Domes
Rounded mud brick.
Berthold Werner — CC BY-SA 3.0 · someone10x — CC BY 2.0 · someone10x — CC BY 2.0 · someone10x — CC BY 2.0 · someone10x — CC BY 2.0
The Monastery of Saint Bishoy is a Coptic Orthodox monastery in Wadi El Natrun, west of the Nile Delta in northern Egypt, about 90 km northwest of Cairo and 107 km southeast of Alexandria in a straight line. It is the largest active monastery in the area. It was founded in the late 4th century by Saint Bishoy, a disciple of Saint Macarius, making it one of the oldest monastic settlements in Wadi El Natrun. At first it was a cluster of monks' cells and a church around the saint's cave, with no walls. Today it covers about two feddans and has five churches, including the Church of Saint Bishoy, the largest church in Wadi El Natrun, along with a guesthouse, large gardens, a library, an ancient refectory and the monks' cells. High sand-coloured walls ring the monastery, topped by rounded mud-brick domes and slender bell towers crowned with crosses, and palms shade its quiet courtyards and vaulted passages. Visitors walk the courtyards and admire the churches and domes from outside. It is a monastic place of worship, so modest dress and quiet are expected, and it pairs well with the other Wadi El Natrun monasteries nearby.
Rounded mud brick.
Slender.
Palms and shade.
Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, Egypt
Modest dress.
Other Wadi El Natrun monasteries.