Egypt - Saint Anthony Monastery

The inhabitants of Egypt still keep the memory of the monk who took upon himself a lot of hardships in order to help the poor and needy people. Saint Anthony, who was born in the year 215 into a fairly well-to-do family. After his parents died, he decided to retire into the wilderness, becoming one of the earliest Christian hermits.
At the end of a certain time, Anthony acquired amazing abilities, which consisted in the fact that he could not only be a righteous person in the Christian religion, but also knew how to heal body and soul. Over time, these abilities became known to many people who came here for healing. Their flow did not stop even at the moment when Anthony moved to another place.

Before the trip, many tourists book a car in Egypt online in order to see more attractions and not depend on excursion groups. In Hurghada, the cost of a compact class car is from 15 euros per day, in Sharm el-Sheikh the cost is about the same - from 14 euros per day.

It is noteworthy that some of them came to the priest not only to heal their wounds, but also to stay and live with him. After a certain time, the first community of Christians appeared in this place, and with it the first building of the monastery. However, this did not in any way affect the place of residence of Anthony - he, as before, lived in a cave, which could only be reached after overcoming a huge number of steps, the number of which exceeded 1000.

After the death of Anthony in 105, a chapel was erected here. After that, in the 8th century, a monastery church was built near the burial place of the saint, in which at the moment there is a large number of ancient books and manuscripts, the collection of which had been collected over a long period of time. Unfortunately, most of them were plundered by the Bedouin people, who made frequent raids on these places. The architecture of the monastery building is of incredible interest. So, the first floor, which was completely walled up, was used for shelter from frequent attacks, and cells, wells and warehouses, which were incredibly competently arranged, played incredible benefits during a long siege. The second and third floors were intended for chapels. The architecture of the monastery became a model for many buildings of that era.

Despite a lot of precautions provided, the monastery was destroyed and plundered by the Arabs in the 11th century, restored only a century later thanks to the Copts, who returned it to almost its original form. The Middle Ages is another period of trials and hardships for the monastery of St. Anthony. At that time, only a few inhabitants lived in its buildings. Nowadays, the monastery of St. Anthony is interesting not so much for its rich and interesting history, but also for its unique wall paintings that attract many art historians, monks and even ordinary tourists. The Church of the Holy Apostles, which is located to the west of the building, still contains a fresco depicting the archangels Gabriel and Michael.