l6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 89 



at the little convent always served us with coffee and presented us with 

 vegetables and fruit from his garden. 



Soon after passing the oasis the road left Wadi Feiran and entered 

 VVadi Sheikh, which brought us nearly to the St. Katherine Monastery. 

 This is the oldest monastery now in existence and has been in con- 

 tinuous operation for over 15 centuries. It is under the Greek Ortho- 

 dox Church, with headquarters in Cairo, in which city the Archbishop 

 resides. At present there are about 20 monks living at the monastery, 

 and without exception, they proved most hospitable and friendly 

 toward us. The Archbishop spent several weeks at the monastery, and 

 he with five of the monks visited us on Mount St. Katherine during 

 our second sojourn there. The Archbishop and monks made it clear 

 that they would gladly welcome the establishment of a solar-radiation 

 station on or near Mount St. Katherine, and would do all in their 

 power to aid in its construction and operation. Since it is entirely due 

 to the presence of the monastery that this wild region is safe from 

 Bedouin brigands, and since the monastery virtually controls all the 

 native labor in the vicinity, we were indeed glad to find those in 

 charge so kindly disposed toward our venture. 



The main monastery is located near the base of Mount Sinai, but 

 there are also other smaller convents and shrines under the control 

 of the monks, among which may be mentioned the shrine on the sum- 

 mit of Mount St. Katherine, " El Arbain," or the Convent of the 

 Forty Martyrs, and " Rabba," or the convent rest-house near the Plain 

 of the Law. Through the kindness and generosity of the monks we 

 were permitted to occupy guest rooms in the shrine on Mount St. 

 Katherine during our entire 15 weeks' stay on that mountain. Archi- 

 mandrite Joakim, the Head Monk at the large monastery, did all in 

 his power to add to our comfort and instructed all the monks under 

 him to do likewise. Father Moissi, in charge of the El Arbain convent 

 also had the shrine on Mount St. Katherine under his care. He even 

 went so far as to send up fruit and vegetables from his garden, and 

 they were a happy change from our menus from tin cans. On our 

 second and third departures from Mount St. Katherine, Archimandrite 

 Joakim and one of his assistants met us personally at the Rabba rest- 

 house, had a wonderful luncheon prepared for us, and rooms ready 

 so that we might rest after the tiring journey down the mountain. 



The trail that the monks have constructed up Mount St. Katherine 

 is truly a marvel, of even gradient, well constructed, and the equal of 

 our best mountain trails. On it camels can proceed to a point only 

 150 feet lower than the summit, and excellent stone steps complete 

 the trail to the top. A strong spring was found about 800 feet below the 



