View source for Mount Sinai

{{short description|Mountain in the Sinai Peninsula}}
{{Redirect|Jabal Musa|other uses|Jebel Musa (disambiguation)}}
{{for-multi|the biblical Mount Sinai, and a discussion of its possible locations|Mount Sinai (Bible)|other uses|}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name          = Mount Sinai
| native_name   = {{native name list|tag1=ar|name1=طُوْر سِيْنَاء|tag2=ar|name2=Ṭūr Sīnāʾ}}
| other_name    = {{langx|ar|جَبَل مُوْسَى|Jabal Mūsā}}{{efn|{{langx|arz|جَبَل مُوسَىٰ|Gabal Mūsā}}<br/>{{langx|cop|Ⲡⲧⲟⲟⲩ Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ|Ptoou Sina}}<br/>{{langx|syc|ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ}} {{lang|syc|Ṭūrāʾ d-Sīnayy}}<br/>{{langx|grc|Ὄρος Σινά|Oros Sina}}<br/>{{langx|la|Mons Sinai}}<br/>{{langx|he|הַר סִינַי‬|Har Sīnay}}}}
| coordinates   = {{coord|28|32|21.9|N|33|58|31.5|E|type:landmark_region:EG|display=inline,title}}
| photo         = Mount Sinai from the southwest.jpg
| photo_caption = Mount Sinai as seen from the southwest
| photo_size    = 
| elevation_m   = 2,285
| elevation_ref = 
| location      = [[South Sinai Governorate|Sinai]], [[Asia]]n part of [[Egypt]]
| map           = Egypt
}}

'''Mount Sinai''',{{efn|{{langx |he|{{Script/Hebrew|הַר סִינַי}}}} ''Har Sīnay''; [[Aramaic]]: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ dəSīnăy''; [[Coptic Language|Coptic]]: Ⲡⲧⲟⲟⲩ Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ}} also known as '''Jabal Musa''' ({{langx|ar|جَبَل مُوسَىٰ|4=Mountain of [[Moses]]}}), is a [[mountain]] on the [[Sinai Peninsula]] of [[Egypt]]. It is one of several locations claimed to be the [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|biblical Mount Sinai]], the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the three major [[Abrahamic religions]] ([[Torah]], [[Bible]], and [[Quran]]), the [[Prophets in Judaism|Hebrew prophet]] [[Moses]] received the [[Ten Commandments]] from [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]].<ref name="Vetus Testam.">{{cite journal |author-last=Gray |author-first=John |author-link=John Gray (mythologist) |date=January 1954 |title=The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai-Horeb Tradition |journal=[[Vetus Testamentum]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] on behalf of the [[International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament]] |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=148–154 |doi=10.1163/156853354X00136 |issn=1568-5330 |jstor=1515877}}</ref><ref name="JNES 2014">{{cite journal |author-last=Rubin |author-first=Uri |author-link=Uri Rubin |date=April 2014 |title=Moses and the Holy Valley Ṭuwan: On the Biblical and Midrashic Background of a Qur’ānic scene |journal=[[Journal of Near Eastern Studies]] |location=[[Chicago]] |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=73–81 |doi=10.1086/674614 |issn=1545-6978}}</ref><ref name="JBL 2003">{{cite journal |author-last=Yadin |author-first=Azzan |date=Winter 2003 |title=קול as Hypostasis in the Hebrew Bible |journal=[[Journal of Biblical Literature]] |location=[[Atlanta]] |publisher=[[Society of Biblical Literature]] |volume=122 |issue=4 |pages=601–626 |doi=10.2307/3268068 |issn=0021-9231}}</ref>

It is a {{convert|2285|m|ft|sp=us|adj=on}} [[mountain]] near the city of [[Saint Catherine, Egypt|Saint Catherine]] in the region known today as the [[Sinai Peninsula]]. It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks in the mountain range of which it is a part. For example, it lies next to [[Mount Catherine]] which, at {{convert|2629|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}, is the highest peak in [[Egypt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allsinai.info/sites/geology.htm|publisher=AllSinai.info|title=Sinai Geology|access-date=2006-08-29|archive-date=2011-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718210550/http://www.allsinai.info/sites/geology.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Geology==
[[File:Jebel Musa in the 1869 Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Jebel Musa in the 1869 Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai, shown north of [[Mount Catherine]] (Jebel Katarina) and south of [[Willow Peak]] (Ras es-Safsafeh)]]
Mount Sinai's rocks were formed during the late stage of the evolution of the [[Arabian-Nubian Shield]]. Mount Sinai displays a [[Ring dike|ring complex]]<ref>[http://www.virtualacademia.com/pdf/rad586_598.pdf Hanaa M. Salem and A. A. ElFouly, "Minerals Reconnaissance at Saint Catherine Area, Southern Central Sinai, Egypt and their Environmental Impacts on Human Health"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601133340/http://www.virtualacademia.com/pdf/rad586_598.pdf |date=2012-06-01 }}. ICEHM2000, Cairo University, Egypt, September 2000, pp. 586–98</ref> that consists of alkaline [[granite]]s intruded into diverse rock types, including [[Volcanic rock|volcanics]]. The granites range in composition from [[syenogranite]] to alkali [[feldspar]] granite. The volcanic rocks are [[alkaline]] to [[peralkaline]], and they are represented by subaerial flows and eruptions and [[Subvolcanic rock|subvolcanic]] [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]].

==Religious significance==

=== Judaism and Christianity ===
{{main|Mount Sinai (Bible)}}

Immediately north of the mountain is the 6th-century [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]]. The summit has a [[mosque]] that is still used by [[Islam in Egypt|Muslims]], and a [[Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Greek Orthodox]] chapel, constructed in 1934 on the ruins of a 16th-century church, that is not open to the public. The chapel encloses the rock which is considered to be the source for the biblical [[Tablets of Stone]].<ref name="sacredsites">{{cite web|url=http://www.sacredsites.com/africa/egypt/mount_sinai.html|publisher=Places of Peace and Power|title=Mount Sinai, Egypt|access-date=2006-08-29|archive-date=2011-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224070905/http://sacredsites.com/africa/egypt/mount_sinai.html|url-status=live}}</ref> At the summit also is "Moses' cave", where the [[Prophets in Judaism|Hebrew prophet]] [[Moses]] is believed to have waited to receive the [[Ten Commandments]] from [[God in Abrahamic religions|God]].<ref name="Vetus Testam."/><ref name="JNES 2014"/><ref name="JBL 2003"/>

=== Islam ===
The Jabal Musa is associated with the Islamic prophet [[Moses in Islam|Mūsā ibn ʿImrān]] (i.e., Moses).<ref name="JNES 2014"/> In particular, numerous references to Jabal Musa exist in the [[Quran]],<ref name="SharifHerklots1832">{{cite book|author1=Sharīf, J.|url=https://archive.org/details/b29338050|title=Qanoon-e-Islam: Or, The Customs of the Moosulmans of India; Comprising a Full and Exact Account of Their Various Rites and Ceremonies, from the Moment of Birth Till the Hour of Death|author2=Herklots, G. A.|publisher=Parbury, Allen, and Company|year=1832|quote=koh-e-toor.}}</ref><ref name="Abbas1984">{{cite book|author=Abbas, K. A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejkFAAAAMAAJ&q=koh-e-toor|title=The World is My Village: A Novel with an Index|publisher=Ajanta Publications|year=1984| isbn=978-0-8364-1131-7 |access-date=2021-06-01|archive-date=2023-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228105013/https://books.google.com/books?id=ejkFAAAAMAAJ&q=koh-e-toor|url-status=live}}</ref> where it is called ''Ṭūr Saināʾ'',<ref name="qref|23|20|b=y">{{qref|23|20|b=y}}</ref> ''Ṭūr Sīnīn'',<ref name="qref|95|2|b=y">{{qref|95|2|b=y}}</ref> and ''aṭ-Ṭūr''<ref name="qref|2|63-93|b=y">{{qref|2|63–93|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|28|3-86|b=y">{{qref|28|3–86|b=y}}</ref> and ''al-Jabal'' (both meaning "the Mount").<ref name="qref|7|103-156|b=y">{{qref|7|103–156|b=y}}</ref> As for the adjacent ''[[Wadi|Wād]] [[Ṭuwā]]'' ([[Valley of Tuwa]]), it is considered as being ''muqaddas''<ref name="qref|20|9-99|b=y">{{qref|20|9–99|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|79|15-25|b=y">{{qref|79|15–25|b=y}}</ref> ([[sacred]]),<ref name="IbnKathir Al-Ahmad">{{cite book|last=Ibn Kathir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zx9LDwAAQBAJ|title=Stories of the Prophets: [قصص الأنبياء [انكليزي|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah ({{langx|ar|دَار الْـكُـتُـب الْـعِـلْـمِـيَّـة}})|isbn=978-2745151360|editor=Dr Mohammad Hilmi Al-Ahmad|author-link=Ibn Kathir|access-date=2021-06-01|archive-date=2023-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228110119/https://books.google.com/books?id=zx9LDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Elhadary2016">{{cite book|last=Elhadary|first=Osman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4-ReDQAAQBAJ|title=Moses in the Holy Scriptures of Judaism, Christianity and Islam: A Call for Peace|date=2016-02-08|publisher=BookBaby|isbn=978-1483563039|chapter=11, 15}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and a part of it is called ''Al-Buqʿah Al-Mubārakah'' ("The blessed Place").<ref name="qref|28|3-86|b=y" />
<gallery mode="packed">
File:St Catherines From Sinai.JPG|[[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], looking down from Mount Sinai
File:MasjidMountSinai.jpg|The mosque at the summit
File:Greek Orthodox Chapel at top of Mt Sinai.jpg|The chapel at the summit
</gallery>

==Ascent and summit==
There are two principal routes to the summit. The longer and shallower route, ''Siket El Bashait'', takes about 2.5 hours on foot, though [[camel]]s can be used. The steeper, more direct route (''Siket Sayidna Musa'') is up the 3,750 "steps of penitence" in the ravine behind the monastery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allsinai.info/sites/sites/mount%20sinai.htm|publisher=AllSinai.info|title=Mount Sinai|access-date=2006-08-29|archive-date=2011-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718210515/http://www.allsinai.info/sites/sites/mount%20sinai.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Mount Moses.jpg|NNE view from the summit
File:جبل موسى.jpg|NW view from the summit
File:NearSinaiTop.JPG|The last few meters of the climb up the mountain
File:MtSinaiJune2006.JPG|Sunrise
</gallery>

{{Panorama|image=File:MtSinaiPano.jpg|fullwidth=9344|fullheight=896|caption=A panoramic view from the summit of Mount Sinai|height=200}}

==See also==
* [[Hashem El Tarif]]
* [[Sacred mountains]]
* [[Jebel Musa (Morocco)|Jebel Musa, Morocco]], a similarly named mountain in Morocco

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Notes}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mount Sinai}}
* {{Wikivoyage inline}}
* [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai113_folder/113_articles/113_zaza_script_ashes.html Caucasian Albanian Alphabet Discovered and Deciphered], Azerbaijan International, Vol. 11:3 (Autumn 2003). Six articles.
* [http://sites.google.com/site/stcatherinesmonastery/420Mt.20Sinai20from20the20Distance1.jpg View ''OF'' Mount Sinai (as opposed to the view ''FROM'' Mount Sinai)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010043315/https://sites.google.com/site/stcatherinesmonastery/420Mt.20Sinai20from20the20Distance1.jpg |date=2020-10-10 }}
* [http://www.st-katherine.net Information about the town of St. Katherine and the Sinai mountains]
* [http://www.sacredland.org/mount-sinai/ A Report on Mount Sinai]
* [https://merhav.nli.org.il/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,sinai%20maps&tab=default_tab&search_scope=Local&sortby=lso01&vid=NLI&mfacet=tlevel,include,online_resources,1&mfacet=rtype,include,Maps,1&mfacet=topic,include,Sinai,%20Mount%20(Egypt),1&lang=iw_IL&came_from=sort Old maps of Mount Sinai.] Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The [[National Library of Israel]].

{{Characters and names in the Quran}}
{{Ark of the Covenant}}
{{Egypt topics}}
{{Ten Commandments}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinai}}
[[Category:Mount Sinai| ]]
[[Category:Mountains of Egypt]]
[[Category:Sinai Peninsula]]
[[Category:Sacred mountains of West Asia|Sinai]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible mountains]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Egypt]]
[[Category:Midian]]
[[Category:Moses]]
[[Category:Mountains associated with Christian monasticism|Sinai]]
[[Category:Christian pilgrimage sites]]
[[Category:Ring dikes]]