Abu Mena in Abu Sir

Abu Mena is a town that was during Late Antiquity period (300 AD to 700 AD) and was dedicated to Saint Mina, an Egyptian Roman soldier who was martyred, because he refused to recant his Christian faith. After murdering Mina, they burned his body and when the body didn’t burn his sister bribed the soldiers and took his body to be buried in the church of Alexandria. When the Roman persecution of Christians ended, Pope Athanasius got a vision from an angel to bury Saint Mina's body in the Western desert. While on their journey the camels stopped near Lake Mariout and wouldn’t move. The Christians moved the body to another camel and the camel wouldn’t move; so, they took that as a sign that the body should be buried there. This led to Abu Mena town being formed and became a pilgrimage for Christians around the world.