For safety reasons, tourists are strongly advised to avoid this region. This "City of the Dead" built into the hillside north of Kharga provides a remarkable insight into Egyptian Christianity in the 4C-7C. The huge necropolis, where persecuted Christians sought refuge, includes 260 funerary chapels built from unfired bricks. Some of the chapels have retained their fine painted decors, such as the Chapel of Peace (n° 80) and Chapel of the Exodus (n° 30), the oldest, whose frescoes depict scenes from the Old Testament.