raha, where Israelites are said to have waited as Moses communed with God on the mountain, is now crisscrossed with new roads and construction sites. World Heritage Watch has called for the site to be declared endangered. Campaigners have even appealed to King Charles, patron of the St Catherine Foundation, to intervene in preserving what he has described as “a great spiritual treasure for future generations.”
Egypt’s Justification: Development and Recovery
Egypt insists the project is not destruction but revitalisation, describing it as a gift to the entire world and all religions. Officials argue that the development will provide jobs, upgrade infrastructure, and help Egypt reach its target of 30 million tourists by 2028, a goal seen as vital to rescuing the country’s struggling economy after COVID-19, regional instability, and the Gaza war.
But critics say this vision prioritises short-term economic gain over heritage, spirituality, and local livelihoods. “The special natural and spiritual character of Sinai is being bulldozed for mass tourism,” Hoffler warns.
An Uncertain Future
St Catherine’s Monastery has survived countless upheavals since its founding in the sixth century, its monks preserving ancient manuscripts and guarding one of Christianity’s most sacred legacies. Yet the monastery’s future now feels uncertain, not from war or conquest, but from unchecked development.
For the 4,000-strong local community and the wider faithful, the question lingers: Will Sinai remain a place of solitude, prayer, and pilgrimage, or will it be forever transformed into yet another desert resort?
