Overview

"The origins of the monastery date to A.D. 324, when a community of monks requested the mother of the Emperor Constantine, Helena, to build a chapel on the spot where they believed the Burning Bush had stood. Two centuries later, the Emperor Justinian had the building enlarged and massive walls built, thus the Monastery remained for centuries an oasis of peace, shrouded in mystery and sacredness. Not even the Crusades left a trace of their passing, except for some graffiti carved in the refectory. Today St. Catherine's has become a place of pilgrimage and international tourism. Visitors are attracted by the route - which crosses the colourful Sinai Desert and reaches Jebel Musa, a mountain of capital importance in the Old Testament - and, above all, by the charm of the Monastery itself, rich in artistic and historical treasures, and exuding the serenity that only a place of worship can. This book takes the reader inside one of the most important places in the Christian religion, through pictures taken by famous photographers that provide a high-quality documentation of the monastery. The text gives an account of recent investigations and discoveries and provides the reader with a full knowledge of this holy site. The exceptional quality of the illustrations and text make this very affordable book a worthy tribute to one of the Christian world's most famous monasteries. To visit St. Catherine's Monastery is to move into a timeless dimension in which the key episodes of the ""Book of Exodus"" converge with an often neglected element of early Christianity: the story of the hermit monks of the Middle Eastern deserts. It is also a revisiting of the history of Islam and the Crusades. St. Catherine's Monastery, an isolated monastic stronghold lost in the Sinai Desert, safeguards priceless artistic treasures and mysteries of the faith. This volume, with its rich array of colours, aura and detailed, evocative stories, introduce readers to an a treasured part of humanity's heritage and also its related history, religion, and natural surroundings."

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9788854401426

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Corinna Rossi works for the Collegio di Milano. Her articles on ancient architecture have been widely published internationally.

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