Egypt monasteries information, list, tours and online booking
Egypt monasteries are ones of the most important sites which Egypt is famous for. Located approximately 50 km southwest of Alexandria , the small village-town of Abu-Mina is home to St. Mina Monastery. St. Mina is believed to have fallen as a martyr in the early 4th century when the Roman Empire was persecuting Christians. A modern monastery has been built on the location of an ancient church, where the Saint’s remains are believed to be buried. A German archeological team has been working at Abu Mina since 1969. A spiritual experience awaits you on top of a hill opposite the south end of the Elephantine Island in Aswan. Reached by foot on the riverbank, the Coptic Monastery of St. Simeon has been preserved from the 6th century, and is one of the largest Coptic monasteries in the world.
Its original name was “Anba Hatre Monastery”, and due to a water shortage a century after it was built, it was abandoned and left untouched for many years. Take a look around the monastery and gaze at the view from the top of the hill: look down at the desert below; you’ll surely appreciate the wonders of nature and life. Located near Asyut, this is an especially significant Coptic location; it is home to three churches. One of which – Church of Al-Adhra (Church of the Virgin) – is the first ever consecrated Christian church. Deir Al Muharraq is translated into the “Burnt Monastery” due to the damage which was happened to it during raids by invaders; it is one of the holiest Christian sites in Egypt as it is believed that the holy family stayed in a cave here for over six months as they fled through the land of the Pharaohs.
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This monastery is a sanctified and peaceful place. Every year, for one week in August, it is home to a feast attended by masses of pilgrims. Virgin Mary’s Monastery in Dronka (also pronounced as ‘Deir Dronka’) is located 100 meters high on Western Asyut Mountain, 100m high and 10km from the city of Asyut. Deir Dronka is approximately 50km south of Deir Al Muharraq and 9km south of Asyut city, the historical city of Lycopolis. According to traditions, the Holy Family started their journey back to Palestine from an ancient date to 2500 BC . It is believed to be the last destinations visited by the Holy Family on their journey through Egypt. The monastery was built around the cave in which they stayed. Within the monastery, the cave Chapel of Virgin Mary is said to date from the first century.
Enjoying a great stature, the monastery is visited by many a great deal of Christians every year. It is known that this monastery is better equipped than any other place on the route of the Holy family to receive large numbers of pilgrims, especially during the festival of the Holy Virgin in August. Also known as the Roman Monastery, Deir El-Baramous (Baramous Monastery) is the northernmost of the Wadi Natrun Monasteries. This monastic community offers some of the most beautiful icons and wall paintings in the region, as well as ruins of the monastery in previous ages. There is much you can see here, including the ancient enclosure wall, the Church of the Holy Virgin with its two chapels and baptistery, and the Church of St. John the Baptist.
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One of the monastery’s refectories is open to visitors and boasts a massive stone table that takes up almost all of the room, and there is even a guest house for visitors. Please make sure to dress modestly while visiting the monastery. Also known as “Deir Anba Makarius Al-Akbar, Deir Abu Makar is the oldest and most secluded of the Wadi Natrun monasteries. The monastery is named after Saint Makarius the Great, an Egyptian monk who lived in a cave and spent his days in prayer. Upon his death, his fellow hermit monks buried him in his cave and built a monastery around it. His relics lay there to this day
Deir Anba Bishoi (Saint Bishoi’s Monastery) in Wadi El-Natrun, not far from Cairo, is an image of serenity. It includes a church which holds the body of the Saint Bishoi, founder of the monastery, as well as several other saints; his body is still intact in a “tube-like” coffin, which is taken on procession around the church on July 17th each year.
You can sit in the garden of this monastery, or wander around the new cathedral and watch the resident monks go about their daily chores; you can also enjoy lovely views of the desert from its rooftop. Please dress modestly while visiting the Coptic Monasteries.
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Around half a kilometer from St. Bishoi Monastery, is Deir As-Suryan or the Syrian Monastery which, of the four in Wadi Natrun is most renowned for its exquisite frescoes, icons, and other religious artwork. Suryan Mnastery gets its name from times long ago when many Syrian monks called it home. The church of the Virgin was built in Deir As-Surian around the cave in which St. Bishoi spent most of his days and is a lovely and serene place of worship; with its charming gardens and scenic desert backdrop this monastery is one of the most pleasant to visit in the region. As with all of the monasteries of Egypt, modest dress is required. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mount Moses to honor the site of the burning bush depicted in the Old Testament.
With a spectacular natural backdrop, St. Catherine’s Monastery has priceless multicultural works of art that include icons, mosaics, oil paintings and one of the largest collections of illuminated manuscripts. Deir Al-Adra (sometimes referenced as Deir al-Adhra, both meaning ‘monastery of the Virgin’) stands on the Gabal Al-Tayr (sometimes referenced as Jebel el-Teir, both meaning ‘Mountain of the Birds’), Markaz Samalut in El-Minya. This is an old Monastery/church built by Empress Helena in 328 on the site where the Virgin, Christ and Joseph, the Carpenter, stayed during their flight to Egypt It is about 58 miles south of Beni Suef and just east of the city of Samalut, situated on a hill on the east bank of the Nile. Faithful pilgrimage here between January 29th and August 22nd.
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To the north are ancient quarries and a low relief of Ramesses III. Just south are the Frazer Tombs, which date to the 5th and 6th Dynasties. There are four tombs are simple, and built into the desert cliffs. The monasteries of St. Anthony & St. Paul are the oldest Christian monasteries; they both date back to the 4th century AD, when monks began to settle at the foot of the Red Sea mountain of Galala Al-Qibliya, in hidden cliffs and caves. Both monasteries are considered as the holiest sites of the Coptic Church in Egypt. Located off the Zafarana Road leading to Beni Suef, some 70 km south from Ain El-Sukhna, 45 km from Hurghada , the Monastery of St Anthony is a large complex encircled by high walls, including churches, chapels, a bakery, a garden and a spring, celebrating the father of monasticism, Saint Anthony.
Things have evolved drastically from the time when back in the 4th century, there were only a few hermits hiding in these cliffs. The Necropolis of Al-Bagawat is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries in the world. While most of the tombs are unadorned mud-brick crypts, a few have well preserved biblical scenes etched on the walls.
On site guides are more than willing to take you to see paintings of Moses, Jesus and Abraham and other colorful tombs for a tip. Strategically situated to overlook a crossroad of the Western Desert, the Monastery of Al-Kashef stands over the cliffs north of the Necropolis of Al-Bagawat, near the oasis of Kharga. Walk or drive from the necropolis to see impressive mud-brick ruins and fallen arched corridors that date back to the early Christian period.
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Located near Sohag, in the Nile Valley, Deir Al-Ahmar, or The Red Monastery, has been so named after the building material made from: burnt bricks. Situated in a small village near Sohag , the monastery is still mostly standing, which isn’t sadly the case of the nearby The White Monastery. Deir Al Abyad, Deir Anba Shenouda, The Monastery of St. Shenute and The White Monastery are all names of this early Coptic Monastery. It referred to as the White Monastery because of its very light limestone walls, the stones of which were taken from Pharaonic temples to build it in the beginning of the 4th century. If you look closely you can see ancient reliefs still visible on the stones of this once huge monastery which at one time housed the largest library in Egypt. There is a new church in the ruins of the site located near the original church and renovations are being carried out at present.
