DalgaAlso spelled ''Delga, Delja, Dilja'' (; ) is a town of about 120,000 people in
Minya Governorate
Minya ( ') is one of the governorates of Upper Egypt. Its capital city, Minya, is located on the left bank of the Nile River.
Etymology
The name originates from the chief city of the governorate, originally known in Sahidic Coptic as ''Tmoone ...
in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. About 20,000
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
ascetic
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
venerated as a
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
.
Notably, on 3 July 2013, the day
Mohamed Morsi
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012Islamists who drove out the police and assumed power. Under Islamist rule the ancient Coptic Christian
Monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
of the Virgin Mary and St. Abraam was looted and burned as were the Catholic and Anglican churches; Christians were terrorized. Two attempts by the Egyptian military to take the town during the summer of 2013 failed. Egyptian police retook the town in a pre-dawn attack September 16, 2013.