For years, visitors would venture up Mount Sinai with a Bedouin guide to watch the sunrise over the pristine, rocky landscape or go on other Bedouin-led hikes. Now one of Egypt's most sacred places - revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims - is at the heart of an unholy row over plans to turn it into a new tourism mega-project.
Known locally as Jabal Musa, Mount Sinai is where Moses is said to have been given the Ten Commandments. Many also believe that this is the place where, according to the Bible and the Quran, God spoke to the prophet from the burning bush. The 6th century St Catherine's Monastery, run by the Greek Orthodox Church, is also there - and seemingly its monks will stay on now that Egyptian authorities, under Greek pressure, have denied wanting to close it.
However, there is still deep concern about how the long-isolated, desert location - a Unesco World Heritage site comprising the monastery, town and mountain - is being transformed. Luxury hotels, villas and shopping bazaars are under construction there.
It is home to a traditional Bedouin community, the Jebeleya tribe, which has suffered greatly from these developments. Their homes and eco-camps have been demolished with minimal compensation, and they have been forced to move graves to make way for new infrastructures.
Critics, including travel writer Ben Hoffler, claim that this development is imposed rather than needed by locals. Greece remains vocal about these plans due to its deep ties with the monastery, especially after an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery only 'used' the land it occupied.
While the Egyptian government touts this project as a 'gift' for global tourism, UNESCO warned of its potential threats to the area's heritage. Despite calls for protection, the push for tourism continues, risking irreversible changes to this sacred landscape and its cultural significance.
Known locally as Jabal Musa, Mount Sinai is where Moses is said to have been given the Ten Commandments. Many also believe that this is the place where, according to the Bible and the Quran, God spoke to the prophet from the burning bush. The 6th century St Catherine's Monastery, run by the Greek Orthodox Church, is also there - and seemingly its monks will stay on now that Egyptian authorities, under Greek pressure, have denied wanting to close it.
However, there is still deep concern about how the long-isolated, desert location - a Unesco World Heritage site comprising the monastery, town and mountain - is being transformed. Luxury hotels, villas and shopping bazaars are under construction there.
It is home to a traditional Bedouin community, the Jebeleya tribe, which has suffered greatly from these developments. Their homes and eco-camps have been demolished with minimal compensation, and they have been forced to move graves to make way for new infrastructures.
Critics, including travel writer Ben Hoffler, claim that this development is imposed rather than needed by locals. Greece remains vocal about these plans due to its deep ties with the monastery, especially after an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery only 'used' the land it occupied.
While the Egyptian government touts this project as a 'gift' for global tourism, UNESCO warned of its potential threats to the area's heritage. Despite calls for protection, the push for tourism continues, risking irreversible changes to this sacred landscape and its cultural significance.
