Wādī an-Naṭrūn

Wadi El Natrun is a desert depression west of the Nile Delta, named for the natron gathered from its salt lakes. Known to Christian monks as Scetis, it became a major centre of Egyptian monastic life in late antiquity. Saint Macarius settled in the region in the fourth century, and communities of hermits and monasteries grew around it.

The monasteries faced raids and built enclosed walls and towers for protection, but monastic life continued through the Middle Ages. The monastery of John the Little, named for a renowned desert father, remained active for centuries before its community dwindled in the fourteenth century. Other foundations, including those of Saint Macarius, Saint Bishoi and the Syrians, preserved the valley's religious and literary traditions.