Natron Valley, Sorian Monastery and St Bishoy Monastery
Take an early pickup from your hotel in Cairo and travel 130 km through the Alexandria Desert Road.
Continue to Natron Valley, the source of the natron used in the mummification process. This area is also renowned because the Holy Family passed through it during their flight into Egypt. It is said that the divine baby Jesus spoke to his mother about the thousands of monks who would reside here.
Head to the 4th-century Monastery of the Sorian, named after the Virgin Mary, where Syrian monks once resided. You will see monasteries built like fortresses to protect against barbarian attacks and other invaders, old churches with decorations from this period, the Door of Prophecies, the Tree of Obedience of St Ephraim, and the crypt of St Bishoy, who lived inside it.
Visit the Monastery of St Bishoy nearby. This is where the famed saint resided and also died, with his body still preserved in a wooden tube in the main church of the monastery.
Learn more about the lives of monks before heading back to your hotel.
