Outside wall of St. Catherine's Convent - Mt. Sinai

J153404 U.S. Copyright Office.

Photograph taken from Wadi El Dier (Biblical Holy Valley) at the foot of Gebel El Dier (Selib-Baraka), looking southeast and showing the northeastern wall 'northern wall for simplification' in the foreground from right to centre-left, the hanging door in centre-right, the tower of Saint Gregory in the centre, the north-eastern tower in centre-left, and the southern slopes of Gebel Meraja in the background to the left, from a 1 km distance. (A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
Saint Catherine Monastery was constructed between 530 and 545 CE by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527-565 CE). "The length of the northwestern wall 'western wall for simplification' is 74.80 m, the northeastern wall 'northern wall for simplification' is 87.50 m long, the southeastern wall 'eastern wall for simplification' is 73.50 m and the southwestern wall 'southern wall for simplification' is 80.50 m. The thickness of the southwestern 'southern' wall is 2.75 m, while the other walls are narrower, reaching an average of 2 m" (Uzi Dahari, 2000). An earthquake partially destroyed the eastern and western walls in 1354 CE and were later restored by the bishop of Petra. There is a small chapel inside the northern wall behind the double-tower of St. Gregory. It could be easily reached via the wooden stairway of the museum in the northern alley inside the monastery. The hanging door was used for centuries to allow travellers and supplies inside the monastery, to distribute bread and food supplies on the Gebaliya and other Bedouin tribes ("El-Tawara Tribal Alliance" in South Sinai between the following tribes: Mezena, 'Aliqat, Hamada and Bani Wasel, Awlad Sa'aed, Qrarsha and Sawalha, and Gebaliya, in addition to Mawtra tribe), and to avoid the danger of opening the main gate. Napoleon's commander in Egypt re-built the northern wall of the monastery in 1801 CE, after it had partially collapsed due to a flashflood following heavy rain in 1798 CE. (A. Shams, Sinai Peninsula Research, 2018)
No. U-122401.