We will pick you up directly from the entrance door of your hotel in Hurghada and take you to the speed ferry which will bring you within about only one and a half hours to Sharm El Sheikh, where your driver and a guide will wait for you, again with your name on a sign. From there you will start directly to your visit.

St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Sinai, where Moses is supposed to have received the Ten Commandments, on the place, where he is said to have seen the Burning Bush. The first monastic life around this place is supposed to have taken place already in the 4^th century AD, which makes the monastery to one of the oldest in the world. Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine I, the first Roman emperor converted to Christianity, ordered a chapel to be built on the site of the Burning Bush in the early 4^th century AD. The monastery in its current form has been built by the Emperor Justinian I in the 6^th century AD, with strong fortifications to protect the monks. Due to this measure, its isolated location, and the protection by Mohamed, the Prophet of Islam, who in written form promised St. Catherine’s Monastery to be not attacked by any Muslim forces, it remained untouched during the centuries.

For this reason you cannot only see the buildings, walls and decorations in their nearly original form, but also countless precious items have survived until today and turned out to be an extraordinary treasure to modern scientists walking on the path of history. The library features the second large collection of ancient codices and manuscripts in the world – overtrumped only by the Vatican Library!

And you can see the greatest collection of antique icons in the world as behind the monastery’s walls they could even survive the time of the Byzantine iconoclasm where most of the early icons have been destroyed. Further you can discover the buildings, have a look at a bush in the courtyard that is purported the original Burning Bush, and the beautiful mosaics.

The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the year 2002, and as you see now, it fully deserves this title.

Please be aware that, before you enter the monastery,

you must cover your legs, arms, and head!

St. Catherine’s still houses monks, and in order to maintain a regular monastic life, it cannot be opened all day long. So after the closure you will enjoy the rest of the afternoon in the city of Dahab, where you will have lunch in a local restaurant, before you will finally return to Sharm El Sheikh, where you will enjoy a short city tour before in the late afternoon you will take the ferry back to Hurghada.

Our driver will wait for you at the port to take you back to your hotel.

Included:

• Transfers between your hotel and the ferry and between the sights in high-class vehicles with A/C
• Ferry trips Hurghada – Sharm El Sheikh – Hurghada
• Guided tours in your language
• Entrance fee for the monastery
• Lunch in a local restaurant
• Mineral water and soft drinks

Not included:

• Gratuity (tips) for drivers and tour guides
• Personal items, meals, drinks or services not mentioned
• International and domestic flights
• Visa