ARAMAIC WATCH: The Monastery of the Syrians in Egypt is a vast repository of manuscripts in Syriac and other languages. Lubna Abdel-Aziz reports on it in "Desert Fathers" (Al-Ahram):

Several monasteries were established in the vast Egyptian desert, especially between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coast during the fourth century. Dozens of active monasteries are scattered all over Egypt from Alexandria to Cairo, Fayoum, Minya, Assiut, Edfu, Luxor and Aswan. Most famous of all is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine in the Sinai, a popular tourist destination, as are several others. The most intriguing however, is the Monastery of the Syrians, (Deir Al-Surian) that houses the richest library, including the earliest Biblical texts and writings of the fathers of the desert. Most of the manuscripts are in Syriac, a branch of Aramaic, and the language of Jesus, as well as Pharaonic, Coptic, Arabic and Ethiopic.

The Monastery of the Syrians was established by the monks of St Bishoi, who were opposed to the then popular Julianist monophysitism doctrines -- belief in one "divine" nature for Jesus not two, the "divine" and the "human". With the evaporation of the Julianists, the monastery was sold to a group of wealthy Syrian merchants and renamed the Monastery of the Holy Virgin of the Syrians. Syrian monks had always frequented Wadi Al-Natrun ever since the fourth century. By the 17th century, only Coptic monks inhabited the monastery, caring for the library, the paintings, and the invaluable manuscripts. Forty of these ancient texts were acquired by Pope Clement IX between 1715-1735. These documents are safely kept today in the Vatican Library. A century later, (1839-1851), the British Museum of London procured 500 Syrian manuscripts of religious, philosophical and literary context. Lord Curzon and other Britons purchased a considerable quantity of these documents which inspired intense research in the Syriac language and culture.

Despite the numerous losses, the monastery of the Syrians still retains rare works in art and history, and religious manuscripts of "inestimable scholarly value". Now they are threatened by decay. After 1,500 years, time has ravaged the priceless treasures. They need a serious rejuvenating process to bring them back to their original status. To study, survey, restore and preserve this unique heritage for future generations, time, effort dedication, and above all, funds are needed.

Fortunately, some efforts are being made for their preservations by Syriac specialists associated with the Levantine Foundation.

(Via the Egyptology News blog.)