Deir el-Baramus

This Sunday we took a special trip to Deir el-Baramus, one of the four active monasteries in the Wadi al-Natrun area. Right next to the active part of the monastery is an ancient site from the same period as the manshubiya we are excavating, so it was exciting to examine a somewhat different monastic settlement. Inside the church itself, there are a few awesome Coptic wall paintings from the 13th century or so.



Most interesting, however, were the people hanging out at the monastery and even in the church itself. When we got off the bus, I saw young boys kicking a soccer ball and filling the air with joyful screeching. People milled around the gift shop and snack bar, and they sat in small groups on the floor of the church. One woman was chatting on a hot pink cell phone. In a more remote room, a man had fallen asleep with his back against a stray lectern, a can of Pepsi still half-gripped in his hand. Groups swarmed around an Abouna who was seated on a chair to dole out his blessings.



In the deepest room of the church that is accessible to the public, we were able to venerate some holy relics. We were not alone—the crowd of people inside spontaneously burst into song and kept it up the entire time we were there.