Wadi El Natrun

Wadi El Natrun is a shallow depression of salt lakes below sea level between Cairo and Alexandria, and its natron deposits gave it its name and its ancient importance, since natron was the salt used in mummification. From the fourth century it became the heartland of Egyptian monasticism: thousands of monks lived in the desert here under Macarius and his successors, and four monasteries survive from what were once dozens, Deir Anba Bishoi, Deir al-Suryan, Deir Abu Maqar and Deir al-Baramus. All four are walled with keep towers built against raids, and Deir al-Suryan holds wall paintings of several periods uncovered by conservation, along with a famous carved wooden door. All are working communities with resident monks.

History

The depression has yielded Pliocene fossils, among them the crocodile Euthecodon, the camel Paracamelus, an early hippopotamus and the elephant relative Deinotherium. The Natron Valley is first named in the ancient Egyptian tale of The Eloquent Peasant and appears in the list of seven oases in the Temple of Edfu; it was held to be sacred by at least 2000 BC, and finds include a black granite bust of the Seventeenth Dynasty and stones bearing the cartouches of Amenemhat I. Egyptians and Libyans fought over it repeatedly, the last recorded war coming in 1170 BC under Ramesses III, and in the Ptolemaic era it formed part of the Nitrite Nome. Its alkaline lakes supplied the natron used in mummification and in Egyptian faience, and in Roman times it was probably one of the main centres of primary glass production in Egypt: large tank furnaces were dismantled after cooling to extract blocks of raw glass for shipment, and the early 3rd-century wreck Ouest Embiez 1, found off southern Gaul, carried some 15 to 18 tonnes of such glass. In Christian literature the valley is Scetis, one of the three early monastic centres of the Nitrian Desert with Nitria and Kellia, and the only one whose monasteries are still in use (Wikipedia, Wadi El Natrun).

What's there

• Four walled monasteries - the survivors of a much larger monastic desert.
• Deir al-Suryan wall paintings - layers uncovered by long conservation.
• Refuge keep towers - the fortified blocks monks retreated into.
• The natron lakes - the salt deposits that gave the valley its name.

When to go

October to April. A day for two or three monasteries; all four is ambitious. Visits are restricted during Coptic fasting periods, which are long and frequent, so check dates first. Fridays and Sundays bring pilgrims.

Things to know

Fasting-period closures catch out many visitors. Access to particular churches depends on the community and is not guaranteed. Modest dress is required and photography inside is generally not allowed. The monasteries are several kilometres apart and a car is needed.

Nearby

The Cairo to Alexandria desert road runs past; Cairo is about ninety minutes east.