Mount Sinai

A granite mountain in the southern Sinai Peninsula traditionally identified with the biblical site of the giving of the Law to Moses, rising to 2,285 metres. The ascent follows one of two routes — the 3,750 Steps of Penitence cut by monks, or a longer camel path — with both converging near the summit chapel, which stands beside remains of a 6th-century Byzantine structure. Sunrise from the summit, with the jagged Sinai peaks emerging from darkness below and the pink sky above, is the primary reason pilgrims and travellers make the predawn ascent. The Saint Catherine's Monastery at the mountain's base is one of the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monasteries in the world.