One of the most culturally and religiously significant sites on Earth is now the focus of an "unholy row," according to the BBC.
What's happening?
Mount Sinai is known to those living nearby as "Jabal Musa," and its spiritual importance spans major religions.
Several nearby sites are notable, but Mount Sinai is considered sacred by adherents of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and Egypt is pressing ahead with plans to construct a controversial "mega-resort" on it.
Saint Catherine's Monastery sits at the foot of Mount Sinai. Constructed in the sixth century, the monastic structure is the oldest continuously inhabited monastery in the world.
The building and several adjacent areas, including the surrounding town and Mount Sinai itself, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, an area with "outstanding universal value" to all of humanity.
As such, Egyptian plans to construct a resort and "luxury" features for shopping and lodging have roiled clergy and worshippers — and, per the BBC, construction has already catastrophically disrupted an Indigenous Bedouin tribe, the Jebeleya.
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The outlet, noting that the Jebeleya tribe is "known as the Guardians of St. Catherine," reported that their homes and dwellings were razed with "little or no compensation" offered, and that tribespeople have been forced to exhume and move their dead to make way for a parking lot.
British travel writer Ben Hoffler has "worked closely" with local tribes, and he spoke to the BBC about what's happening at the site. He asserted that the "mega-resort" project stood to benefit visitors at the expense of the tribes, who were "unwilling" to comment directly.
"A new urban world is being built around a Bedouin tribe of nomadic heritage. It's a world they have always chosen to remain detached from, to whose construction they did not consent, and one that will change their place in their homeland forever," Hoffler said.
Why is this mega-resort concerning?
In the BBC's coverage of the conflict, the outlet indicated that Greece had been the "most vocal" in its objections to the project, as "tensions between Athens and Cairo" persisted.
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Set strict regulations 🚫 In May, a court tacitly favored the project, ruling that Saint Catherine's Monastery was merely "entitled to use" the land beneath the building, which incensed Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens of the Church of Greece.
"The monastery's property is being seized and expropriated. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing an existential threat," the Archbishop fired back.
Although Saint Catherine's Archbishop Damianos rarely gives interviews, the BBC added that he addressed the ruling in its aftermath, calling it a "grave blow for us ... and a disgrace."
What's being done about it?
In 2023, UNESCO asked Egypt for assurances and a "conservation plan," but the government has yet to comply.
In July, World Heritage Watch asked UNESCO to formally place Saint Catherine's Monastery on its List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
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