Dalga دلجا | |
|---|---|
  Dalga دلجا Location in Egypt | |
| Coordinates: 27°39′N 30°42′E / 27.650°N 30.700°E | |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Governorate | Minya |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 63,751 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
Dalga[spelling 1] (Egyptian Arabic: دلجا; Coptic: ⲧϫⲉⲗⲓ, ⲉⲧⲉⲗⲕⲉ[1]) is a town of about 120,000 people in Minya Governorate in Egypt. About 20,000 Christians live there.
In the 4th century, Dalga was the original residence of Abba Or of Nitria,[2] an Egyptian Orthodox Christian ascetic venerated as a saint.
Notably, on 3 July 2013, the day Mohamed Morsi was deposed from power by the Egyptian military, Dalga was occupied by Islamists who drove out the police and assumed power. Under Islamist rule the ancient Coptic Christian Monastery 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.[3]
Cite error: There are <ref group=spelling> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=spelling}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "أسماء بعض البلاد المصرية بالقبطية - كتاب لغتنا القبطية المصرية | St-Takla.org". st-takla.org. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ "Life and Sayings of Holy Abba Or of Nitria". Orthodox Christianity Then and Now. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ Patrick Kingsley (16 September 2013). "Egyptian authorities recapture Islamist-held town: Morsi supporters had held Delga since his overthrow in July and unleashed a campaign of terror against Christian minority". The Guardian. Minya province. Retrieved 20 September 2013.