Mount Sinai, revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as the site where Moses received the Ten Commandments, is at the center of a contentious development project by the Egyptian government to transform it into a luxury tourism hub, sparking international outcry over cultural preservation and indigenous rights.
For centuries, Mount Sinai, known locally as Jabal Musa, has been a pilgrimage destination, home to the 6th-century St. Catherine’s Monastery, the world’s oldest continuously used Christian monastery, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Since 2021, Egypt has advanced the Great Transfiguration Project, constructing luxury hotels, villas, and shopping areas around the sacred mountain to boost tourism, fundamentally altering the pristine desert landscape.
The development has severely impacted the Jebeleya tribe, the indigenous Bedouin community known as the Guardians of St. Catherine. Their homes and eco-tourism camps have been demolished with little compensation, and they were forced to relocate graves from a local cemetery to make way for a new car park, highlighting a top-down approach that disregards local consent and traditions.
International criticism has been vocal, particularly from Greece due to its historical ties to the Greek Orthodox monastery. Tensions flared in May when an Egyptian court ruled that the monastery lies on state land, granting only usage rights, which Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens denounced as an existential threat. Diplomatic efforts led to a joint declaration protecting the monastery’s heritage, but concerns persist.
Despite government assurances, construction continues, with new roads and buildings encroaching on areas like the Plain of el-Raha, where the Israelites awaited Moses. Critics argue this destroys the natural and spiritual essence of the site, contradicting UNESCO’s emphasis on its remote beauty and spiritual significance, and raising alarms about irreversible damage.
The Egyptian government promotes the project as “Egypt’s gift to the world,” aiming to revitalize a tourism sector hit by COVID-19 and regional instability, with goals to reach 30 million visitors by 2028. Housing Minister Sherif el-Sherbiny claims it will preserve environmental and heritage characteristics, though funding issues have temporarily stalled some work.
UNESCO and conservation groups have called for halting developments and conducting impact assessments, with World Heritage Watch urging in July to place the site on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Campaigners have also appealed to King Charles, patron of the St. Catherine Foundation, emphasizing the site’s global spiritual importance.
This pattern of development mirrors past projects in Sinai, such as Red Sea resorts in the 1980s, where Bedouin communities were marginalized and displaced from tourism roles. Egyptian journalist Mohannad Sabry notes that industrial tourism often erodes indigenous cultures, suggesting similar outcomes for St. Catherine’s without inclusive planning.
As transformations proceed, the centuries-old ways of life for the Bedouin and monastic community face permanent change, threatening the isolation and sanctity that define Mount Sinai, and prompting broader reflections on balancing economic development with the preservation of sacred sites worldwide.