006 - The Monastery

Journey to the fortress-walled Saint Catherines Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula, a revered pilgrimage site founded by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. Nestled at the foot of the mountain where Moses received the Tablets of the Law, this monastery has withstood the test of time, preserving a trove of religious history through its icons, mosaics, and ancient manuscripts. In Our Journey to Sinai, Agnes Bensly recounts the adventures of a group of British scholars in the 1890s, driven by their quest for a rare second-century Syriac translation of the Gospels. Among them is Agnes Smith Lewis, an accomplished linguist who previously discovered a palimpsest containing hidden Syriac text. This thrilling expedition through bustling Cairo, treks across barren deserts, and a breathtaking ascent of Mount Sinai reveals not just the excitement of Bible scholarship but also an intimate portrait of a monastery that is now a World Heritage Site. (Introduction by Sue Anderson)