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St. Katherine
AWAY AWAY
Ras Safsafa |
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Ras Safsafa and the plains of Safsafa lie to the northwest from the Basin of Elijah. From the beginning of the 4th century hermits lived up on these plains and cultivated wheat and barley in small soil-filled basins. Later monks built chapels to honour their predecessors and other holy figures. The chapels that now stand next to the early Byzantine ruins are from the early 19th century. |
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 Starting at the basin of Elijah, a path leads northward over a low pass. A right branch leads to the chapel of St. John the Baptist. Near the chapel stands a fig tree that an early hermit grafted onto a wild fig. East of the chapel monks built a dam to prevent flooding of the monastery below. From the top, above the dam, their is a breathtaking view of the monastery some 400 meters below. |
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In a narrow drainage, tucked away to the south east of Farsh el Looz, is the chapel of St. Anne. |
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 Taking the main path to the north west from the Farsh el Looz, the path forks again. The left fork (S-W) leads to the chapel of Panteleimon, or the Red Church. Again, next to the chapel is a garden protected by a (recently restored) wall. East of the chapel on a high platform are numerous rock structures in which hermits lived. The path from this chapel, going further south, meets a path coming up from wadi Arbaein and goes down to wadi Shrayj. |
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| The right fork, after leaving Farsh el Looz, leads over a pass to a basin at the base of Ras Safsafa. To the right is a route called The Way of Jethro, an extremely difficult route from the monastery to the summit of Mount Sinai. From this junction Byzantine steps lead down to the basin with a lone willow tree (Safsuuf = willow). This willow is according to the Bedouins very ancient. In the shade of the willow stands the chapel of the Holy Girdle of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary appeared to a 4th century hermit living at this spot and gave him her belt as evidence of her visit. Above this basin is the peak of Ras Safsafa (2168 m). From the summit there is an impressive view over the Plain of Al Raha, where the people of Israel waited for Moses to return from the mountain. | |
The left fork leads to the chapel of St. Gregory of Sinai. In the 13th century, this hermit lived in a rock shelter where the chapel now stands and climbed up to the summit of mount Sinai each day to pray. He had his own little garden in a small basin and drew water from a well that Bedouins still use today and call Farsh el Looz (the basin of the Almond), as a very old almond tree stands next to the well.|
For more information contact us at: katherine@awayaway-sinai.net or call 00 20 122270443 |