Coptic Aswan Egypt tours, prices, booking, reviews, details
Coptic Aswan include St. Simeon Monastery which known as Deir Anba Samaan. It also known as Anba Hatre Monastery. In fact, the tour to Saint Simeon Monastery Aswan also includes camel ride for about 15 minutes. The camel ride will be through ruins of the monastery. The monastery located some one thousand two hundred meters from the west bank. It is opposite to the southern tip of Elephantine Island. The monastery given the name St. Simeon by archaeologists and travelers. The earlier Arabic and Coptic sources called it Anba Hatre or Hidra. It was after an anchorite who consecrated a bishop of Syene which is now Aswan. Anba Hatre married at the age of eighteen. According to the traditions, after the wedding, he encountered a funeral procession.
In fact, the funeral inspired him to preserved his chastity. Later, he became a disciple of Saint Baiman. He retired to the desert and applied himself to study the life of Saint Anthony. It was After eight years of ascetic practices under the supervision of his teacher. Furthermore, he died during the time of Theodosius I. The monastery examined and a study about it published by Grossmann in 1985. In 1998 the inspectors of the antiquities removed some debris from Saint Simeon monastery Aswan. In fact, little else accomplished. There was a monastic settlement at the monastery. In fact, it was sixth or seventh century ago. It indeed is clear from wall paintings in some of the rock caves. The rock caves date back to that period. The monastery was subject to significant building activity.
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Afterwards, the monastery occupied by monks. During the 1173 AC, the monastery suffered from violent attack and heavy damage. It was when the troops of Salah al-Din (Saladin) conducted their expeditions into Nubia. Saladin feared from marauding Christian Nubian. He feared that they maybe use the monastery to make forays into southern Egypt. By the end of the thirteenth century, about 1,000 monks abandoned the monastery. It was either because of the lack of water or the frequent raids by desert marauders. Although much of the monastery is in ruins, many of its main features well preserved. In fact, the monastery indeed is of considerable architectural interest. It is because of its church and its tower as well. The church provides the most important example of a domed Christian church in Egypt.
