Door guardians sit inside the massive 5 meter thick walls of the 6 th century Christian monastery of St . Catherine high in the Sinai Mountains of Egypt 03 August 2007 . The holy Christian site has been inhabited by monks for over 1 , 500 years and is the oldest monastery in the world . The walls were built 10 meters high and there was no ground entrance in order to prevent raiders from pillaging the ancient relics and icons and murdering the monks . EPA / MIKE NELSON < 저작권자 ⓒ 2007 연 합 뉴 스 . 무단 전재 - 재 배포 금지 . >