Monastery of Saint Anthony

Most people agree that St. Anthony’s was the first monastery in the area. It was built in the highlands near the Red Sea in the first few years of the common era, or around AD 361-3. It is the oldest Coptic monastery in Egypt, which is a big deal.

There’s a story that when Anthony was 18 and his family left him, he ran away to the mountains to devote his life to God. This happened to Anthony when he was a young boy who didn’t have a family. On the spot where he was buried, his followers set up a monastery.

The monastery complex has been attacked by Bedouin tribes in the 8th and 9th centuries, by Muslims in the 11th century, and by Bedouin servants in the 15th century, who led a violent uprising. Most of the original buildings are still standing.

Even though it is the largest monastery in the country and has many buildings, chapels, and large living areas for the monks, only 25 monks live there at any given time. Inside the Church of St. Anthony, there are a lot of colourful wall paintings that were made around the year 1300.

People say that Saint Anthony spent his last years in a cave just over a mile northeast of the monastery. The distance between the two interesting places is about one mile.