St. Anthony’s in Egypt

In the Red Sea Mountains of Egypt’s Eastern Desert, the Monastery of St. Anthony, at more than 1,650 years old, is reputed to be the world’s first Christian monastery. Egypt has completed its eight-year, $14.5-million renovation, restoring and conserving the fortress walls, several outbuildings and the two main churches and installing a modern sewage system. 

Boasting the burial places of four saints plus paintings dating back to the Middle Ages, St. Anthony’s houses 120 monks and receives a million visitors a year.