Dana Smillie

themes: faith

Christian pilgrims pray on relics kept at the Monastery of the Syrians (Deir el-Sourian) in Wadi Natrun. The valley, which lies northwest of Cairo, has been sacred since pharaonic times, and a flourishing monastic system grew after 330 AD when St. Macarius the Great retreated in the area.
Wadi Natrun, Egypt
Christian pilgrims pray on relics kept at the Monastery of the Syrians (Deir el-Sourian) in Wadi Natrun. The valley, which lies northwest of Cairo, has been sacred since pharaonic times, and a flourishing monastic system grew after 330 AD when St. Macarius the Great retreated in the area.