Mount Sinai, one of the most revered religious sites in the world, is now at the center of a contentious tourism development that threatens its spiritual, cultural, and natural integrity. Known as Jabal Musa in Arabic, the mountain is believed to be the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It is also home to the 6th-century St Catherine’s Monastery, the oldest continuously operating Christian monastery, revered by Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike.
For centuries, the area remained isolated, with Bedouin tribes like the Jebeleya preserving its heritage and guiding pilgrims through its rugged terrain. However, Egypt’s state-sponsored “Great Transfiguration Project,” launched in 2021, is transforming the once-pristine desert into a luxury destination, complete with hotels, villas, a visitor center, and plans for a cable car to Mount Moses.
While the government promotes the development as a gift to humanity and a boost for tourism, critics argue it is erasing local culture and damaging a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bedouin community has seen homes and eco-camps demolished with little compensation. Graves were even exhumed to make space for a car park, and locals fear permanent marginalization.
Ben Hoffler, a travel writer with extensive experience in Sinai, warns that this top-down development serves outsiders over indigenous people. “A new urban world is being built around a tribe that never consented to its construction,”
Tensions escalated earlier this year when an Egyptian court ruled that the land surrounding St Catherine’s belongs to the state, stripping the monastery of its historical rights. The Greek Orthodox Church, which oversees the site, condemned the ruling. Diplomatic pressure from Greece resulted in a joint declaration to preserve the monastery’s identity, but concerns remain.
Despite UNESCO urging Egypt to halt construction and conduct environmental assessments, work in areas like the Plain of el-Raha continues. Critics argue this sacred valley—where Israelites are said to have waited for Moses—is being irreversibly altered.
Egypt, aiming to revive its struggling tourism sector, envisions attracting 30 million visitors by 2028. However, parallels with past development in Red Sea resorts—where Bedouins were displaced and excluded—raise serious questions about the project’s true cost.
St Catherine’s, once a remote spiritual sanctuary, may soon be surrounded by commercial tourism that forever changes its landscape and soul.
