Mary Mina Monastery Location
The Monastery of Saint Mina belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria. It is located in the Western Desert, which is included in our Egypt tours. It is dedicated to Saint Mina.
History of Mary Mina Monastery
Mina's sister moved his body after Mina's execution to Alexandria When the time of persecution ended, during the papacy of Pope Athanasius of Alexandria. An angel appeared to the Pope and ordered him to load the body of the saint on a camel and head to the Western Desert. All these historical stories about Marymina will be relevant and clear during your Egypt day tours. At a certain place, the camel stopped near a water well at the end of Lake Mariout, not far from Alexandria. After the camel stopped, the anointed believed that this was a sign from God, and they buried the saint in the same place as a coffin of silver inside a wood.
After being buried, Mina forgot where he was buried until miraculously found where he was by a local shepherd. A shepherd was feeding his sheep in that location, and a sick lamb fell on the ground. As it struggled to get on its feet again, its scab was cured. The story spread quickly and the sick who came to this spot recovered from whatever illnesses they had just by lying on the ground as you will discover during your Egypt travel packages. The Ethiopian synaxarium describes Constantine I sending his sick daughter to the shepherd to be cured and credits her with finding Mina's body, after which Constantine ordered the construction of a church at the site. Some versions of the story replace Constantine with the late 5th-century emperor zeno. but archaeologists have dated the original foundation to the late fourth century. According to the Zeno version, His daughter was suffering from leprosy, and his advisors suggested that she try this place, and that night she did, Saint Mina appeared to the girl and told her that his body was in that place the second day. Zeno’s daughter was cured and she related her vision about the saint to her servants. Zeno immediately ordered Mina's body to be dug out and a cathedral to be built there. This monastery is one of our important spots for great religious places that is included in our Egypt Luxury tours. So, I advise you if you want to have a different Egypt budget tours book now Alexandria day tours to visit this great monastery.
Then a city was built there, and it was named after the saint. Saint Mina was called the miracle worker because all sick people come to him and through the intercession of Saint Mina they are healed. All these secrets about Maryminan's life you will get it during Egypt Classic tours and get blessings of visiting the place. Today, numerous little clay bottles on which the saint's name and picture are engraved are found by archeologists in diverse countries around the Mediterranean world. Visitors during their Egypt Easter tours would buy these bottles, usually containing oil or water for blessing, and take them back to their relatives.
Destruction of the city of Saint Mina
During the Arab invasion of Egypt in the seventh century, the city of St. Mina was destroyed. The cathedral was also damaged, and the remains of the city were included as a UNESCO heritage site. Recent agricultural efforts in the area have led to a significant rise in the water table, which has caused a number of the site's buildings to collapse or become unstable. The site was added to the list of threatened world heritage sites in 2001.
The new Monastery and cathedral of saint Mina
Pope Kyrollos VI became patriarch on the throne of St. Mark in 1959. He began laying the foundation of a large monastery close to the ruins of the old city.
What did you do in Alexandria?
For example, the citadel of Qaitbay is considered one of the most important defensive fortresses, not only in Egypt but also along the Mediterranean coast. Also you can go to Alexandria library. It was the world's largest library, it was established by king Ptolemy I and it housed about 900,000 manuscripts throughout his reign, also another many attractions in Alexandria you can learn more about Egyptians pharaohs and talk with Egyptian people. Egypt honeymoon tours allow you to take your life partner to discover the beauty of Alexandria beaches, and ancient places such as the citadel of Qaitbay.;
You can book a full day in Alexandria to discover top sights such as the Alexandria national museum. You can book our Cairo day tours to spend a fantastic weekend and visit the great pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum, and the ancient bazaar.