Wadi El Natrun

Wadi El Natrun is a valley in Lower Egypt. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, salt deposits, salt marshes and freshwater marshes. The area home to four historic Coptic monasteries still in use.

Understand
Wadi El Natrun is an area of low elevation northwest of Cairo. It's characterized by the presence of salt pans, marshes and "natron", a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate (Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. It's a key ingredient to the mummification process, as a desiccant of deceased flesh. Natron was harvested here by the Ancient Egyptians, Coptics, and Romans, not to mention modern day Egyptians. For a period, there was also a tourist train to the low-lying lakes.

What is possibly most significant about the area though is the presence of four historic Coptic monasteries still in use. These are the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great, Paromeos Monastery, the Monastery of Saint Pishoy, and Syrian Monastery, collectively known as the monastic center of Scetis. From here, the Desert Fathers, with their asceticism, were very noteworthy in developing early Christianity from about 200-400 AD.

Another interesting point about the area is that it is believed to be the crash site of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 1935, who, after managing to miraculously survive this and then almost dying later of thirst while trying to escape the desert, devised his story for The Little Prince.

Get in
This should be an easy drive from Cairo or Alexandria, being about halfway between the two on highway 75.

See


When visiting the following monasteries, it is good to take a tour from a monk, to get a better picture of the background of these ancient places. Admission to the monasteries is free, but donations are accepted.