For centuries, Mount Sinai, known locally as Jabal Musa, has stood as one of the most revered places in the world, sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. It is the mountain where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments, where many believe God spoke to the prophet through the burning bush, and where the 6th-century St Catherine’s Monastery still stands as a living symbol of Christian heritage. Today, however, this holy site in Egypt is at the center of a heated international row, as sweeping government-backed tourism projects threaten to permanently alter its pristine and spiritual landscape.
The Egyptian government launched what it calls the Great Transfiguration Project in 2021, branding it as “Egypt’s gift to the entire world and all religions.” The plan envisions luxury hotels, villas, shopping complexes, eco-lodges, and even a cable car stretching up to Mount Moses, in addition to an expanded airport and a massive visitor center. Authorities claim the project will boost tourism, create jobs, and modernize the area, which is home to the St Catherine’s region and surrounding mountains. Officials have repeatedly promised that the development will “preserve the environmental, visual, and heritage character of the site” while accommodating millions of new visitors.
But critics warn that this so-called development is anything but sustainable. The Bedouin Jebeleya tribe, who have lived in the region for generations and long served as guides, hosts, and guardians of St Catherine’s Monastery, have already been displaced. Eco-camps were demolished without compensation, homes were destroyed, and even graves were exhumed to make way for new infrastructure like parking lots. Community voices describe it not as progress but as a top-down imposition that erases local culture in favor of outside economic interests. British travel writer Ben Hoffler, who has worked closely with Sinai’s tribes, describes the changes as a “new urban world” imposed upon a nomadic people who never consented to its construction and whose ancestral homeland is being reshaped without their approval.
Beyond the Bedouin displacement, the transformation of Mount Sinai has triggered international tensions. Greece, which has historic ties to the Greek Orthodox-run St Catherine’s Monastery, has been outspoken in condemning the Egyptian government’s handling of the project. The controversy deepened when an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery sits on state land, stripping it of property rights and granting only usage privileges. Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens denounced the ruling as an expropriation of sacred Christian heritage, calling it an “existential threat” to one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited monasteries. St Catherine’s Archbishop Damianos, who led the monastery for decades, described the court’s decision as a “grave blow” before stepping down amid divisions among the monks.
The monastery, which also houses a mosque built during the Fatimid era and has historically stood as a symbol of peace between Muslims and Christians, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for both its religious and natural significance. UNESCO has already raised alarm, warning that Egypt’s large-scale construction risks irreversibly damaging the site’s “outstanding universal value.” The organization urged Cairo to halt development until conservation and environmental assessments could be completed, recommendations that have largely been ignored. In July, World Heritage Watch even called for the area to be placed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
Despite growing opposition, construction has already altered the iconic Plain of el-Raha, believed to be the place where the Israelites waited while Moses was on Mount Sinai. New roads, urban structures, and hotel complexes are rapidly replacing the once-isolated desert scenery that UNESCO described as forming “a perfect backdrop for the monastery.” Campaigners warn that the natural beauty, spiritual serenity, and centuries-old traditions that defined the area are being traded for concrete, crowds, and commercial gain.
The controversy has also revived long-standing grievances among Sinai’s indigenous Bedouin communities. Since Egypt regained control of the Sinai Peninsula from Israel in 1979, Bedouins have complained of being marginalized and excluded from decision-making. The expansion of Red Sea resorts such as Sharm el-Sheikh in the 1980s brought mass tourism but also displaced local tribes, stripping them of livelihoods and access to their ancestral lands. Observers now fear that the St Catherine’s project repeats this pattern, with promises of “upgraded” Bedouin housing masking a deeper loss of autonomy and cultural identity.
Egypt, however, remains determined. With its economy struggling under inflation and external shocks, Cairo is doubling down on mega-projects and tourism as a way to revive growth. Officials have set an ambitious target of attracting 30 million visitors annually by 2028, despite regional instability and the impact of wars in neighboring territories. To the government, Mount Sinai is another pillar in its vision of grand development, much like the sprawling new administrative capital near Cairo or the expansion of Red Sea tourism hubs.
Yet for many religious leaders, heritage experts, conservationists, and local tribes, the transformation of Mount Sinai represents not progress but an existential threat to one of the world’s most important spiritual landscapes. St Catherine’s Monastery has endured centuries of upheaval, invasions, and wars, but it now faces an uncertain future as bulldozers encroach on its sacred grounds. Campaigners, including groups tied to King Charles through the St Catherine Foundation, have called for stronger international intervention to safeguard the site. The King himself has described it as “a great spiritual treasure that should be maintained for future generations.”
As construction continues, Mount Sinai stands at a crossroads between modern commercial tourism and its timeless role as a place of faith, peace, and solitude. The coming years will determine whether it remains a symbol of divine encounter and human devotion or becomes another casualty of unchecked development and economic desperation.
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