Calling any resort town biblical sounds like blasphemy, but allow me to explain my sacrilege. You see, the Sinai Peninsula was home to some of the most crucial developments that matter to all Abrahamic religions. Most notably, the Prophet Moses is believed to have received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai, which is not far from Sharm El-Sheikh. If you are familiar with the story of how Moses led his followers across the Red Sea, you may be pleased to hear that said crossing presumably took place somewhere near this resort town as well, though the exact location of that event is still very much up for debate. Moreover, today, this area is home not only to Muslims, but also to a small population of Coptic Christians. Furthermore, the town itself receives large numbers of both Muslim and Christian tourists of all denominations each year. All these facts combined have resulted in the construction of some fantastic places of worship in this resort town, which we will take a closer look at today, starting with the mosques of Sharm El-Sheikh.
Al-Sahaba Mosque
If you have ever seen a photo of a mosque taken in Sharm El-Sheikh, you have probably seen this one. It is the most visited one in the city, after all.
Built using a mix of Ottoman and Mamluk architecture, this mosque was completed in 2017. Yes, it really is that new. Sharm El-Sheikh itself is a very young city, so it is no surprise that its sites are not particularly old either.
The most peculiar thing about the Al-Sahaba Mosque is just how deceptively large it seems from the outside. It is surrounded by souvenir shops and the like, which help make this entire structure look bigger than it actually is.
If you are not covered appropriately, you will be given clothing for free at the entrance so you can see the inside of the mosque for yourself. Frankly, it is not that different from any other mosque on the inside, which makes sense when you think about it.
After all, this mosque is not just meant to be an eye candy for tourists. While it is frequently used as the poster child for Sharm El-Sheikh, it actually functions as an active mosque for locals. In fact, I was told that I could pray in it anytime I liked, but to visit as a tourist, I would have to wait until 4 p.m. Just keep this in mind, and try to visit this lovely mosque later in the day if you can.
Mustafa Mosque
My favourite mosque in Sharm El-Sheikh is the Mustafa Mosque, and no, it is not because it is my namesake.
Since it is pretty far from both Naama Bay and the Old Market area, fewer tourists visit this beauty. In fact, we were more or less the only ones there at the time, barring a few locals praying inside.
This mosque is not only somewhat larger than the previous one, but it also looks and feels more lived in, for lack of a better word. This is likely because it is located in a more residential area. You can see people using the ablution space, praying in its hall, and just relaxing in its courtyard.
Its interior is more impressive as well, since it consists of one particularly big hall instead of two smaller halls joined together. Also, you can enjoy the view of the dome from the inside, which is not possible at the Al-Sahaba Mosque. All of these combined are reason enough to go out of your way and visit the Mustafa Mosque in my book.
Salam Mosque
There remains yet another interesting mosque to mention: the Salam Mosque. You can find this one next to the Sharm El-Sheikh Museum. Unfortunately, we visited this area late at night, so I do not have a photograph of its exterior to share.
Its interior, however, was well-lit and quite gorgeous despite the mosque’s humbler size. It was not surprising to see that it was empty at the time of our visit. This mosque is neither in a particularly touristy area nor in a very residential part of town. There were a few other tourists who visited it as part of an organized city tour while we were there, but that was it. Still, you should check it out on your way to the only good museum in town.
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Mina
Now, let us take a look at the most beautiful local churches, starting with the humblest one: the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Mina.
This Coptic church is rather small and surrounded by high walls on all sides. This is, unfortunately, the norm for all churches in town. It is a security measure, as the northern part of the peninsula has occasionally faced issues with terrorism.
The church seems to be maintained by a particularly friendly staff, and better yet, you are left to explore its interior in peace. There are some lovely works of religious art inside, but keep your expectations reasonable as this church is really small, after all. Nevertheless, it is very much worth a visit in my book.
St. Mary Catholic Church
For some reason, the local Catholic church feels like a behemoth compared to the Coptic one. I was surprised by this because while the local Christian population is already small, the number of Catholics among them is even smaller.
That being said, it was mostly Italians visiting this church when we were there, and even the announcements were written bilingually in English and Italian. Therefore, I think it primarily serves the Italian tourists who frequent Sharm El-Sheikh.
The interior of this church is noticeably airier and somewhat prettier. It has Greco-Roman-looking pillars and a ceiling painted to resemble the night sky, or at least, that was the impression I got.
There are numerous depictions of famous events from the Bible all around the church, which is not unusual, but the fact that this is a very new church, which makes these depictions equally new and fresh, felt rather unique to me. I am simply accustomed to visiting significantly older churches, which look noticeably different inside and out.
Last but not least, there is even a beautiful stained-glass depiction above the entrance of the church. However, if you really like stained glass, you will want to visit the next church immediately, where you will feel spoiled, to say the least.
The Heavenly Cathedral
Well, let me get this out of the way: I have not been this impressed with a modern church since I visited the exquisite Church of Saint Sava in Belgrade. The Heavenly Cathedral in Sharm El-Sheikh, in my opinion, is the best landmark this resort town has to offer. At the very least, it is certainly on par with the world-famous Farsha Cafe. Unfortunately, it does not have over half a million followers on Instagram, nor does it even have an Instagram page to begin with.
First of all, this is yet another Coptic church, which in itself makes the place special. Now, I am not sure how much you know about Christianity, but Coptic Christians are nowhere near as numerous as Catholics, Protestants, or Orthodox Christians. This means that visiting their churches is a very welcome rarity during my travels.
As soon as you pass through the security checkpoint, you will be welcomed by two stone information boards. They fill you in on the deeds of St. Mark the Apostle and the Prophet Moses in Arabic, English, and Russian.
However, these can wait. I suggest you step inside the church right away to immediately understand why I think it is the best church (and landmark) Sharm El-Sheikh has to offer.
All the depictions in this church are incredibly vibrant. It helps that the cathedral was established as recently as 2010, so the artwork simply has not had time to deteriorate.
In fact, some of these scenes are so bold and colourful that rather than seeing it as an actual church, you start to view the entire structure as a stellar art project.
During our visit, a few people were praying beneath the main hall in a much smaller area that did not have nearly as many depictions. This leads me to think that the larger, above-ground section of the church is reserved primarily for tourists.
It was constantly filled to the brim with tourists, and whenever one group left, a new one arrived on a tour bus. This is, of course, for the best. I only wish the other churches in town received more attention from locals and foreigners alike.
While all the aforementioned depictions on the walls and ceilings of this church are special in their own right, I have a weakness for stained glass, and thankfully there is plenty of that here. Due to the lighting that day, these were especially difficult to photograph in a way that did justice to their beauty, but I tried my best nonetheless. You should really find the time to visit the Heavenly Cathedral yourself when you are in Sharm El-Sheikh so you can appreciate them in person.
You now know that while Sharm El-Sheikh does not necessarily have a lot of landmarks on paper, it features a very respectable number of gorgeous mosques and churches. In my opinion, a visit to this resort town is not complete without seeing at least the Mustafa Mosque and the Heavenly Cathedral. That being said, some might argue that I forgot to mention the most famous landmark of all in Sharm El-Sheikh: the immensely popular Farsha Cafe. I did not forget it in the slightest; in fact, I mentioned it in passing within this article. Next week, we will take a look at that cafe and that cafe alone in an article that is rather uncharacteristic of me. See you then!