Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai'';

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

on the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. It is possibly the location of the biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, and

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

received the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

. It is a , moderately high

near the city of Saint Catherine in the region known today as the

. 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 , is the highest peak in

Geology

Mount Sinai's rocks were formed during the late stage of the evolution of the

Arabian-Nubian Shield The Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) is an exposure of Precambrian crystalline rocks on the flanks of the Red Sea. The crystalline rocks are mostly Neoproterozoic in age. Geographically - and from north to south - the ANS includes parts of Israel, Jo ...

. Mount Sinai displays a ring complex that consists of alkaline

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

s intruded into diverse rock types, including

volcanics Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...

. The granites range in composition from

syenogranite Syenogranite is a fine to coarse grained intrusive igneous rock of the same general composition as granite. They are characteristically felsic. The feldspar component of syenogranite is predominantly alkaline in character (usually orthoclase ...

to alkali

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...

granite. The volcanic rocks are alkaline to peralkaline, and they are represented by subaerial flows and eruptions and

subvolcanic A subvolcanic rock, also known as a hypabyssal rock, is an intrusive igneous rock that is emplaced at depths less than within the crust, and has intermediate grain size and often porphyritic texture between that of volcanic rocks and plutonic r ...

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/Christianity

Immediately north of the mountain is the 6th-century

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

. The summit has a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

that is still used by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

, and a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

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 According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tablets of the Law (also Tablets of Stone, Stone Tablets, or Tablets of Testimony; Biblical Hebrew: לוּחֹת הַבְּרִית ''lûḥōt habbǝrît'' "tablets of the covenant", לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן ' ...

. At the summit also is "Moses' cave", where Moses was said to have waited to receive the

Islam

The Jabal Musa is associated with the Islamic prophet Musa (Moses).''Jewish Encyclopedia'' In particular, numerous references to Jabal Musa exist in the

, where it is called ''Ṭūr Sīnāʾ'', ''Ṭūr Sīnīn'', and ''aṭ-Ṭūr'' and ''al-Jabal'' (both meaning "the Mount"). As for the adjacent '' Wād Ṭuwā'' (

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

of Tuwa), it is considered as being ''muqaddas'' (

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

),), isbn=978-2745151360, editor=Dr Mohammad Hilmi Al-Ahmad, author-link=Ibn Kathir and a part of it is called ''Al-Buqʿah Al-Mubārakah'' ("The Blessed Place"). It is the place where Musa spoke to his Lord. File:St Catherines From Sinai.JPG,

, looking down from Mount Sinai File:MasjidMountSinai.jpg, The mosque at the summit File:Greek Orthodox Chapel at top of Mt Sinai.jpg, The chapel at the summit

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

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s 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. File:MtSinaiJune2006.JPG, Sunrise File:جبل موسى.jpg, View from the summit File:NearSinaiTop.JPG, The last few meters of the climb up the mountain

References

External links

*
Caucasian Albanian Alphabet Discovered and Deciphered
Azerbaijan International, Vol. 11:3 (Autumn 2003). Six articles.
View ''OF'' Mount Sinai (as opposed to the view ''FROM'' Mount Sinai)

Information about the town of St. Katherine and the Sinai mountains

A Report on Mount Sinai

Old maps of Mount Sinai.
Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinai Mountains of Egypt Sinai Peninsula Sacred mountains Hebrew Bible mountains Tourist attractions in Egypt Midian Moses

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

Christian pilgrimage sites