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Ruined Walls

Ruined dry stone walls to the north above the monastery

6 comments to Ruined Walls

  • Richard Saloom

    Hello Father Justin,

    What is the origin of the walls? Was it part of the Monastery or does it predate it?

    Regards,

    Richard

    • Father Justin

      The mountain to the north of the monastery is known as Jebel Ed-Deir. These are ruins of hermit kellia, and they are early, but the precise date of these constructions is not known.

  • Baron dominique

    Hello Father Justin,
    It seems that “el deir” means, the temple or the monastery … do you believe those ruined wall could be linked to an old
    religious building ? If yes, to which belief, religion ???
    Thank you fo your time Father,

    Dom

    • Father Justin

      Jebel Ed-Deir means Mountain of the Monastery. When we come back from Cairo, we are stopped at security checkpoints. The driver tells the guard, ‘Deir Sankt Katrin’, the Monastery of Saint Catherine, or sometimes he just says ‘Deir’. The ruined walls would be the kellia of hermits who used to live in the area, but it is not clear whether they pre-date the sixth century fortress or came after. The best study about all of this is Monastic Settlements in South Sinai in the Byzantine Period: The Archaeological Remains, by Uzi Dahari, published by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2000.

  • Baron Dominique

    Thank you so much Father Justin for those accurate comments. I’ll try to put hands on this book.

  • Maria

    ‘Deir Sankt Katrin’, I love this expression..
    Have heard it a million times, but did not know what *deir* meant …
    Thanks a lot Father Justin!

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