 New monastery buildings by Deir Abū Fānā | ||
| Deir Abū Fānā · دير أبو فانا | ||
| Governorate | Minyā | |
|---|---|---|
| height | 53 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
| ||
Deir Abu Fana, Arabic:دير أبو فانا, Dair Abū Fānā, or. Deir es-Salib, دير الصليب, Dair aṣ-Ṣalīb, „the cross monastery“Is a monastery in Middle Egypt in the governorate el-Minyā southwest of the city el-Minyā west of the Nile. The monastery, which has existed since the 5th century, is already in the desert region and was built on the site of the hermitage of St. Abū Fānā established.
background
The Abū Fānā Monastery was built in memory of St. Abū Fānā, the hermit (أبو فانا المتوحد, Abū Fānā al-mutawaḥḥid, Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲃⲉⲛⲓ ⲡⲓⲙⲁⲛⲇⲣⲓⲧⲏⲥ, Avva Veni pimandritēs, also Apa Bane), who lived here in the 4th century. He was born around 355 and died around the age of 40 at 395 (sometimes the year 415 is also given as the year of his death). It is said of him that he was very concerned for the sick and the poor and that he could foresee. So he prophesied the death of Kaiser Theodosius I. in the year 395. He was said to have been able to go without food for a good month and to have stood upright in his monk cell for about half of his life. The examinations on his corpse were able to confirm the latter.
The beginnings of the Monastery are probably in the 5th century. Here it experienced its heyday with around 1000 monks. However, the number of monks decreased around 640 before the Arab conquest. In the 15th century there were still two monks. Today it is again populated by monks. The most important monk is the later Patriarch Theodosius II of Alexandria (12th or 13th century). Early descriptions of the monastery are from the former Coptic monk and Chief of an unknown monastery Abū al-Makārim (* before 1160, † after 1190), incorrectly Abū Ṣāliḥ the Armenian attributed to, and the Arab historian el-Maqrīzī who mentioned the architecture and restoration of the monastery.
To the northeast of the modern monastery are two previous churches. The second church, namely the burial church of Abū Fānā, was only discovered in 1992 during excavations by the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the direction of Professor Helmut Buschhausen. The excavations took place in the second half of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. The body of Abū Fānā was also found under the floor of the burial church. The grave church is a basilica, it dates from the 6th century. However, their walls are only low in height, and only a few building fragments have been preserved.
Only the first church, the so-called sanctuary or memorial church, escaped the destruction of the old monastery. This church was restored in 1993.
In the past several years Attacks on the monastery perpetrated. The last attack occurred on May 31, 2008, in which more than 60 armed attackers kidnapped and tortured three monks and destroyed parts of the monastery and its inventory.[1]
getting there
Arrival is only possible by car or taxi. There are several ways to get here. Of el-Minyā coming one drives on the trunk road Asyūṭto get in the village 1 Itlīdim
(27 ° 52 ′ 35 ″ N.30 ° 48 ′ 10 ″ E), إتليدمTo turn west. In a south-south-west direction you can reach it after two and a half kilometers 2 Manschīyat en-Naṣr(27 ° 52 ′ 8 ″ N.30 ° 46 '32 "E.), منشية النصر. From here you drive about 5 kilometers 3 Qaṣr Hōr(27 ° 51 ′ 31 ″ N.30 ° 43 '50 "E), قصر هور, Continue. In Qaṣr Hōr one crosses the Baḥr Yūsuf (Josefskanal) and continues in a westerly direction. From here there is an approx. 3 km long piste, initially through the fruit land, to the monastery. You can park right next to the 1 Monastery entrance(27 ° 50 ′ 42 ″ N.30 ° 41 ′ 54 ″ E).
There is a second possibility of arrival via 4 el-Ashmunein
(27 ° 46 ′ 27 ″ N.30 ° 48 ′ 4 ″ E). You leave the village in a north-westerly direction to go to 5 Nawāi(27 ° 47 '54 "N.30 ° 46 ′ 30 ″ E), نوايTo arrive. It continues in a north-westerly direction to Qaṣr Hōr.
mobility
You can drive to the monastery entrance by car. The rest of the way has to be done on foot on partly sandy ground.
Tourist Attractions
The main attraction of Abū Fānā Monastery is the 1 Sanctuary or memorial church about 200 m northeast of the entrance to the monastery on a hill. Its origins go back to the 6th century, but it was rebuilt in the Middle Ages, erasing all previous traces. The church is located within a fortress-like enclosure wall, the entrance of which is in the northeast. A corridor leads to the west end of the church. The courtyard to the west of the church contains other remains of buildings on the west wall of the surrounding wall and a fountain in the south-west corner. The church itself consists of the main aisles and the two side aisles with four free-standing columns. The Holy of Holies is laid out in the form of a three-icon choir, i.e. the Holy of Holies consists of one semicircular and two roughly square rooms that end in a semi-dome. There are further rooms in the northeast and southeast corners.
The frescoes from the 12th – 13th centuries are of great interest. Century, which were covered by a later painting in the 19th century. In the central and southern hemispheres there are monumental representations of the cross. The cross representations have few parallels like those in White Monastery at Sōhāg. Ornaments from Coptic book illumination, such as the one in a gospel book from the Syrian monastery in the Wādī en-Naṭrūn.
On the walls there are other representations such as that of the angel Michael on the right and that of St. Virgin Mary to the left of the iconostasis, or a cross and an inscription on the west wall of the south conche. The left half column in front of the Holy of Holies bears cross and ornamental decorations. The buildings on the western enclosure wall also have frescoes with, among other things, further representations of the cross.
The monks in the monastery hold the key to the church. It is advisable to visit the church in the morning, as it has no lighting system.
shop
In the monastery you can buy a brochure about the monastery and Abū Fānā in Arabic.
accommodation
Accommodation options exist in el-Minyā.
trips
You can visit the monastery by visiting 6 Mallawī, 7 Tūna el-Gebel and el-Ashmunein connect.
literature
- : Christian Egypt, ancient and modern. Cairo: American University at Cairo Press, 1977 (2nd edition), ISBN 978-977-201-496-5 , Pp. 364-366.
- : Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and Monuments Through Two Millenia. Cairo: The American University at Cairo Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0814624067 , Pp. 173-175.
- The results of the excavations of the Austrian Institute for Archeology have been published as a preliminary report: : The excavations at Dair Abu Fana in Egypt in 1991, 1992 and 1993. In:Egypt and Levant: international journal for Egyptian archeology and its neighboring areas, ISSN1015-5104, Vol.6 (1996), Pp. 13-73. There are also two earlier preliminary reports in Volumes 2 (1991), pp. 121-161, and 4 (1994), pp. 95-144, in the same journal. However, the excavation reports largely describe the settlement of the monastery in the area of the Holy Sepulcher including the fountain hall. Although the restoration of the memorial church is described, a detailed description of the decoration of this church (including floor plan) can be found in the article by H. Buschhausen from 2003 given below.
- : The excavations in the late antique monastery of Abu Fano and the identification of Apa Bane. In:Stones speak: magazine of the Austrian Society for the Preservation of Monuments and Sites, ISSN0039-1026, Vol.38.4 (October) = issue 115 (1999), Pp. 1–23.
- : The upper church at Dayr Abu Fano in Middle Egypt: problems of restoration and restoration. In:Stones speak: magazine of the Austrian Society for Monument and Local Conservation, ISSN0039-1026, Vol.42.1 (March) = issue 126 (2003), Pp. 1-20.
Individual evidence
- ↑: Just a coincidence?. In:Al-Ahram Weekly, Thursday June 5, 2008. Archived from original.
