Greece, Egypt agree future of Mount Sinai monastery, Greek PM says

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ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece said on Thursday it had agreed with Egypt on the future of St Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai, one of the world’s oldest sites of Christian worship whose status had led to a diplomatic spat between the two countries.

Athens had expressed concern about plans by Egypt to develop a tourism project around the site, where by Biblical tradition Moses received the Ten Commandments. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is still houses Greek Orthodox monks. 

Earlier this year, an Egyptian court ruling ordered the monks to vacate several plots of land and worship facilities that monks have used for centuries, on the grounds that they were illegally sequestered. 

But after negotiations, Greece and Egypt have finalised an out of court deal that will be signed by the leadership of the monastery and the Egyptian authorities, according to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and diplomats.

“It guarantees the character of the monastery in perpetuity,” Mitsotakis said during a speech in parliament.

“Any conversion of the monastery as well as of the other places of worship is prohibited.”

A senior Greek foreign ministry official said that the deal will be signed in the coming weeks.

Egyptian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The St Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai, was founded in the 6th century and is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its original function, says UNESCO.

Its library is one of the most extensive worldwide, containing some of the world’s earliest Christian manuscripts.  

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, Editing by William Maclean)