Wadi Natrun a northwesterly oriented desert depression about 60 kilometers long located in the Western Desert near the delta about 90 kilometers northwest of Cairo, Wadi el-Natrun lies some 23 meters below sea level, and lakes fed from the water table of the Nile dot the landscape. It is common to allege that Wadi Natrun was the actual birthplace for Christian monasticism. This theory can be challenged by the theory that the Essenes ofPalestine was the first Christians, and they practiced monasticism. The reason why the early Copts chose to install themselves out in the desert was more than piety. Under the Roman rule the Egyptian Christians were persecuted, especially around year 300, and many found refuge out of the cities. When Christianity became state religion in 330 Wadi Natrun was already firmly established as an important Christian centre, a place of piety. The piety would be lost over the centuries, and the monks would gradually become managers of their lands, benefiting from the work of the monastic serfs. In the 19th century, visitors to Wadi Natrun reported that the monks were lazy, dirty, immoral and of little education and manners. Wadi Naturn is also an area known for bird watching It contains a series of nine small lakes (total area over 200 km²), scattered along its general axis. Typha swamps occur at localities along the shores of the lakes where there is a plentiful freshwater supply. Juncus and Cyperus dominate the wet salt marshes on the waterlogged eastern shores. The latter species carpets most of the marsh areas in a dense cover that does not exceed a few centimeters height because of severe grazing pressure. This, however, creates one of the most characteristic and attractive habitats for water birds.