In brief
Mount Sinai, known for its religious significance and the historic St Catherine's Monastery, is facing a transformation into a luxury tourist destination, raising concerns about cultural erasure and environmental degradation. The local Bedouin community, known as Guardians of St Catherine, has been impacted adversely, with their homes demolished to make way for the new developments. Critics argue that the planning disregards the desires and livelihoods of those who have lived in the region for generations, placing commercial interests above the needs of local populations.
For years, visitors would venture up Mount Sinai with a Bedouin guide to watch the sunrise over the pristine, rocky landscape or go on other Bedouin-led hikes. Now one of Egypt's most sacred places - revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims - is at the heart of an unholy row over plans to turn it into a new tourism mega-project.Known locally as Jabal Musa, Mount Sinai is where Moses is said to have been given the Ten Commandments. Many also believe that this is the place where, according to the Bible and the Quran, God spoke to the prophet from the burning bush. The 6th century St Catherine's Monastery, run by the Greek Orthodox Church, is also there - and seemingly its monks will stay on now that Egyptian authorities, under Greek pressure, have denied wanting to close it.However, there is still deep concern about how the long-isolated, desert location - a Unesco World Heritage site comprising the monastery, town, and mountain - is being transformed. Luxury hotels, villas, and shopping bazaars are under construction there.It is also home to a traditional Bedouin community, the Jebeleya tribe. Already the tribe, known as the Guardians of St Catherine, have had their homes and tourist eco-camps demolished with little or no compensation. They have even been forced to take bodies out of their graves in the local cemetery to make way for a new car park.The project may have been presented as desperately needed sustainable development which will boost tourism, but it has also been imposed on the Bedouin against their will, says Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer who has worked closely with Sinai tribes.This is not development as the Jebeleya see it or asked for it, but how it looks when imposed top-down to serve the interests of outsiders over those of the local community, he told the BBC. A new urban world is being built around a Bedouin tribe of nomadic heritage. It's a world they have always chosen to remain detached from, to whose construction they did not consent, and one that will change their place in their homeland forever.Locals, who number about 4,000, are unwilling to speak directly about the changes.Egypt began its state-sponsored Great Transfiguration Project for tourists in 2021. The plan includes opening hotels, eco-lodges, and a large visitor centre, as well as expanding the small nearby airport and a cable car to Mount Moses.The government is promoting the development as Egypt's gift to the entire world and all religions. However, UNESCO has highlighted concerns regarding the environmental impacts and has called for a cessation of current developments until assessments can be made.While the transformation of Mount Sinai into a commercial tourist destination continues, the future of both the sacred land and its original guardians remains uncertain.
