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About two and a half kilometers northwest of this monastery, there is also the limestone cave of the late [[Pope Cyril VI]]. Marked by twelve wooden crosses, it is known as the ''Rock of Sarabamun'' and has become a popular place of pilgrimage. An iron lattice-work protects the entrance to the site. Within, the one room cave is spacious. It is adorned with numerous pictures and icons of Pope Cyril VI. In the desert about the monastery there are also several caves that apparently continue to be inhabited by hermits.
Under [[Shenouda III (Gayyid) of Alexandria|Pope Shenouda III]], a number of recent renovations were performed at the monastery. An asphalt road to the monastery was built, and there have been several major cultivation projects. In addition, six water pumps, a sheepfold, a henhouse and two generators were added, together with the construction of new residential cells both inside and outside the monastery proper. There is now a clinic and a pharmacy to serve the monks, as well as a spacious retreat center for conferences and a large, two story guesthouse that was opened in January 1981.
==Ruins and excavations==