0 Dayr anba shinuda (or el dayr el abyad history)

The church of this famous monastery still exists at the edge of the Libyan Desert on the left bank of the Nile about 6 miles (10 km) from the town of suhaj often mentioned for its medieval paintings.

The name of the site is known from mummy labels which give the Egyptian name “atripe” (Arabic, adribah) and the Hellenized name triphiou both of which come from the paranoiac Egyptian hwt-rpyt  (house of the goddess) triphis see cerny,1976,p. 343). The place has often been confused with atrib in the delta and also with athlibis, which seems to have been close to it without being identified with it (as by timm, vol. 2, p. 602).

 Very early, perhaps before the beginning of the fourth century, the mountain of adribah was frequented by Christian hermits. The Coptic fragments of the life of the martyr-monks panine and paneu do not speak of it, but it is mentioned in the long notice of the recension of the synaxarion from Upper Egypt. This speaks of their sojourn in the region and names the town of idfa (not to be confused with the town of idfa)

And adribah. According to the Coptic tradition of the synaxarion (7 kiyahk), the beginnings of Christianity in the region date from long before shenute. For later periods, we must have recourse to the information preserved for us by the life of shenute (in Arabic, shinuda), written by his disciple and successor besa.

At the age of seven shenute was entrusted to his uncle anba pjol, who gave him the monastic habit. He lived for some time with his uncle, who was a hermit in the mountain of adribah, and also with abshay (in Coptic, pshoi), the titular head of a monastery near that of shinudah. He thus in the beginning followed the life of a hermit, and it is related in his life, especially in the Arabic life, that he often went off alone far into the desert and gave orders that he was not to be disturbed under any pretext we have no documents to fix the chronology of the events in the life of shenute. We know only that he took part with aptriarch Cyril I in the council of Ephesus in 431. That he struggled violently against all the manifestation of paganism still alive at plewit (the present banawit) and at akhmim and that he died in 466(Bethune-baker, 1908. pp. 601-605).  

 The church:

The church of the monastery  consists of an immense block-like structure, widely visible, which re- calls the form of a pharaonic temple (deichmann, 1938, p. 34). Inside, it comprises several large spatial units, of which the area belonging to the church proper is on the north side .

It may be divided in to the western narthex the naos devolved as a three aisle basilica with a western return aisle and galleries and in the east the group of rooms forming the sanctuary. In the autumn of 1984 the naos was cleared of  its modern civilian structures by the Egyptian antiquities organization and it again presents some impression of its original greatness the sanctuary of the church is developed as a triconch the walls of which are adorned with niches and applied columns.                        

0 The monastery of el- baramus

The name and origin of the monastery:

The monastery name el-baramus. Is an arabzied form of the Coptic paromeos which can mean “the one of the Romans “

There is however a Coptic legend relates that maximums and domitius the sons of the roman emperor of the west valentinian I (died 379 ad) left the palace to become monks. After various wandering they were carried by an angel to the wadi el –natrun in the -days st.macarius the Egyptian and lived there in a monastic cell at or near the site of the present monastery.

According to The legend after the death of these two young roman princes a church was erected over their tombs in their memory.

Although valentinian had no known sons and he certainly had no legitimate sons maximums and domitius may have been historical persons but of a somewhat later period.

However According to the author of the Coptic life of st. macarius (probably of the eighth century) that the monastery of el baramus evolved from the earliest monastic settlement in scetis. If so the earliest settlement in wadi al-natrun was formed at , or near the site of the present monastery between (330 and 340 ad) by admirers gathering around macarius the Egyptian although his name has remained associated with other monastery dair anba maqar.

The site of the monastery:

The monastery of el- baramus is situated on the northwest edge of the wadi al-natrun (ancient scetis) .the level of the floor of the monastery rises 85m. Above sea level.

The entrance gate:

Like the other egyptian monasteries the monastery of baramus enclosed by a high wall stretching  out in a east-west direction the man entrance lies on the north side although the monastery today s normally entered through a small side door on the west side .

Within the gate there is lofty barrel-vaulted passage .above this passage is the gate house.  

The principal church “the holy virgin Mary”:

 Holy Virgin Mary al-adhra church the main church of the astery goes back in its origins probably to the seventh century and is the oldest remaining church in wadi el-natrun.

In its constructional design the church is a basilica. It contains tripartite sanctuary (three haikals) a nave and aisles on the north, south and west and return aisle.

Doorway of the church is provided with a porch.

 The nave is covered by a barrel vault burnt brick. The vault carried by arcades, resting on piers, and separating the nave from the aisles. At the west of end of the nave there is the mandatum tank (lakan)     

 Set in the floor, which was used in the ceremonial washing of feet on Monday Thursday.     

The church of saint john the Baptist:

It was built at the end of the nineteenth century. As usual, the church contains the sanctuary with its three haikals. At the west end it has an epiphany tank , the only one in wadi el –natrun.     

0 THE MONASTERY OF DAIR EL –SURYAN

THE ANME AND ORIGIN OF THE MONASTERY:

THIS IS ONE OF THE FOUR MONASTERIES STILL FUNCTIONING IN WADI AL-NATRUN (THE ANCIENT DESERT OF SCETIS) SOUTHWEST OF THE NILE DELTA.

IT IS CALLED “THE DAIR EL- SURYAN “MEANS” THE MONASTERY OF THE SYRIANS”ORIGINALLY THE MONASTERY WAS ONE OF A COPTIC MONASTERIES BUT AROUND (710 AD) THE DAIR BOUGHT FROM THE COPTS CONVERTED INTO A SYRIAN MONASTERY BY A MAN OF TEKRIT (EAST SYRIAN ) ORIGIN WHO HAD RISEN TO HOGH POSITION IN THE GOVERNMENT OF EGYPT .

IN (1636 – 1637 AD) THE MONKS WERE GRADUALLY BECOMING MORE COPTIC THAN SYRIAN. AFTER THAT THE DAIR EL – SURYAN CAN BE CONSIDERED A COPTIC MONASTERY ALTHOUGH A CHURCH IN THE COMPOUND WAS STILL SAID TO BE FOR SYRIAN USE IN (1657 AD) AND LORD ROBERT CURZON VISITING THE MONASTERY IN (1837 AD) FOUND A GROUP OF ETHIOPIAN MONKS LIVING IN A PART OF THE ENCLOSURE

THE SITE OF THE MONASTERY:

THE MONASTERY OF DAIR EL –SURYAN IS SITUATED CA. 100 METERS TO THE WEST OF THE MONASTERY OF ANBA BISHOI AND IS THE SMALLEST AMONG THE STILL INHABITED MONASTERIES OF WADI AL- NATRUN.

The principal church “al-adhra”:

The al-adhra church is the most important church of wadi el-natrun and in its plan, almost completely preserved. It is situated to the north-west of the keep. The main entrance is on the north side by a porch. It is square in shape and it has a pointed dome. The church is a basilica. It consists of nave and two aisles with western return aisles (narthex), choir, and sanctuaries.

The choir is separated from the nave and aisles by a thick and massive wall in the middle of the nave floor lies a basin for the Maundy Thursday rite of foot –washing.

In the semi- dome above the western end of the nave is a remarkable wall painting of the annunciation which shows the Blessed Virgin Mary with Archangel Gabriel, Isaac, Moses, Ezekiel and Daniel.     

One should notice the virgin is seated in high chair, clad in a blue –green robe over which falls a blue mantle. Her left arm is raised, the forefinger touching her chin, indicating perplexity. Gabriel is shown         

As a youthful winged figure, carries in his left hand a staff, his right is half extended and touch’s gently    

Her shoulder. Under the feet of the two figures o the virgin and Gabriel is a beautiful design representing the burning bush. Early Christianity saw in the burning bush as image of the virginity of the theotokos. Its         

Date probably from the second half of the ninth century.

The church of sitt maryam (the lady Mary):

      The church of sitt maryam seems not to have been constructed before the eleventh century. Moreover

The sanctuary(the haikals) dates only from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. 

0 THE MONASTERY OF ANBA BISHOI

THE NAME AND ORIGIN OF THE MONASTERY:

THIS IS ONE OF THE SURVIVING ANCIENT MONASTERIES IN WADI AL-NATRUN (ANCIENT SCETIS ) THERE IS NO  HISTORICALLY RELIABLE INFORMATION ON ITS FOUNDATION  BUT ON THE BASIS OF WHAT LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THE EARLIEST MONASTIC ESTALISHMENTS IN WADI AL-NATRUN THE MONASTERY MAY BE FOUNDED BETWEEN (535 AND 580 AD).

ACCORDING TO THE VARIOUS RECENSIONS OF THE LIFE OF BISHOI ANBABISHOI WENT TO WADI AL-NATRUN AROUND THE BEGINNING OF THE FIFTH CENTURY AND FOUNDED HIS COMMUNITY NEAR HIS COMPANION ST. JOHN COLOBOS THE SHORT AFTER A BARBARIAN RAID ANBA BISHOI FLED TO A SPOT NEAR THE CITY OF ANTINOE (ANTINOOPOLIS) IN MIDDLE EGYPT .

WHEN HE DIED HIS BODY WAS TAKEN TO ANTINOE WHERE IT RESTED UNTIL IT WAS AGAIN TRANSPORTED TO THE MONASTERY IN WADI AL-NATRUN THAT BEARS HIS NAME.

         

THE SITE OF THE MONASTERY:

THE MONASTERY OF ANBA BISHOI IS SITUATED ON THE NORTHEAST EDGE OF THE WADI AL-NATRUN THE DISTANCE FROM THE REST-HOUSE AT WADI AL-NATRUN TO THE MONASTERY IS APPROXIMATELY 12 KM    

THE WALLS AND GATE:

THE MONASTERY OF ANBA BISHOI IS ASYMMETRICAL RECTANGLE IN SHAPE ENCLOSED BY HIGH ENCLOSURE WALLS 2 METERS IN WIDTH AND 10 METERS IN HEIGHT THESE WALLS ARE SURMOUNTED BY A PARAPET WALK STANDING SHOULDER HIGH THE WALLS PERHAPS BELONG TO THE END OF NINTH CENTURY .

THE ONLY ENTRANCE TO THE MONASTERY IS THROUGH A GATEWAY NEAR THE WEST END OF THE NORTH WALL.IT CONSISTS OF THE USUAL LOFTY BARREL-VAULTED GATEWAY LEADS INTO THE INTERIOR THROUGH AN INNER GATE HOUSE  THE BEST OF ITS KIND PRESERVED IN THE WADI AL-NATRUN.

       

The church of st. abu iskhirun:

From the south side of the choir two doors lead into the church of st. abu iskhirun the body of church is divided into nave choir by a skeleton screen of wood. There is only one sanctuary (haikals ) in this church, and its floor is raised one step higher than the level of the body of the church the whole covered by a hemispherical dome which is borne upon squinches similar to the squinches  in the central haikals of the main church . the dome is later in date than the building it self. And may be assigned to the fourteenth –century.

The baptistery:

A small door to the north of the sanctuary leads into the baptistery  which is fitted with a plain circular stone font, set in a block of masonry.

The chapel of the holy Virgin Mary “al –adhra”:

On the northeast of the main church, is a chapel dedicated to the holy Virgin Mary. The body of this church is covered   

With a single barrel vault the sanctuary is wider than its deep, and is covered with a dome upon squinches.               

0 The monastery of st.catherine in Sinai

Introduction :

The Catherine monastery or the Sinai monastery in southern Sinai is considered the third holiest place for pilgrims after Bethlehem and Jerusalem

The Greek orthodox monastery of st. Catherine in Sinai belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church. it stands separate from the orthodox Churches of Egypt .although it is doctrinally very much apart of the Greek Orthodox church  it is separated geographically from the Greek  Orthodox centers it is the smallest independent church in the world .the monks of the monastery of the st.  Catherine once of many different nationalities are today mostly Greek apart from a few Syrians and Armenians .indeed the monastic order of st. Catherine is now open to monks of Greek origin only .

The site :

The Catherine monastery is 6ktr`situated in a quite deserted and inaccessible area in the mountains .it lies at the foot of gebel musa the mountains of Moses (2242m. above the sea level ) .according to Christian tradition mount Sinai is mount horeb of the bible  where Moses received the tablets of the law inscribed with the ten commandments .

The highlights of the history of the monastery:

In times of persecutions of Christians during the 2^nd -3^rd .centuries many monks and hermits found shelter in this area. In 337 ad st. Helena the mother of Constantine the greet is said to have visited the hermits and to have ordered the construction of the chapel of the burning bush on the site where Moses heard the angel of the lord.

At the end of the 4^th century a Spanish nun has provided us with an interesting description of her visit to the chapel of “the holy bush “which was surrounded by a number of cells of anchorites. In 573 ad the emperor Justinian (527-565  ad) built a fortified monastery as well as a church which dedicated to the holy virgin Mary .

Between 548-565 ad Justinian ordered the construction of the church of the transfiguration to the memory of Empress Theodora.

After the Arab conquest Egypt it is said that the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him ) granted a fireman to the monks of Sinai where by their lives and property was to be respected by the Muslim rulers . A copy of this document is exhibited at the monastery .however it seems very likely that the monks of Sinai had special protected them as well as their property and their library. Only thus can one explain the monumental collection of ancient treasures documents and books.

During the crusades the Sinai monastery was a highly respected place for pilgrims thousands of pilgrims from all over Europe went to Sinai as part of their holy land pilgrimages.

Throughout the middle ages kings and princely houses showed a greet interest for the monastery. Which resulted in valuable gifts of greet artistic value among those on can mention Charles v1 of France other heads of state who donated liberally to the monks included Isabel. Queen of Spain maximilian emperor of Germany louisxiv king of France.

At the time of the French expedition to Egypt in 1798 napoleon Bonaparte gave orders to repair the old walls .

0 minaret of mashhad al-husaini

the fatimid caliph al-faiz bi-nasr allah had built the mausoleum of al-hussaini in 549 A.H/1154 A.D., and nothing of the fatimid building remains except the door known as the green door .
repair works and renovation were followed during the ayyubids, when abu al-qasim ibn yahia nasir al-sukkari ordered the minaret to be built on top of the green door and it was finished by his son muhammad ibn al-qasim.
the minaret consists of a high square shaft transforming in to an octagonal body across spherical triangular pendentives. the octagonal shaft is crowned on top by stalactites tiers holding the wooden balcony which has taken the shape of the ottoman minarets .
the square shaft is decorated from the south west side by three recesses in the shape of mihrabs each crowned by a pointed arch ending with a straight line, whose interior is decorated by floral ornaments.
the spandrels are occupied with medallions, shallow recesses four of them crowned by pointed arches ending by a straight line whereas the other four are crowned with circular arches of radiant decorations. a group of special holders for lighting have been fixed in the upper part of the round shaft where a pole of three inflated balls follows at the top to be crowned by a crescent.


the stucco floral decorations engraved on the square shaft of the minaret reflect. andalusian infiuences which appeared in the ayyubids period. 
nonetheless building of mausoleums remains contradictory to islamic teaching with respect to the idea of building above the tombs. other opinions regard the case of building minarets as a different issue as some believe that it performs its function in serving moslems although in this particular mashhad it has no specific function such as calling for prayers but it was added as a land mark.

0 BAB AL-QARAFA

it is situated at the end of sayyida aisha street near the qaytbay gate at a distance of 30 meters on the right of sayyida nafissa,s mashhad and to the south of sayyida aisha,s mosque and to the left of the small cemetery. 
sultan jaqmaq ordered it to be closed in 485 A.H./1441 A.D.,then Qaytbay renewed it in 889 A.H./1493 A.D.It was named BAB AL-QARAFA because people used to go through it toward the small cemetry. 

the gate is composed of a wide recess topped with a pointed arch and chamfered from the inside to match the side chamfering followed by another smaller pointed arch the leg of the first arch and extending to the in side in the shape of a pointed vault .
on the side of the entrance are to small recesses one on each side each topped with a pointed arch .
those two recesses are disappearing the ground. between the two spandrels of the entrance from the inside are remains of two pendentives and of another leg,s arch indicating that the vestibule which used to be at the entrance was covered by a shallow circular dome.

0 bab al-barqiyya

there are two gates with this name, one is fatmid and the other, to to its northeast,is the ayyubid one which is completely hidden in the hills of darrasa excavation showed that the fatimid gate is stuated in front of the mamluk‘s cemetery, its foundation inscription shows that the walls were renovated by amir al-guyush badr al-din al-gamali, who ordered the renovation and enlargement of cairo city and its gates which were originally founded by gawhar al-saqilli 
the gates are in the form of adouble vaulted passage separating the two arches of the vaults a vertical divider reaching the roof was used for shooting arrows or dropping burning materials on intrudera.  there are no towers attached to the gates entrance and excavtions have huge moulds were built for its construction (40cmx20cmx8cm thick) have revealed the ramains of wall of mud bricks where huge moulds using thick mortar. the wall was found at a distance of two meters from the south side of this gate, and was 3.5 meters thick with dimensions concruing with the descriptions of gawhar al-saqilli‘s wall, although it is not proven that it was built by mim. the vault covering the gate was built of cut stone      

0 al-zafar tower

the tower is situated at the north eastern corner of bab al-nasr ,to which it is connected while its southern  section is extended to bab al-wazir. the tower is cylindrical, and is divided from the inside into an octagon   each has eight arrow slits, and on row and a variety of floral and geometrical stone decorations. in addition, there is a stair in the south wallleading to the top of the tower which comprises passages with barrel vaults. the surface of the vaults covering the staircase is covered with geometrical and floral decorations engraved in the stone. this tower is considered one of the most important parts 
renovated and restored by salah al-din al-ayyubi 


conclusion
it is noticed, in general, that stone is the principal material used for building these gates and towers, whether smooth or rusticated, articulating the fortifying function of the walls and gates adding to  their defensive image. although the external appearance is rough, yet the internal spaces inside the towers are decorated with. geometrical and floral ornaments, without extravagancy. this was probably due to the desire to produce a good effect on the moral spirit of the guards residing in the tpwers for long periods of time


the walls and towers have achieved their fortifying functions for which they were constructed and which conform to islamic understanding of military defence but soon lost its importance after the spread and expansion of the population outside the walls and gates, and were eventually neglected, and are now almost disappearing under heaps of sand

0 dome of shagarat al-durr

queen um-khalil shagarat al-durr, who was crowned ruler of egypt after the assassination of king turan shah son of king al-salih nagm al-din ayyub, ordered the construction of this dome as aburial place for her

she was considered the first of the turkish mamluk monarchs in egypt, however she didnot remain long in the rule as she resigned hereself after she was married izz al-din aybak who succeeded her to the throne at her request . the dome is situated on al-ashraf street and consists of asquare area infront of which is acircular mihrab at the center which in turn is in the shape of a semi-circular niche with the hood stilted in to apointed arch ending with a straight line and the inside of the hood is docorated with golden mosaic on top of the square area is a conical dome the zone of its transition zone being two tiers of stalactites. in the center of the transition zone is a windrow with three openings followed by the dome‘s drum, with the voussoirs circling up towards the pole. the dome has three entrance of which only the southwest is used.each entrance is topped by a traingular arch, supported on two coiums whose engraved parts stilt exist. the larger arch contains a smaller one in its center, with its  inside covered by kufi writings while the two spandrels decorated with floral ornaments bordered by a frieze also containing inscriptions including the titles of sultana shagarat al-durr.

red bricks were used for building the dome with bundles of palm tree trunks placed inside the body of the building. this technique was commonly used since the fatimid period, it may have been because of the abundance of natural materials available in the local environment. the exterior however was simple and was covered with layer of mortar. the external facades depend on making rectangutar niches topped with a triangular arch together with using stucco medallions occupied on its front by geometrical decorations. in the north-east facade. the remains of an arch‘s leg appear, which indicates the possibility that this tomb was attached to another building which could be confiremed by the distinction of the facade of the nothwestern door from the two side entrance the transitional zone of the dome has been articulated on the external facade by means of chamfering the corners to transform the square plan into octagon the mihrabs alignment the symmetry of the formation around the mihrabs with that above the door is noticed, amatter that fulfills integrity of the formation of the internal and external spaces