Sinai Mountain the second largest mountain peak of Sinai Peninsula of Egypt after
Mount St. Catherine, is also known as Mount Horeb or Mount Musa or Gebel Musa
or Moses Mountain. With a height of 2,285 meter, Sinai Mountain is near to Ras
Sasafeh.
Sinai Mount is the nucleus of great visited pilgrimage destination that includes
Monastery of St. Catherine and the Burning Bush, along with Elijah's Plateau
and Plain of ar-Raaha. Moses was the traditional founder of Judaism born in
Egypt and it was because of his name that the Sinai Mountain is also called
as the Mountain of Moses or Moses Mountain.
On the peak of the Mount Sinai is a small Chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
This Chapel, known as the Burning Bush, was built in 1934 on the ancient ruins
of 16th century church. It is believed that this Chapel enclosed the holy rock
from which God made the Tablets of Law. The western wall of the chapel contained
a cleft carved out of the rock, which is also related with Moses.
Below the Chapel is the plateau called as Elijah's Basin. This basin is about
seventy hundred and fifty steps below the chapel. Northwest of Elijah's Plateau
is located Jebel Safsafa where St. Gregory the Byzantine hermit lived and prayed.
Plain of ar-Raaha stands below the 2168-meter summit of Ras Safsafa. It is the
place where Moses erected the first tabernacle.
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