For security reasons, tourists are advised not to visit this region. Deir el-Amba Antonios, which stands behind high fortified walls, became an important centre of the Coptic Church in the 4C, after the death of St Antony (the founder of Christian monkhood), who had withdrawn to the Arabian Desert for a life of asceticism and meditation. The small church of St Antony boasts a fine series of recently restored frescoes dating from the 7C-13C. Visitors can also climb up the 1 200 steps to the cave in the cliff face where the saint lived.