As some of our readers may have noticed, we have been
running a series on monasteries in Egypt. This is a long term project to
track down, record and provide as much information on as many of Egypt's
monasteries as possible. Our research is ongoing, and as we explore
each monastery, there will be a link to the research from Tour Egypt under
our feature stories.
Before writing this article, I asked myself why tourists should be interested in visiting monasteries. Of course many people travel to Egypt specifically because it is part of the holy land and they wish to see holy monuments. But Egyptian monasteries have become very popular tourist destinations, and not just for people on religious tours. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, due to the ancient monasteries' natural tendency to be isolated, many are original structures, unlike churches and other buildings of the same era that have often been rebuilt time and again. And while pharaonic monuments may be much older, they are typically shells, or at best, empty buildings deplete of their ancient furnishings and fixtures. In monasteries, we find daily, modern life often surrounded by icons, furnishings and the trappings of the living that sometimes date almost to the time of Christ. And, of course, Egypt's monasteries are the oldest in the world.
Prior to Christianity, there were Essenes, who withdrew from
society and formed monastery style communities in order to pursue a
contemplative life. We know of these from the Dead Sea Scrolls, but doubt
that they had much influence on the development of early Christian
monasteries in Egypt. The more probable causes were the
early persecution of Christians in Egypt (by the Romans, who controlled
Egypt at that time) and the heavy taxation that caused many people to loose their homes and land. In fact, the word
anchorite which was used to refer to Christian monks, originally referred
to people who left their land rather than face imprisonment for
non-payment of debt.
Regardless of the reason, the earliest monasteries were in Egypt, and even today, some of these original monasteries remain inhabited. Near the Red Sea coast of Egypt, in a cave 270 meters beneath the monastery named for him lies the tomb of St. Anthony. His followers established what many believe to be the world's first monastery in the mid-fourth century AD. Today, many ancient monasteries continue to flourish in Egypt, and many of these do so because of tourism. Beyond the pyramids and ancient Egyptian antiquities, these bastions of the Christian religion are some of the most interesting places to visit in Egypt. And we should mention at this point that there are also a number of equally interesting convents, or monasteries for women.
While St. Anthony's Monastery is billed as the worlds oldest
monastery, probably St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai, a Greek
Orthodox community, is the most famous in
Egypt. There are many reasons
for this, including its interesting history, visits by the Catholic pope,
its well preserved state, its location at the foot of Mount Sinai and the
considerable media coverage it receives. Neither of these
monasteries are probably Egypt's most important religiously. That distinction
might likely go to the Monastery of St. Macarius
in Wadi Al-Natrun, from which many of the Coptic
Christian popes were
selected. From the standpoint of density, it would appear that the area
around Sohag abounds with at least ten monasteries.
Classical Tours will very often visit several of the
Monasteries as a matter of course. These will include St. Simeon Coptic
monastery, which is an ancient, abandoned fortress monastery mostly built
during the 7th century and located near Aswan. Some classical tours
have also been know to visit the two ancient monasteries near Sohag
Egypt. These are the White (Deir el-Abyad) Monastery and the Red (Deir Amba
Bishoi)
Monastery. But sometimes
visitors will be unaware that they are even visiting an ancient monastery.
This is often the case with Deir el Bahari, originally the temple of
Hatshepsut, but at one time converted into a now uninhabited
monastery. Still at other times, the focus of the tour may be on an
ancient church, with little mention by the guides that it is part of a
monastery.
Regardless, most of the major monasteries will not be visited on a
standard short tour, though frequently Sinai add-ons will make a stop at
St. Catherine's Monastery. All other monasteries will require a
special add-on, or a complete, specialized religious tour.
Certainly the information in this article references just about all of the major communities, but it should be noted that there are probably some inhabited monasteries and many ancient monasteries that we have missed. Nevertheless, the purpose of this article is to provide the most comprehensive guide currently available. Those interested should bookmark this page. As we research each monastery, links will be provided.
None Specific Monasteries
- Christian Churches and Monasteries of Luxor and the West Bank
- Christian Antinoopolis (Antinoe, or Ansina) and its Environs
- Christian Ruins of the Kharga Oasis
- Christian Oxyrhynchus (modern al-Bahnasa) and its Environs
- Monasteries near Naqada
Specific Monasteries
Near the Red Sea
Traditionally, the oldest monasteries are located between the Nile valley and Egypt's Red Sea coast in the Al Zaafarana area.. These include
- 4th century St. Anthony's (Deir Mar Antonios) - Coptic
- St. Paul's (Deir Mar Boulos) Monastery - Coptic
Monasteries at Wadi Al Natrun
There are four active monasteries near Cairo at Wadi Al Natrun. Of these, probably the Monastery of St. Macarius is the best known. These include
- Monastery of the Romans (Deir Al Baramus) - Coptic
- Anba Beshoy (St. Boshoi's) Monastery - Coptic
- Monastery of the Syrians (Deir al-Surian) - Coptic
- Monastery of St. Macarius (Deir Abu Magar, Abu Maker) - Coptic
There are also three uninhabited ancient monasteries that we know of. These include:
- Monastery of St. John the Little
- Armenian Monastery
- Deir Anba Mussa al-Aswad (Monastery of Moses the Black, but possibly the old Baramus monastery)
Monasteries Near Wadi Al Natrum (Uninhabited)
Monasteries Near Sohag
Monasteries far from Sohag
- Monastery of the Martyrs (Deir as-Shuhada)
- Monastery of St. Matthew the Potter
- Monastery of the Holy Virgin
- Monastery of St. Michael at as-Salamuni
- Monastery of St. Thomas at Sawamiah Sharq
- Monastery of St. Pachomius the Martyr
- Monastery of St. George (Dair al-Hadid)
- Monastery of St. Bisada
- Monastery of the Seven Moutains at Bir al-'Ain
The Sinai
- St. Catherine's Monastery (Greek Orthodox)
- The Seven Girls' Monastery (Greek Orthodox) at Wadi Firan
The Fayoum Oasis
The Fayoum Oasis was, and really continues to be a center for Coptic Christians. Therefore there are a number of monasteries in the area, which include the
- 7th century El Malak Ghobrial Monastery (Monastery of the Archangle Gabriel)
- Dier Anba Samwail (Monastery of St. Samuel)
- Monastery of the Virgin Mary (Deir al-Hammam) - Fayoum
- Deir Mari Girigis Monastery (Monastery of St. George)
Cairo
- The Convent of St. Merkorius (Abu-Sefein)
- The Convent of St. Mary (Old Cairo)
- The Monastery of Saint Simon the Tanner (Modern Monastery_
- The Convent of St. Theodorus (El-Amir Tadrus, Haret el-Room)
- The Convent of St. Mary (Haret Zuela)
- The Convent of St. George (Haret Zuela)
- St. Barsoum El-Erian Monastery (Helwan)
- Monastery of Saint George (Old Cairo) - Greek Orthodox
- Monastery of Saint Menas (Deir Abu Mina) (Old Cairo)
Saqqara
Alexandria Monasteries
- Holy Monastery of St. Savvas (Greek Orthodox)
El Minya (or Near)
- Deir Al-Adra (sometimes referenced as Deir al-Adhra
- The Monastery of Apa Bane (Deir Abu Fana, or the Monastery of the Cross)
- Monastery of al-Sanquriya (Near Oxyrhynchus)
Monasteries Near Assiut
- Monastery of Apollo at Bawit (deserted)
- Monastery of St Mary 10 Km from Assuit (Deir Dronka)
- 4th Century El Moharek Monastery (Virgin Mary Monastery, Deir Al-Muharraq)
- Deir El-Mualaq (The Hanging Monastery)
Monasteries Near Aswan
The Nile Delta
- St. Damiana Convent near Damietta (inhabited)- Coptic
- Enaton Monastery between Alexandria and Mersa Matruh (uninhabited)
- Abu Menas Monastery Between Alexandria and Wadi Natrun (uninhabited)
There are also a number of monasteries and convents scattered about.
- St. Mena Monastery at Mariotis (Maryut) built by Pope Kyrelloc 1 (But a young monastery)
- Deir Abu Hinnis South of Antinoe (St. John's Monastery) (uninhabited) - Coptic
- Deir Al-Adra (sometimes referenced as Deir al-Adhra near Minya
- Naga ed-Deir (ancient monastery excavation site near just north of Girga
- St. Pachomius Monastery at Edfu
- St. Demyana Monastery at Barary
- St. George of Rozaikat at Luxor
Documentation on Monasteries and their Monks
Other Topics
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Last Updated: 12/11/2006