Christian monastery in Egypt reopens

SUEZ CITY, Egypt, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The reputed oldest Christian monastery in the world, Saint Anthony's in Egypt, has been opened to tourists, officials say.

A government-sponsored $14 million restoration of the Suez City monastery, believed to be 1,600 years old, has been completed and the facility has been reopened to visitors, the BBC reported.

It said the monastery has long been a pilgrimage site for Coptic Christians. Its rehabilitation comes after six Copts were shot dead on Christmas Eve in the worst sectarian violence in a decade, the British broadcaster reported.

The Egyptian government reportedly sees the monastery renewal as a symbol of its efforts to produce peace and co-existence between the country's Muslim majority and Christian minority.