Deir (Monastery) El-Surian

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Dating back to the 6th century , the monastery of El Surian was built by the monks of Saint Beshoy Monastery who were opposed to Julianist doctrines that held the incorruptibility of Christ's body . By the end of the 8th century , the doctrinal problems ended , and the monastery was sold to rich Syrian merchants who donated it to a group of Syrian monks , thus it was named the Monastery of the Holy Virgin of the Syrian . Throughout the centuries , Egyptian monks substituted the Syrian and now the monastery belongs to the Egyptian Coptic Church . Like other buildings of the area , the monastery was damaged by the attacks of the Bedouins and restored several times .
The monastery's walls measure almost 11 m in height with the entrance in an extreme of the north side . Built in the 9th century , the tower consists of four floors with a drawbridge in the second one . The bottom floor was used as a storeroom and it had a well . The library that once had a valuable collection of manuscripts (now scattered between the Vatican and the British Museum) was in the second floor . In the 3rd floor , there were dormitories for the monks and in the 4th , there was a chapel dedicated to the Archangel Michael .
Within its compound , the monastery comprises: a water tower , the refectory , a special library , a museum , a number of cells for the monks , and 4 churches .
Built by Moses Nisibis , the Chapel of the Forty-Nine Martyrs was dedicated to the forty-nine martyrs killed by the Bedouins in 444 . The chapel has scenes of the Holy Virgin , Saint Mark Evangelist and Patriarch Athanasius .
Among the 4 churches , are the church of Saint Honnos and Marutha (10th century) which is not now in use and the Church of Saint John the Little which is in ruins .
Dating to the 11th century , the Church of the Lady Mary has a rectangular plan with a vaulted roof , a choir , and a sanctuary , all influenced by the Mesopotamian style . The skillfully-made wooden works in the doors and the iconstasis are very beautiful .
The Church of The Holy Virgin (the 7th century) was built in a basilican plan . A domed court leads to the church that consists of a nave , a choir , and a sanctuary . The vaulted ceiling of the central nave is made of wood .
On both the walls and the cupola , there are paintings of Abraham , Isaac , Jacob , the Ascension of Christ , the Virgin , the Twelve Apostles , Christ in his throne with moon on his right and the sun on his left , the Annunciation , and the Dormition of the Virgin among others .
Made of ebony and ivory incrustations , the eleven-century door that separates the choir from the sanctuary is a very beautiful masterpiece of carpentry .