At least 183 tourists of different nationalities arrived Tuesday in the city of St. Catherine to visit the city's tourist attractions and archaeological sites. Head of St. Catherine city Sayed Abdel Sadek revealed in a statement to reporters that 183 tourists of different nationalities arrived in the city of St. Catherine, over the past 24 hours. Abdel Sadek explained that all 183 tourists, including 146 foreigners and 37 Egyptians, had visited St. Catherine's Monastery، Saint Katherine Protectorate, Mount Sinai and Bedouin camps. He stressed that the city relies much on day-to-day visits by tourists، explaining that tourism traffic vary from time to time, adding that the number of tourists usually increases during vacations and holidays. Tourism officials expect an increase in the number of tourists visiting Egypt in the coming period، as European countries start to lift the flights ban to Sinai. The total number of tourists who visited Egypt amounted to 640179 tourists in February 2016، according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egypt has been trying to boost the tourism sector by organizing visits by celebrities such as, famous American actor Will Smith, Spanish club Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who took private tours of the pyramids; and Indian actress Parineeti Chopra visited the tourist attractions of Luxor, in March. The Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine, which has been labeled a UNESCO World Heritage Site, stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The Monastery, founded in the 6th century, is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its initial function. Its walls and buildings of great significance to studies of Byzantine architecture and the Monastery houses outstanding collections of early Christian manuscripts and icons. The rugged mountainous landscape, containing numerous archaeological and religious sites and monuments, forms a perfect backdrop to the Monastery, according to UNESCO World Heritage Site.
