Abu Mena

Menas was a soldier martyred under Diocletian, and the well beside his grave in the desert south of Alexandria became one of the great pilgrimage destinations of late antiquity, drawing visitors from across the Mediterranean who carried away flasks of the holy water stamped with the saint's image, thousands of which have been found around the ancient world. A whole city grew around the shrine from the fourth century: basilicas, baths, hostels for pilgrims, workshops and streets, of which the foundations and lower walls survive. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1979 and added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2001 after land reclamation nearby raised the water table and began collapsing the ancient structures, with cisterns and vaults giving way.

What you actually see

• The great basilica foundations - the pilgrimage church plan on the ground.
• The martyr's crypt - the shrine the whole city was built around.
• Pilgrim hostels and baths - the infrastructure of late antique pilgrimage.
• A modern monastery nearby - the Coptic community that continues the cult.

When to go

October to April for desert heat. Two hours. Mornings are cooler and better lit for the foundation plans. The site is quiet and rarely has other visitors.

Honest expectations

The site is at foundation level and needs imagination; there is nothing standing to full height. Water damage has closed parts of it and shoring is visible. Signage is minimal. The modern monastery next door is often mistaken for the ancient site by taxi drivers.

Nearby

Borg El Arab and its airport are close; Alexandria is about an hour north-east.