Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai (Hebrew: הַר סִינָֽי Har Sīnay; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ Ṭūrāʾ dəSīnăy), also known as Jabal Musa (Arabic: جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mountain of Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the Torah, Bible, and Quran, Moses received the Ten Commandments.

For the biblical Mount Sinai, and a discussion of its possible locations, see Mount Sinai (Bible). For other uses, see Mount Sinai (disambiguation).
"Jabal Musa" redirects here. For other uses, see Jebel Musa (disambiguation).
Mount Sinai
Egyptian Arabic: جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, romanized: Gabal Mūsā
Arabic: جَبَل مُوْسَى, romanized: Jabal Mūsā
Classical Syriac: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny
Ancient Greek: Ὄρος Σινά
Latin: Mons Sinai
Hebrew: הַר סִינַי‬, romanized: Har Sīnay
The summit of Mount Sinai
Highest point
Elevation2,285 m (7,497 ft)
Prominence334 m (1,096 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Coordinates28°32′21.9″N 33°58′31.5″E
Naming
Native nameطُوْر سِيْنَاء
Geography
Mount Sinai is located in Egypt
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
Sinai, Asian part of Egypt

It is a 2,285-metre (7,497 ft), moderately high mountain near the city of Saint Catherine in the region known today as the Sinai Peninsula. It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks in the mountain range of which it is a part. For example, it lies next to Mount Catherine which, at 2,629 m or 8,625 ft, is the highest peak in Egypt.[1]

Geology
Jebel Musa in the 1869 Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai, shown north of Mount Catherine (Jebel Katarina) and south of Willow Peak (Ras es-Safsafeh)

Mount Sinai's rocks were formed during the late stage of the evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield. Mount Sinai displays a ring complex[2] that consists of alkaline granites intruded into diverse rock types, including volcanics. The granites range in composition from syenogranite to alkali feldspar granite. The volcanic rocks are alkaline to peralkaline, and they are represented by subaerial flows and eruptions and subvolcanic porphyry. Generally, the nature of the exposed rocks in Mount Sinai indicates that they were formed at different depths from one another.

Religious significance

Judaism and Christianity
Main article: Mount Sinai (Bible)

Immediately north of the mountain is the 6th-century Saint Catherine's Monastery. The summit has a mosque that is still used by Muslims, and a Greek Orthodox chapel, constructed in 1934 on the ruins of a 16th-century church, that is not open to the public. The chapel encloses the rock which is considered to be the source for the biblical Tablets of Stone.[3] At the summit also is "Moses' cave", where Moses was said to have waited to receive the Ten Commandments.

Islam

The Jabal Musa is associated with the Islamic prophet Musa (Moses).[4] In particular, numerous references to Jabal Musa exist in the Quran,[5][6] where it is called Ṭūr Saināʾ,[7] Ṭūr Sīnīn,[8] and aṭ-Ṭūr[9][10] and al-Jabal (both meaning "the Mount").[11] As for the adjacent Wād Ṭuwā (Valley of Tuwa), it is considered as being muqaddas[12][13] (sacred),[14][15] and a part of it is called Al-Buqʿah Al-Mubārakah ("The Blessed Place").[10] It is the place where Musa spoke to his Lord.

Ascent and summit

There are two principal routes to the summit. The longer and shallower route, Siket El Bashait, takes about 2.5 hours on foot, though camels can be used. The steeper, more direct route (Siket Sayidna Musa) is up the 3,750 "steps of penitence" in the ravine behind the monastery.[16]

  • Sunrise
    Sunrise
  • View from the summit
    View from the summit
  • The last few meters of the climb up the mountain
    The last few meters of the climb up the mountain
A panoramic view from the summit of Mount Sinai

See also

References
  1. "Sinai Geology". AllSinai.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
  2. Hanaa M. Salem and A. A. ElFouly, "Minerals Reconnaissance at Saint Catherine Area, Southern Central Sinai, Egypt and their Environmental Impacts on Human Health". ICEHM2000, Cairo University, Egypt, September 2000, pp. 586–98
  3. "Mount Sinai, Egypt". Places of Peace and Power.
  4. Jewish Encyclopedia
  5. Sharīf, J.; Herklots, G. A. (1832). Qanoon-e-Islam: Or, The Customs of the Moosulmans of India; Comprising a Full and Exact Account of Their Various Rites and Ceremonies, from the Moment of Birth Till the Hour of Death. Parbury, Allen, and Company. koh-e-toor.
  6. Abbas, K. A. (1984). The World is My Village: A Novel with an Index. Ajanta Publications.
  7. Quran 23:20
  8. Quran 95:2
  9. Quran 2:63–93
  10. Quran 28:3–86
  11. Quran 7:103–156
  12. Quran 20:9–99
  13. Quran 79:15–25
  14. Ibn Kathir (2013-01-01). Dr Mohammad Hilmi Al-Ahmad (ed.). Stories of the Prophets: [قصص الأنبياء [انكليزي. Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah (Arabic: دَار الْـكُـتُـب الْـعِـلْـمِـيَّـة). ISBN 978-2745151360.
  15. Elhadary, Osman (2016-02-08). "11, 15". Moses in the Holy Scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam: A Call for Peace. BookBaby. ISBN 978-1483563039.
  16. "Mount Sinai". AllSinai.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
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