EGYPT: POPE TO VISIT MOUNT SINAI: PREVIEW скачать в хорошем качестве

EGYPT: POPE TO VISIT MOUNT SINAI: PREVIEW

(25 Feb 2000) Eng/Fr/Italian In what promises to be the highlight of his Egypt trip, Pope John Paul II will travel on Saturday to the remote St. Catherine's monastery at the base of Mount Sinai, where the Bible says God presented Moses with the Ten Commandments. The Greek Orthodox monastery also may give the pope another chance to appeal for reconciliation between faiths. The Vatican and Orthodox Christians spilt nearly 1-thousand years ago over disputes dominated by the issue of papal authority. Sunrise viewed from the sacred Mount Sinai in the eastern Egyptian desert. The mountain is considered to be holy by Christians, Muslims and Jews and has long been a major pilgrimage site. Every night hundreds of tourists climb the mountain by foot or on donkeys to witness sunrise from the summit. It's a strenuous climb, one unfortunately too energetic for the ailing pontiff who'll arrive here on Saturday. Instead, Pope John Paul II will stop at the base of the mountain for a quiet prayer in the olive grove of St Catherine's Monastery. On arrival in Cairo on Thursday, the Pope said his visit to Mount Sinai would be a " moment of intense prayer for peace and for interreligious dialogue." The mountain, marked on different maps as either Mount Sinai, Mount Horeb or Mount Moses, stands in the middle of the Sinai desert. Some tourists have purposely planned their trip to coincide with the Pope's visit. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We're really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. We've made this trip to the mount Sinai especially and we're getting married today and we're visiting Saint Catherine's monastery and you know we are really looking forward to seeing him and embracing this tremendous religious occasion." SUPER CAPTION: Lynn Francis, tourist from England People have come from all over the world to witness the Pope's visit to this holiest of places. SOUNDBITE: (French) "I find that it is marvellous that at his age he still can come here and I find it marvellous that we have one God and we see here all the nationalities, we see the Chinese, the Africans and the Italians." SUPER CAPTION: Regina Philippe, tourist from Switzerland Many see the Pope's visit as a chance for reconciliation between all the religions who hold this site holy. SOUNDBITE: (Italian) " It's fair that the Pope who visits many places also comes here, where more or less Christianity originated and not only Christianity but all religions". SUPER CAPTION: Carmine Dilacio, tourist from Italy The Pope's visit to St Catherine's, a Greek Orthodox monastery, may give the Pope another chance to appeal for reconciliation between Orthodox and Catholics, who split nearly 1-thousand years ago. Surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of burning desert, St Catherine;s Monastery has withstood the buffeting of sand-laden wind for well over a millennium. After her execution, Christians believed that the body of St Catherine was lifted by angels to heaven. But legend also has it that it was lifted to the highest mountain in Sinai. As well as housing priceless icons, St Catherine's has the second oldest Bible in the world. During his homily on Friday, the pope expressed eagerness to see a site so central to his faith. One religious leader in Sinai said the Pope's visit will hopefully encourage people around the world to visit the holy site. SOUNDBITE: (English) SUPER CAPTION: Damanios, Archbishop of Sinai Security will be tight here on Saturday as people in Sinai eagerly await for the first ever by the Pope. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...