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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ancient coin hunter, post: 4293519, member: 87200&quot;]Sounds great. The only thing I can think in the world that might be similar is the Monastery of St. Catherine at the foot of Mt. Sinai. With high walls built by Justinian after its founding by St. Helena (Constantine&#039;s mother) it has been a church since the 4th century A.D. The attire of the monks is Greek Orthodox as are the services. </p><p><br /></p><p>Even though Sinai (or Sina in Arabic) is now part of Egypt where the predominant form of Christianity is Coptic, the monastery has always been Orthodox even during the Ottoman period. In the library is a letter of manumission written by Muhammad in the 7th century guaranteeing religious freedom and even protection to the monastery from desert raiders as well as a fourth century bible. </p><p><br /></p><p>The climb to the top of the mountain (Jebel Musa, e.g., mountain of Moses) is steep and consists of more than 3,500 steps carved into the rock by the monks over the centuries. It was a bit tiring but I made it to the top in a couple of hours.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i1.wp.com/www.seetheholyland.net/wp-content/uploads/St-Catherine-s-Monastery.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>Highly recommended trip. I stayed in a Bedouin hostel called Fox Camp at the foot of the mountain and a short walk to the monastery.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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