The St. Simeon Monastery - Egypt

Special feature Egypt : The St. Simeon Monastery

On the left bank of the Nile, behind a hill, hides the Saint Simeon Monastery, near to the village Gharbi El-Assouan. Constructed around the year 700 and abandoned in the 13th century, the monastery remains extremely well preserved. It was built with a surrounding wall containing four buildings including a church, a refectory and an edifice containing 'cells' for the monks. Inside, Coptic-style frescos are to be discovered. The one weak point of the monastery was the lack of access to water. St. Simeon was regularly besieged, and water, too far away, was often want. This is certainly one of the reasons for the monastery being abandoned.

  The mausoleum of Aga Khan III

The two dams of Aswan  

Contents

• 1

  Aswan, the final frontier

  
• 2

  The mausoleum of Aga Khan III

  
• 3

  The St. Simeon Monastery

  
• 4

  The two dams of Aswan

  
• 5

  The Nubian villages

  
• 6

  Traditional gatherings

  
• 7

  The Temple of Philae

  
• 8

  Aswan's natural reserve

  
• 9

  The souks

  
• 10

  Abu Simbel