Wadi Natrun

Scetis, cradle of monasticism

Wadi Natrun is the Scetis of Christian texts. Around 330, Macarius the Egyptian, who had spent some years with Saint Anthony in the Arabian Desert, withdrew here to a life of prayer. When he died in 390 he left disciples living as hermits, almost in isolation; others followed, and some fifty monasteries were founded. These "Desert Fathers" weighed heavily on the birth of Christian monasticism. Four monasteries survive, still inhabited by Coptic monks, of Egypt's Christian Church.

The valley takes its name from natron, the sodium salt the ancient Egyptians took from its salt lakes for mummification. About a dozen lakes still dot the depression.

The monasteries have come through centuries of raids. In 444, desert raiders massacred the monks of Saint Macarius; the Church of the Forty-Nine Martyrs keeps their memory. Hence the refuge towers, several storeys high, where the monks withdrew with wells, stores and chapels.

Together with the monasteries of Saint Anthony and Saint Paul near the Red Sea, Wadi Natrun has been on UNESCO's Tentative List (UNESCO: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the Tentative List gathers the sites a State intends to nominate for World Heritage) since 2003.

Four monasteries

• Saint Macarius (Deir Abu Maqar), the largest and most important, founded in the 4th century. It served as a refuge for the Coptic patriarchs of Alexandria; its church was rebuilt in 866. The relics of Saint Macarius, Saint John the Baptist and the prophet Elisha are venerated here. This is where the holy chrism for the whole Coptic Church is prepared.
• Saint Bishoy (Deir Anba Bishoy), founded by a disciple of Macarius: five churches within an enclosure, a tower reached by a drawbridge and the Well of the Martyrs. The Coptic Pope Shenouda III is buried here; it is the most visited of the monasteries.
• The Syrians (Deir al-Suryan), founded in the 6th century and occupied by Syrian monks until the 16th. Its Church of the Virgin, from around 980, keeps a painting of the Ascension and a 10th-century ivory iconostasis screen; its library holds hundreds of old manuscripts.
• The Romans (Deir al-Baramus), with a three-storey tower holding 7th-century remains and a Church of Saint Michael with 12th-century frescoes.

Planning the visit

Saint Macarius is 94 km from Cairo; the other three monasteries are about ten kilometres from it. Access is by the desert highway between Cairo and Alexandria. The visit fits into half a day, two or three monasteries of your choice, and sits naturally on the road to Alexandria.

The monasteries are living communities. Entry is free and you leave a donation. A monk often shows visitors around: it is the best way to understand the place. Some parts remain closed to visitors, and photography rules vary from one monastery to another. Modest dress is expected: arms and legs covered, and a headscarf for women in the churches.

Terrorist threats have targeted religious sites and tourist places in particular; your ministry's advice appears in the "Travel advice" table on this page. Sabaro advises visiting with a driver and guide, by day.