Deir al-Amir Tadros


This monastery was built directly along the eastern shore of the Nile, with no settlement or agricultural land nearby. After a period of disuse, it once again became an active monastery in 2009. The complex is constituted by several parts, which are built uphill, surrounded by a long enclosure wall. In addition to many recent buildings, among which churches, there is one antique church. It is currently (2022) under restoration, and therefore the exposed fired bricks of the enclosure wall are visible. A staircase behind the main door of the enclosure wall leads up to the terrace in front of the historic church.

The church is a cave church cut into the mountain, with a façade of exposed fired bricks. Three different crosses in raised brickwork decorate the otherwise plain facade. The inner part of the church is accessible through a large and a small door with decorative metal fitting. The door opens in front of a high niche carved into the rock that is nowadays used as a storage room.