THE FATIMID MOSQUE IN SAINT CATHERINE'S MONASTERY (ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY)

Abstract

The religious significance of Sinai is due to the command of Moses, perhaps, this important religious position of Sinai made it a refuge for hermits, devotees, fleeing Roman persecution, and the new religion in which they found a dangerous competitor.

Among the places where hermits and monks resided are: Mount Moses, Wadi Ferran and Wadi al-Hamam, north of the city of At-Tur, where there is safety from the brutality of the Roman soldiers, and there are fertile areas, where water springs are needed for their cultivation, as well as their residence near the holy areas mentioned in the Bible. Christian hermits began residing in Sinai since the middle of the third century AD, and then it became a place of pilgrimage since the fourth century AD.

In (372-374 AD) a Spanish noblewoman visited the monks there, and established two churches on Mount Sinai and a third on the side of the bush. At the beginning of the sixth century AD, there were several monasteries and churches in the Wadi Ferran region, and the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527-566 AD) built a fortress to prevent attacks from them The Bedouins built the current monastery in this place, considering it a holy place.

The research deals with two axes: the first is the history of St. Catherine's Monastery and the stages of construction, and the second deals with the architectural description of the monastery and its architectural elements.