It’s no wonder that Christian tourists flock to Saint Catherine’s, which sits at the foot of Mount Sinai and is recognized as the world’s oldest continuously operated monastery.
The site can be traced back to the fourth century A.D., when Roman Empress Helena called for the construction of a sanctuary around what was considered the site of the burning bush. Later in the sixth century, Emperor Justinian established a monastery at the location with a shrine and fortifying walls. If you stop by today, you can glimpse what is advertised as a "descendant" of the bush.
Today, Saint Catherine’s holds evidence of its rich history in the form of over 4,000 rare ancient and medieval manuscripts. These include religious documents, such as sections of the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest written version of the New Testament that was compiled in the fourth century. The library at Saint Catherine's also contains works on history, philosophy and medicine in 13 different languages, including Latin, Arabic, Aramaic and Syriac.
