Mount Sinai by George Manginis, Haus Publishing, £20
Mountains have always commanded a singular place in religion. Pagan societies worshipped them and used them as boundary markers. Native Americans regarded them as sacred gods protecting their homeland. But it’s in the monotheistic tradition where mountains really matter, and none more so than Mount Sinai.
Sinai, as described in Exodus, is at the heart of Judaism – the site where Moses (and the Israelites) first received God’s covenant. It is the foundational moment in all three “religions of the book”, the actual place where the “book” first started taking shape, and is equally revered by all.
Manginis, an archaeologist and art historian at SOAS, has stitched together a rather odd mixture of travellers’ reminiscences, archaeological interpretation and geologic survey and, while always interesting, the book never plunges the reader into the deep mystery and history of the Bible’s most important theophany. Manginis is strong on history (excepting his strange and anachronistic use of the name Jebel Musa rather than Sinai or Horeb), contemporary observation and geology, but sometimes lacks a more analytical or literary approach, presenting evidence without commenting on it.
The story begins not with Moses but with the first Christian anchorites in the 3rd century. This was the era of the Desert Fathers and, as their popularity grew, holy men found themselves going further afield in search of blessed peace. It was these early penitents who first came to Sinai and identified it as the site mentioned in Exodus, despite the Bible’s vagueness on the actual location (and name) of the Mosaic mountain.
By the 4th century, Sinai was firmly ensconced on any pilgrim’s itinerary. Following Constantine’s conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, pilgrimage became an ever-increasing pastime of the wealthy and adventurous. Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth were obvious stops along the way but the theological importance and geologic magnificence of Sinai assured it a place. A small church was built on the tiny summit by Julian Sabba and pilgrims were welcome to pray at the site. But no one was allowed to spend the night on the summit, a sign of reverence and awe that continued as a tradition for many centuries.
It was the basilica built by the Emperor Justinian (527-565) that turned Sinai from an isolated, precarious site into the popular attraction it has remained to this day. Justinian also built a handy fortress (there were numerous attacks by Bedouins) and it is this fortress that forms part of the present-day monastery of St Catherine. The change in buildings also precipitated a change in utility and, in the mid-6th century, Sinai underwent a fundamental shift from an anchoritic to a coenobitic community. The conquest of Sinai by Islam in the 630s didn’t change much and, by the mid-7th century, it had become an important place for Islamic pilgrimage too.
Sinai continued to be a favourite destination for Christians until the Reformation, which halted most pilgrimages. There was also a growing distrust against Christians from the Ottoman Empire, which now controlled Sinai, and the monastery and the summit fell into disrepair.
It was only due to the new interest in biblical scholarship that flowered in 19th-century Germany that Sinai studies became important again, and in 1869 Thomas Cook put it in its travel brochures.
While Manginis is very good at collating travellers’ tales from the period and describing the geology of the region, the book sometimes feels too dry and fragmentary. But it reminds one that there is still a great narrative history to be written about this most mysterious and beguiling of mountains.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.