Saint Catherine’s Monastery, one of the oldest functioning monasteries in the world, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from Almighty Allah. Photos courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
According to the tourism ministry, this recognition underscores St. Catherine’s prominent status as a distinguished centre of tourism, culture, and heritage.
The award was announced a day earlier in a celebration in South Sinai’s city of Sharm El-Sheikh.
During his speech at the celebration, Dr Khaled Mubarak, governor of South Sinai, expressed pride in announcing that St. Catherine — the "City of the Great Transfiguration" — had won a prestigious global award as the capital of religions, tolerance, peace, and tourism worldwide.
The city hosts the under-construction Great Transfiguration Project, launched in 2020 to turn the city into a leading destination for religious, environmental, and therapeutic tourism by improving the remote village’s infrastructure, utilities, and amenities.
St. Catherine City is a blessed and sacred area because it is the only place on earth where the transfiguration of Almighty Allah occurred while giving Moses the Ten Commandments, according to the Old Testament in the Bible.
It has significant historical and religious value, serving as a sacred site for the three Abrahamic religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
The Church of the Burning Bush where Almighty Allah spoke to Moses from a bush which, although on fire, was unaffected by the flames.
Numerous verses in the Holy Quran, the Bible, and the Torah speak of this place's sanctity.
Moreover, it is among the three holiest places in the world where divine messages were revealed: Saudi Arabia’s Makkah, Palestine’s Al-Quds (Jerusalem), and Egypt’s Saint Catherine.
The city bears the name of the eponymous Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who was martyred in the early 4th century AD. Her incorrupt body was discovered by monks near Mount Saint Catherine in the 9th century AD, where angels had deposited it after her martyrdom.
Earlier in February, Sharm El-Sheikh won the AFASU Award for Safest Tourist Destination Award.
Tourism is one of Egypt’s primary sources of foreign currency.
In 2023, the number of tourists who visited the country reached a new record high of 14.9 million, surpassing the previous 14.7 million figure registered in 2010.
In the first half of 2024, Egypt attracted a record-breaking 7.1 million tourists, with revenues reaching $6.6 billion, compared to $6.3 billion in the same period in 2023.
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