St. Anthony's Monastery, Egypt Click Image to Enlarge  (JPG) (340,710 bytes) ( 1,200 x 1,000 )

St. AnthonyÔÇÖs, the worldÔÇÖs oldest Christian monastery, recently underwent an extensive restoration. St. Anthony, revered as the founder of Christian monasticism, settled in the remote mountainous area of eastern Egypt near the Red Sea at the end of the 3rd century. The monastery was built around 350 C.E. at an oasis, and remains in use today. Amid the restorations, researchers found the remains of the original monksÔÇÖ cells from the 4th century. The image was acquired on November 13, 2009, covers an area of 15 x 18 km, and is located near 28.9 degrees north latitude, 32.3 degrees east longitude.