Wadi El Rayan Monastery turns into touristic spot

CAIRO - 23 August 2017: Following the lead of Saint Catherine's Monastery, Wadi El Rayan Monastery finally turned into a touristic spot after reconciliation between the government and the church.

"We entered the monastery and removed the iron bars for the first time after it was closed for ten years," the director of the Nature Reserves, Dr. Amro Heiba, told Youm7 newspaper.

According to Heiba, there were negotiations between the government and the church since 2007 on the land of El-Man Monastery (also known as "Deir El Man") and no one has stepped foot in it since then. Now, it has finally opened after both parties reached an agreement.

Upon visiting the monastery, accompanied by a delegation of natural reserve officials, Heiba was met with a warm welcome from the monks. During a convened meeting between the visitors and the monks, Heiba confirmed that everyone has agreed the monastery would be an important tourist attraction, such as St. Catherine's Monastery.

Earlier, Mohamed Ismail Mohamed, environment officer at Wadi El Rayyan Protected Area, and Mahmoud Abdel Samad, vice president of Youssef El Seddik police station in Fayoum, presented reports on the illegal practises of monks of the Monastery of St.

Makarios. The monks used to encroach upon the natural reserve in Wadi El Rayyan by constructing installations and destroying rare plants inside the natural reserve.

They brought large amounts of white block from the governorates of Minya and Sohag through large transport vehicles. These crossed the desert, consequently violating two of the governor of Fayoum's regulations (664 and 1962), which ban the transferring of white block and using it in construction.