Saint Catherine, Egypt

Saint Catherine is a city in the South Sinai Governorate. It is located at the outskirts of El Tur Mountains at an elevation of 1586m, 120km away from Nuweiba, at the foot of Mount Sinai and the Saint Catherine's Monastery. Its population is 4,603 (1994).HistoryPharaonic eraAlthough Saint Catherine wasn't established as a city at that time, it was always part of the Egyptian Empire throughout history and it was part of the province of "Deshret Reithu".In the 16th century BC, the Egyptian pharaohs built the way of Shur across Sinai to Beersheba and on to Jerusalem. The region provided the Egyptian Empire with turquoise, gold and copper, and well preserved ruins of mines and temples are found not far from Saint Catherine at Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Mukattab, the Valley of Inscription. They include temples from the 12th Dynasty, dedicated to Hathor, goddess of love, music and beauty, and from the New Kingdom dedicated to Sopdu, the god of the Eastern Desert.Roman and Byzantine eraLocated at the foot of Mount Sinai, Saint Catherine's Monastery was the start of the city, it was constructed by order of the Emperor Justinian between 527 and 565.