St Anthony’s Monastery stands at an oasis spring in the Red sea mountains around 100 miles from Cairo, it is the worlds oldest active monastery. It was founded around 356 AD just after the death of St Anthony, on his burial site.

St Anthony’s Monastery stands at an oasis spring in the Red sea mountains around 100 miles from Cairo, it is the worlds oldest active monastery. It was founded around 356 AD just after the death of St Anthony, on his burial site.
Not on many tourist trips, Wadi Rayan is best known locally for its swimming beaches and waterfalls, but is also close to Egypt’s first natural World Heritage Site, the ‘Valley of the Whales’, in Wadi El Hitan.