For my fiftieth birthday, I bought myself a trip to Egypt. An avid reader, history fan and believer in God, I was thrilled to find St. Catherine's Monastery on the list of sights for one of the INSIGHT Escorted Tours. St.Catherine's is the oldest functioning Monastery in the world. It is completely self-suficient. But these facts are secondary to the... More

If you get the chance, go to St.Catherines for a day trip. Amazing!!!

We had the unfortunate coincidence of visiting St Catherine's on the Saturday before Coptic Easter and so at first we thought the entire site was closed. Eventually, we were allowed into most of the Monastery, except the church, which was closed for the celebrations. Inside the Monastery, there is a short path leading to the burning bush. Along the way... More

Although the cost was around 400LE each, including the dire lunch at Ali Babas on the return, our guide made it worth the money.. Personal tips:do not bring only prescription sunglasses, the inside of the Basilica is pretty gloomy : take a camera, as there is no official picture of the burning bush,complete with fire extinguisher underneath. if you want... More

I had just read Sisters of Sinai which gives you a background to the role of the monastery in preserving ancient texts so was delighted to be able to see these ancient documents in the library. (you have to pay to do this - 25 egyptian pounds, and most guides don't take you to this part which is actually the... More

I Arrived at St. Catherine at night and spent the night at the monastery's guest house, it was really amazing with good dinner and breakfast menus. Although i didn't climb mount Sinai that night, I heard alot about it I will return, and I talked to people who climbed it and no one was disappointed! next morning i visited the... More

Again, read about it before you go. Somebody complained about a two hour bus run. this was built pre buses, pre roads, almost pre anything. Go up the mountain as high as you can manage and look down at this building and dream. Ignore the tat sellers and the development that will eventually ruin this fantastic sight. The builders must... More

I visited the monastery after climbing the mountain overnight, so by then I was knackered, hot, very sleepy and just wanted to get back to the bus for a sandwich and a sleep. A lot of visitors pass by the monastery for the same reason - as part of the mountain/sunrise trip, so beware you'll be tired by the time... More

Couldn't believe we drove for 2 hours to see that!!!! Had expected so much more but basically saw the inside of a church. We strolled around for 20 minutes and then left (through the compulsory coffee shop) and then ran the gauntlet of hawkers back to our mini-bus. Waste of time. I should have stayed in bed.