The Greek experts are photographing the priceless manuscripts using a complex process which … The library also contains an important archive, containing letters, account books, charters, and other documents. Manuscripts with multiple layers of writing are known as palimpsests, and there are about 130 of them at St. Catherine’s Monastery, according to the website of the Early Manuscript … A World Heritage site with paramount importance for Christianity. In the last several years, Islamist militants have destroyed numerous cultural and religious artifacts and documents in Syria and Iraq. The most famous manuscript is the fourth century Codex Sinaiticus, of which the monastery retains twelve pages and some twenty-four fragments. Other manuscripts cover the fields of science, medicine and the Greek classics. Angels then transported her remains to Mount Sinai. Even though it attracts pilgrims from all over the world, the Christian inhabitants of Sinai have always belonged to the Greek-speaking world, and this remains true to this day. At St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai, the silence in the library is broken only by low electrical humming, as an early manuscript is bathed in green light. The rest are principally in Arabic, Syriac, Georgian, and Slavonic, through there are other manuscripts in Polish, Hebrew, Ethiopian, Armenian, Latin, and Persian. The monks returned the help they had been given by permitting the conversion of a small Crusader chapel within the monastery into a mosque between 1101 and 1106 during the Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171). The New Finds correspond to these languages, and are stored adjacent to the library. In 623 AD, a document signed by the Prophet Muhammad himself, the Actiname (Holy Testament), exempted the Christian monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery from the usual taxes and military service and commanded that Muslims provide the community with every assistance they could as for. The main church of the monastery is the Church of St. Catherine, which was built by the Byzantine architect Stephen of Aila at the same time as the defensive walls. But others are of an educational nature, such as classical Greek texts, lexicons, medical texts, and travel accounts. Tradition says that the monastery took its name form Catherine of Alexandria, a Christian martyr sentenced to death on the wheel. Today, local Muslims use the mosque on special occasions. The most famous manuscript is the fourth century Codex Sinaiticus, of which the monastery retains twelve pages and some twenty-four fragments. Another priceless manuscript is the Codex Syriacus, an ancient copy of the Gospels in the Syriac language. The Sinai manuscripts comprise the oldest and most important Christian monastic library collection. It will take more than a decade to complete the monumental task. Next in importance is the Codex Syriacus, a palimpsest, the upper writing dating to AD 778, with the underwriting dating to perhaps the fifth century. This association gives an added dimension to each of the manuscripts and early printed books, as they witness to the life of prayer and services that has been maintained here for over seventeen centuries. The location is considered sacred for Christianity, Islam and Judaism. St. Catherine’s Monastery was founded in the year 527 AD. Although it has survived centuries of warfare, in recent years it has been targeted by Islamist fanatics and is in danger. The situation in the area is still volatile, and the monastery authorities deem it important to finish the digitization of the manuscripts to preserve them in case of attack, Reuters reports. Mount Sinai is a sacred place for Muslims as well. The UCLA library said it will begin publishing the manuscripts online, in full color, beginning in the Fall of 2019. For a better view experience we use cookies. Ancient Manuscripts Digitized at St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai. This is one of only two manuscripts in the world that preserve the text of the Old Syriac translation of the Gospels. St. Catherine’s Monastery lies at the foot of Mount Sinai, the site where Judeo-Christian tradition says Moses saw the burning bush and received the Ten Commandments from God. A team from Greece is photographing thousands of fragile manuscripts at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt, Reuters reports. The rare treasure includes some of the earliest copies ever made of the Christian Gospels. The tiny mosque was in regular use until the time of the rule of Mameluke in the later 13th century, when began to undergo a long period of neglect. The aim of the project is to create the first digital archive of all 4,500 manuscripts in the library, beginning with approximately 1,100 in the Syriac and Arabic languages, which are particularly rare. The massive granite wall which surrounds the monastery — 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) wide and 11 meters (36 feet) high — has successfully kept enemies away and it has never been invaded or destroyed for almost 1500 years. A team from Greece is currently at St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt photographing thousands of fragile manuscripts, including some of the earliest copies ever made of the Christian Gospels, Reuters reports. Of its 3,300 manuscripts, two-thirds are in Greek. The monastery has some manuscripts written on papyrus, and a large collection of Greek, Arabic, and Turkish scrolls. The project is being undertaken by the non-profit organization Early Manuscripts Electronic Library as well as the library of the University of California, Los Angeles, in collaboration with the monastery. It is revered as Jebel Musa (“Mount Moses”), the place where God handed down his Law. Around the year 800 AD, monks from the Sinai Monastery actually found the remains of St. Catherine. Next in importance is the Codex Syriacus, a palimpsest, the upper writing dating to AD 778, with the underwriting dating to perhaps the fifth century. The Greek experts are photographing the priceless manuscripts using a complex process which includes taking images in red, green and blue light, and then merging them with computer software to create high-quality color pictures. Because the monastery is so remote, and because the dry, mountain air is so conducive to preservation, the library at St. Catherine's holds manuscripts that date as … built by order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, it is the oldest Christian monastery in the world which is still in use for its original function. In 2017, Islamist militants attacked a nearby Egyptian police checkpoint and killed one officer. UNESCO inscribed the area in their World Heritage List in 2002. News from Greeks in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Ancient Manuscripts Digitized at St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai, Mine Explosion Off Saudi Arabia Damages Greek-managed Tanker, Archaeologists Uncover 100 Mummies in Burial Site of Saqqara in Egypt. However, the wheel did not kill her, and she was beheaded. Of all the 4,500 manuscripts in its library, the most famous is the fourth-century “Codex Sinaiticus” — a Greek manuscript of the Bible which contains the oldest surviving complete New Testament. Most of the manuscripts are Christian texts for use in the services, or to inspire and guide the monks in their dedication. “The Holy Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai” — the official name of the monastery — houses the history of Christianity in the 4,500 different manuscripts in its library. It was finally restored in the early twentieth century. The ancient library of Sinai still exists in its original context, as the library of a living community.