Religious leaders oppose construction of mega resort at sacred holy site

10 Sep 2025 By foxnews

Mount Sinai, the place where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, is slated to be the location of a mega resort.

The resort is part of Egypt's "Great Transfiguration Project," which includes plans to build luxury hotels, shopping centers and villas, according to a BBC report.

The project "aims to turn the sacred mountainous area into a spiritual shrine and a destination for mountain, medical and environmental tourism," per Egypt's State Information Service (SIS).

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PARTY-TOWN BUILDING AND RELICS PULLED OUT IN OCEAN DISCOVERY

Mount Sinai is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its sacred ties to the religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

The Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine sits at the bottom of Mount Horeb, where Moses received the tablets of the law, and is part of the broader Greek Orthodox tradition, according to UNESCO World Heritage.

Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens, the current head of the Church of Greece, has reportedly denounced the project.

"The monastery's property is being seized and expropriated. This spiritual beacon of Orthodoxy and Hellenism is now facing an existential threat," he said in a statement, according to the Orthodox Times.

Members of the Jebeleya tribe, also known as the Guardians of St. Catherine's Monastery, told the BBC that their homes and eco-camps were demolished with minimal compensation, while some received nothing at all.

Ben Hoffler, a British travel writer working with Sinai tribes, told the BBC that an urban world is being built.

"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," he said.

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He added, "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."

Nearly 16 million tourists visited Egypt in 2024, increasing by over a million from the previous year, according to SIS.

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Fox News Digital reached out to UNSECO World Heritage and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism for comment.