Saint Catherine, Egypt
Saint Katherine
سانت كاترين Saint Catherine | |
|---|---|
City and Municipality | |
| Nickname: Snowy Katherine | |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Governorate | South Sinai Governorate |
| Municipality | Saint Katherine Municipality |
| Elevation | 5,203 ft (1,586 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 4,603 |
| Jebeliya Bedouins, Egyptians, Greeks and Russians | |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
Saint Katherine (Arabic سانت كاترين, is the capital city of Saint Katherine Municipality and a natural protectorate in South Sinai Governorate in Sinai in Egypt. It is located at the skirts of El-Tur Mountains Province at an elevation of 1586 m (5200 ft), 110 km away from Nuweiba. Its population is 4,603 (1994). Coordinates of the city is 28° 33' ; 33° 56'. Saint Katherine is divided into 12 districts: El-Matar, Wadi Mandar, Wadi Elagramiah, Wadi Abo Selah, Wadi Asbaeia, Wadi Tarfa, Wadi Sheikh Awwad, Wadi Leboud, Wadi El-Arbaien, Wadi El Marwa, Wadi El-Zeitonah, and Wadi Nabi Saleh.
History
Pharaonic Era
Although Saint Katherine wasn't established as a city at that time, yet it was always part of the Egyptian Empire throughout history and it was part of the province of "Deshret Reithu".
In the 16th century BC, the Egyptian Pharaohs built the way of Shur across Sinai to Beersheba and on to Jerusalem. The region provided the Egyptian Empire with Turquoise, gold and copper, and well preserved ruins of mines and temples are found not far from Saint Katherine at Serabit Al-Khadim and Wadi Mukattab, the Valley of Inscription. They include temples from the 12th Dynasty, dedicated to Hathor, Goddess of Love, Music and Beauty, and from the New Kingdom dedicated to Sopdu, the God of the Eastern Desert.
Roman Era
Located at the foot of Mount Moses, St. Catherine's Monastery was the start of the city, it was constructed by order of the Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565. It is built around what is thought to be Moses' Burning Bush, which has a chapel built atop it. It is a spectacular natural setting for priceless works of art, including Islamic mosaics, Greek and Russian icons, Western oil paintings, paintings on wax, fine sacerdotal ornaments, marbles, enamels, chalices, reliquaries, including one donated by Czar Alexander II in the 19th century, and another by Empress Catherine of Russia in the 17th century. But of perhaps even greater significance is that it is one of the largest and most important collection of illuminated manuscripts in the world (The Vatican has the largest). The collection consists of some 4,500 volumes in Greek, Coptic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Slavic, Syriac, Georgian and other languages. St. Catherine's has a rich history indeed. So rich that it is a sparkling example of an undiscovered jewel of travel. It has been called the oldest working Christian monastery and the smallest diocese in the world. The Chapel of the Burning Bush was originally ordered built by Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, but the monastery itself was actually built by Emperor Justinian to protect the monks in the region and to honor the site of the Burning Bush. St. Catherine, whose body was reportedly carried away by angels, was discovered five hundred years later at the top of the peak that now bears her name. Her relics are stored in a marble reliquary in the Basilica. We have additional pictures of this church, and of its interior. St. Catherine's Chapel is also a formidable fortification, with granite walls measuring 8 to 35 meters tall, surrounded by gardens and cypresses. Prior to probably the twentieth century, the only entrance to St. Catherine's was a small door 30 feet high, where provisions and people were lifted with a system of pulleys, and where food was often lowered to nomads. It has withstood numerous attacks over its 14 hundred year existence, thus protecting a rich store of art. Today, while it is one of the oldest monasteries in the world, its original, preserved state is unmatched. Though patronized during much of its history by the Russian Orthodox Church, it is now under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of its monks are also of Greek origin, though their ranks include an international flavor.
Modern city
Saint Katherine City is one of the newest cities in Egypt, with all amenities of a modern place: there are several schools, including a high school, a hospital, police and fire brigade, a range of hotels, Post Office, Telephone Center, bank and all other important establishments.
The city's oldest settlement is Wadi El Sybaiya, east of the city's monastery, where the Roman soldiers, whose descendants the Jebeliya are, were accommodated. It started growing into a city after the tarmac road was completed in the 1980s and the tourist trade begun. Many of the nomad Bedouins moved to small settlements around the city's monastery, which collectively make up St. Katherine's City. The districts of El Milga, Shamiya, Raha and Nabi Harun form the core of the city -Saint Katherine's downtown, at the end of the tarmac road where the valleys of Wadi el Arbain (Wadi El Lega), Wadi Quez, Wadi Raha, Wadi Shrayj and Wadi el Dier connect to the main valley, Wadi Sheikh. There are settlements in Wadi Sheikh before town and other smaller ones in the valleys. Saint Katherine is the captial city of The Municipality of Saint Katherine includes these outlying areas as well. The city's monastery lies in Wadi el Dier, opposite Wadi Raha (Wadi Muka’das, the Holy Valley). Mt Sinai (Jebel Musa) can be reached from the monastery or, alternatively, from Wadi el Arbain where the Rock of Moses (Hajar Musa) and the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs are.
Geography and Climate
The highest mountains ranges in Egypt literally surround the city with many smaller valleys leading from the basin to the mountains in all directions. The high altitude of the city itself and the high ranges of mountains which embrass it provide a pleasant climate, with refreshing cool summer nights and excellent spring, while winter days are pretty cold and the nights could reach -14 C. Saint Katherine is considered to be one of the coldest cities in Egypt with Nekhel and many other cities especially in mountainous Sinai. Snowfalls in Saint Katherine take place regularly in winter months December, January and February, yet it is also occurs in autunm and spring, snowfalls happen starting from December, January, February and last till May, throughout March and April.
"Extreme" temperatures in Saint Katherine:
Max C°: Jan. 25 Jul. 40.3
Min C°: Jan. -14 Jul. 2.2
| Average" temperatures in Saint Katherine | Max C° | Min C° |
|---|---|---|
| January | 13.1 | -5.9 |
| July | 32.7 | 18 |
Saint Katherine City lies at the foot of the Sinai High Mountain Region, the "Roof of Egypt", where Egypt's highest mountains are found. The city and the towns themselves are at an elevation of 1600 meters (5200 ft), which makes it a pleasant retreat in the hot summer months. Winters, on the other hand, are pretty cold, days could be sunny enough to feel comfortable outdoors, yet at nights it does get sub-zero temperatures and -14C is reached making it extremely important to heat buildings and public places. Some trekking groups however prefer especially the winter season as they find it more interesting and lovely to hike and climb in these conditions.
Global warming is strongly affecting the area, there are less rains and snows and, although there are still many permanent water sources in the mountains, the area is drying. Old people recall that in olden days there was at least one rain in every month and longer snowy winters, and even younger people recall how much greener the valleys and city were.
The city also puts a great pressure on the water resources, as ground water in the valley is from the mountains. Today water has to be purchased and brought in by trucks. There is work under way to connect the city to the Nile via a pipe line which is expected to be completed in 2008.
Practical Information
Bank Misr: In mall, cash advances on Visa and MasterCard. Sun-Thu 9 AM - 2 PM, 6 PM - 8 PM.
Telephone Central: opposite Mosque, 24 hrs.
Post Office: opposite Mosque, Sun-Thu 9 AM - 4 PM.
Hospital: opposite Plaza Hotel, Raha Plain.
Police: branches at the Monastery, Headquarter in El Milga district.
Hotels: El Milga, Raha Plain, Wadi Sheikh.
Shops, Cafés, Restaurants: groceries in every district, hardware and clothes in El Milga, supermarkets in the mall close after midnight, restaurants close around 9 PM.
Transport: petrol station (24 hrs), minibus station and bus station in El Milga.
Religion
Saint Katherine city is in a region holy to the world's three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is a place where Moses received the Ten Commandments; a place where early Christianity has flourished and the Orthodox monastic tradition still continues in present day; a place which the Prophet Mohammed took under his protection in his Letter to the Monks and where people still live in respect to others. Many events recorded in the Bible took place in the area, and there are hundreds of places of religious importance in the city. There are two ancient churches, and the Monastery of St. Katherine and the Rock of Moses.
Culture and Population
The traditional people of the area, the Jebeliya Bedouin, are a unique people having been brought from Southern-Eastern Europe in the 6th century AD. Originally Christians, they soon converted to Islam and intermarried with other nomad tribes. Some segments of the tribe arrived relatively recently from the Arabian Peninsula. Their culture is very similar to other Bedouin groups, but they preserved some unique features. Contrary to other Bedouin tribes, the Jebeliya have always been practicing agriculture and are expert gardeners which is very evident in the wadis around Saint Katherine. They have lived and still live in a symbiotic relationship with the monastery and its monks, and even today many Bedouin work with the monastery on its compound or in one of its gardens.
There are also Egyptians who live there and work in governmental and public services and many Egyptians became aware of the importance of that unique, beautiful, snowy city and started to be in close relation with it. Greeks and Russians are also citizens of Saint Katherine city and they control the historic monastry. The chilly cold weather of the city, specifically in winter nights, made people used to stay at heated homes early, and keen on growing plants which could produce liquids to warm themselves. The city could be one of the premier skiing resorts in Africa, but there is no skiing resorts established yet. There is no telefrics and there is lack of snowboarding shopes and skiing facilities.
According to the governmental plans, the population of the city is expected to increase from 4,603 to 17,378 in 2017. The increasing numbers of Egyptians living there, and visiting the city will succeed in accomplishing that developmental national plan. 3,031 (75.1%) of Saint Kahterine's population is formed of Jebeliya Bedouins, while the rest are Egyptians, Greeks and Russians. Assuming a natural growth rate of 3% to the year 2017, the Bedouin population would become a minority in Saint Katherine, dropping to 36% of the total population if Ministry of Planning targets are achieved.
Population of Saint Katherine City by settlement, Survey (1998) carried out by St. Katherine Protectorate:
1-Abo Seilah: 247
2-Lower Esbaeia: 165
3-Esbaeia Safha: 22
4-Upper Esbaeia: 71
5-Arbeien: 47
6-El Oskof El Hamami: 93
7-Mekhlafa: 59
8-El Kharrazin: 43
9-Er Raha: 166
10-Rahba: 47
11-Er Ramthi: 25
12-Ez Zaytonah: 34
13-Es Sedoud: 12
14-Sheikh Awwad & Gharba: 159
15-Sebaia Safha: 78
16-Sebaia Soweria: 17
17-Sebaia Elbasra: 61
18-Noumana: 49
19-Solaf: 157
20-Sahab: 83
21-Sheikh Mohsen: 22
22-Beiar Et Tor: 178
23-Lower Nasab: 30
24-Upper Nasab: 84
Nature
The city of Saint Katherine and other close towns fall within the region of Saint Katherine Protectorate, which was established in 1988.
It is a unique high altitude eco-system with many endemic and rare species, including the world's smallest butterfly (the Sinai Baton Blue Butterfly), flocks of shy Nubian Ibex, and literally hundreds of different plants of medicinal value. The region has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Area. Some of the species are endangered, but there are many wild animals, birds, flowers to see. There are many Sinai Agamas, foxes, rock Hyraxes. Harmless for people, foxes regularly visit the town at night to steal and scavenge. Rock Hyraxes are frequenting gardens, and there is a wide range of migrating and resident birds from Europe. Also, there is a large number of feral donkeys in the mountains who migrate to the region and lower lying areas (reportedly as far as El Tur) in the winter and go back to graze for the more plentiful summer. Many of them belong to families and are stamped with marks. However, they put a big pressure on the eco-system and there is a move to reduce their numbers by the Saint Katherine City Council.
One of the principal goals of the Protectorate is to preserve the bio-diversity of the fragile eco-system, with an emphasis on the Nubian Ibex and the wild medicinal and aromatic plants. The St. Katherine Protectorate is another major job provider in the area, although the number of local Bedouins employed fell back sharply since the initial EU support ended, according to locals sources.
Snow is the best source of water as it melts slowly, thus releasing water at a steady pace, replenishing the underwater catchment areas better. Water from rains flows down fast in the barren mountains, which may cause flash-floods and less water remains.
See also
External links
http://protectorate.saintkatherinecenter.org/stk-z-website-frames.htm
http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Jabal-Katherina
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
26°34′N 31°45′E / 26.567°N 31.750°E
