Monastery · Egypt
Monastery of the Syrians (Deir al-Surian)
دير السريان
Wadi el-Natrun monastery named after Syrian monks who settled in 984, known for medieval wall paintings and its former Syriac library.
Where it is
30.3179, 30.3546
Why go
One of four ancient monasteries still active in Wadi el-Natrun, Deir al-Surian takes its name from Syrian monks who settled here in 984, though its roots go back to the fourth century. Inside the walls are a keep, monks' cells and several churches; the main Church of the Virgin, built in 645, preserves carved decoration and painted layers ranging in date from the 600s to the 1700s, revealed by Leiden researchers from 1994. Its library once held a celebrated collection of Syriac manuscripts, now dispersed to the Vatican and other institutions. Pope Shenouda III was a monk of this monastery.
Near Monastery of the Syrians (Deir al-Surian)
Monastery
Monastery of St Bishoy (Deir Anba Bishoy)
Late-4th-century Wadi el-Natrun monastery founded by St Bishoy, with an ancient keep, the Well of the Martyrs and Pope Shenouda III's shrine.
1 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Baramous Monastery (Deir al-Baramus)
Listed first of Wadi el-Natrun's four ancient monasteries, linked to St Macarius and the Roman saints Maximus and Domadius, inside an 11 m wall.
9 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Monastery of St Macarius the Great (Deir Abu Maqar)
Southernmost Wadi el-Natrun monastery, grown from St Macarius's 4th-century cell and long a residence of Coptic patriarchs.
12 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Museum
Grand Egyptian Museum
Egypt's vast new antiquities museum in Giza, built around the complete Tutankhamun collection and a six-storey statue staircase.
82 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ