Mount Sinai, also known as Horeb, is a mountain located south of the Sinai Peninsula, northeast of Egypt, between Africa and Asia, and is the place where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Mount Sinai is also famous because it corresponds to the area that was reached by the Hebrews in the third month of the Exodus. They camped there for approximately one year. The last twenty-two chapters of Exodus, along with all of Leviticus and the Book of Numbers, contain a record of what happened while they remained on Mount Sinai.

In biblical times, the location of the mountain was apparently well known, as seen in Joseph’s description: He camped on the mountain called Sinai, directing the multitudes to feed them there. It is also mentioned in the book of Kings as the destination of Elijah in his flight. And it was known in the days of Ahab, king of Israel, as is told in the story of Elijah’s journey: “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went by the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mountain of God.”

The position of the mountain was evidently subsequently forgotten, but since the time of St. Helena, Mount Sinai has been identified with Jabal Musa, or Gebel Musa, an Arabic name meaning the mountain of Moses.

The positioning of it at Jebel Musa was made by two monks who announced that they had found the “burning bush” of Moses, about 300 AD. This bush is situated, according to tradition, at the monastery of St. Catherine, Egypt. The belief of the location of Mount Sinai has endured 1700 years and has become part of tradition.

The Monastery of Saint Catherine is a kind of Greek protectorate in the heart of Egypt. It is one of the oldest Orthodox monasteries in the world that is still inhabited. It is located at the foot of Mount Sinai and is a sacred place especially revered by the Greek Orthodox community. Visits take place in the morning and close at 12:30.