Ancient Abu Mena monastery and pilgrimage center

The rediscovered ruins of the monastery and important pilgrimage center of ancient St. Mena are to be dated back to the 4th and 5th centuries. The pilgrimage site was destroyed in the 9th century by the islamic conquerors and the ruins were coverd by sand until the German tradesman C.M. Kaufmann discovered the ruins in 1905 in the middle of the desert. Today St Mena area is surroundeed by farmland.
 archeological sitemonasteryhistoric ruins
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:  30°50'27"N 29°39'42"E
This article was last modified 8 years ago