Saint Catherine Protectorate: land of miracles

CAIRO –31 July 2017: Saint Catherine Protectorate is located on a high hill surrounded by a few mountains of various heights. Saint Catherine Mountain is the highest summit in Egypt, and Mousa Mountain, Jebel Safsafa, Jebel Banat, Jebel Sana, and Jebel Abbas are also located in the area. These mountains are famous for their steep, wavy sides that are difficult to climb without the help of specific climbing tools.

Here are seven important pieces of information about Saint Catherine Protectorate:

1- The area was declared a natural protectorate in the year 1988.

2- It stretches more than 4,300 square kilometers.

3- It is considered one of the most important natural inhabitances for most of the rare plants of Sinai, including “olives, basil, calotropis, thyme, anabasis, artemisia judaica, tamarix and hyoscyamus.”

4- It is famous for farms, springs and water wells that are important historically, such as Aaron’s well.

5- The protectorate is famous for its wildlife, such as foxes, hyenas, deer, wild rabbits, wolves, Arabian hedgehogs, Cairo spiny mice, dipodidae and reptiles.

6- There are many types of birds there as well, most important of which are storks, eagles, hawks, kestrel and crows.

7- The protectorate also has a unique cultural legacy, represented in Saint Catherine’s Monastery, with its architectural structure and artistic treasures and monuments.