One of the most spiritually significant places on Earth is at the centre of growing international controversy as it becomes the focus of a major luxury tourism project. Located the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, the site is believed by followers of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, to be where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. The mountain, also known locally as Jabal Musa, has long drawn pilgrims and seekers of solitude.
Now, under the Egyptian government’s ambitious “Great Transfiguration Project,” the area is being transformed into a high-end tourism destination with luxury hotels, shopping areas, a cable car, and expanded airport facilities. The transformation includes the construction of 1,000 hotel rooms, half of which are already complete, along with high-end villas, eco-lodges, shopping bazaars, a conference centre, herbal treatment hospital, and even a cable car to the peak of Mount Sinai. The facilities are being managed by international hotel chains including Steigenberger and Marriott.
The investment reportedly exceeds £229 million. The mega project was launched in 2021 and is expected to bring over 30 million visitors by 2028.
Earlier this year, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said this mega project is a “gift to the entire world and all religions,” insisting that the site’s natural beauty will be preserved while providing sustainable development for the remote town of Saint Catherine.
As roads are paved and luxury resorts rise in the valley below Mount Sinai, however, many fear that the centuries-old way of life is being wiped away without consent, compensation, or consultation.
According to a BBC report, the reality on the ground tells a very different story from the government’s vision. While officials present the project as a beacon of interfaith unity and economic progress, the traditional Jebeleya Bedouin community is experiencing displacement, and the report has revealed that the tribe, known as the Guardians of St Catherine, have seen their homes and tourist eco-camps destroyed with little or no compensation at all.
Families were forced to exhume graves from a local cemetery to make way for new construction, including a car park. Although approximately 4,000 people live in the area, few are willing to speak publicly about the changes.
Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer who has worked with tribes living on the Sinai Peninsula, told the BBC: “This is not development as the Jebeleya see it or asked for it, but how it looks when imposed top-down to serve the interests of outsiders over those of the local community.
“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.”
The area is home to Saint Catherine’s Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the oldest continuously operating Christian monastery in the world.
Built in the 6th century and managed by the Greek Orthodox Church, the monastery sits at the foot of Mount Sinai and holds centuries-old religious texts, along with the site believed to be the Biblical burning bush.
The UNESCO has previously warned Egypt to halt construction and assess the environmental and cultural impact. However, development continues. In July, the watchdog group World Heritage Watch urged the UN agency to place Saint Catherine on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
World Heritage Watch Chair Stephan Doempke said: “Egypt has continued to provide misleading, inconsistent or incomplete information to UNESCO, and it is time now that Unesco is very clear that they are running out of patience.”
He added: “The remoteness and serenity of the area, a key value of the World Heritage, must be preserved under all circumstances in order to maintain the sacred character of the landscape and enable the spiritual retreat of the monks.”
Tensions also escalated in May after an Egyptian court ruled that Saint Catherine’s Monastery the oldest continuously active Christian monastery in the world is situated on government-owned land, ranting the Church only usage rights not ownership.
This was strongly condemned by Greek officials and religious leaders, who called it an existential threat to one of Christianity’s oldest monasteries. Following diplomatic pressure, Egypt and Greece then issued a joint declaration affirming the preservation of the monastery’s religious identity and cultural heritage.