St. Simeon Monastery

8/12/2019 St. Simeon Monastery

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St. Simeon Monastery (Deir Anba Sim'an.Monastery of Anba Hatre, Hidra, Hadri or Hadra)

St. Simeon Monastery

(Monastery of Anba Hatre)

by Jimmy Dunn

General View of the Monastery of St. Simeon

Those on a fairly standard tour of Egypt that includes theAswanarea will most likely visit St.

Simeon (eir An!a Sim"an#$ the monastery otherwise known as An!a %atre. &t is very likely

that this will also include their one su!stantial camel ride (a!out ' minutes#$ which is how

these ruins$ located some one thousand two hundred meters from the west !ank oppose the

southern tip of the island ofElephantine$are usually accessed. Themonasterywas given the

name St. Simeon !y archaeologists and travelers$ !ut earlier Ara!ic and )optic sources

called it An!a %atre (%idra$ %adri$ %adra#$ after an anchorite who was consecrated a !ishopof Syene (now Aswan# !y *atriarch Theophilus (+,-'/ A#. An!a %atre married at the age

of eighteen. Tradition provides that 0ust after the wedding$ he encountered a funeral

procession which inspired him to preserved his chastity and later !ecome a disciple of Saint

1aiman. After eight years of ascetic practices under the supervision of his teacher$ he retired

to the desert and applied himself to the study of the life of Saint Antony.%e died during the

time of Theodosius &.

2ittle actual archaeological attention has really ever !een paid to this ancient site. &t was

e3amined and pu!lished !y Grossmann in '4,$ and in '44, the inspectors of the anti5uitiesremoved some de!ris from the church$ !ut apparently little else was accomplished.
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The Plan of the Monastery

&t is clear that !y the si3th or seventh century$ from wall paintings in some of the rock caves

dating to that period$ that there was a monastic settlement at An!a %atre$ though whether it

dates !ack to the life of the anchorite who it was named after is unknown. The monastery

apparently was su!0ect to significant !uilding activity during the first half of the eleventh

century$ when several tall structures were !uilt. Afterwards$ A!u al-Makarim$ a well known

travelers and historian$ also speaks of the monastery !eing occupied !y monks. uring thetwelfth century (''6+ A#$ is suffered a particularly violent attack and heavy damage when

the troops of Salah al-in (Saladin# conducted their e3peditions into 7u!ia. &t is possi!le that

Saladin may have feared that marauding )hristian 7u!ians might use the monastery to make

forays into southern Egypt. 1y the end of the thirteenth century$ what was at one time one of

the largest monasteries in Egypt with perhaps as many as '$888 monks had !een

a!andoned$ either !ecause of the lack of water are due to fre5uent raids !y desert

marauders.

Even though much of the monastery is in ruins$ many of its main features are well preserved.

&t is of considera!le architectural interest$ for the church provides the most important e3ample

of an o!long$ domed )hristian church in Egypt and the keep$ or tower$ which served as a

permanent residential comple3$ is the most developed of its kind. 9urthermore$ the large

num!er of tom!stones in the monastery cemetery are invalua!le sources for the studyof early )hristiantom!stones in the 7ile Valley$ and the kilns of the monastery have also

proven significant for research into archaic Aswan pottery.
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There is a cliff that separates the monastery into two natural terraces on two levels. There is a

relatively thin$ si3 meter high trape:oid wall that encloses the terraces that occupy a!out a

hectare of land$ with two gates that give access to each terrace. This wall$ with its lower

portion made of rough stone and upper of un!aked !rick$ was e5uipped with towers and

lookouts. ;riginally parts of the wall may have stood as high as ten meters$ !ut today$ most

only the stone section of the wall remains intact$ while the mud!rick is all !ut gone. The!rown-ocher color of the !rick contri!utes to the perfect harmoni:ation of all the !uildings with

their desert surroundings.

The Loer Terra!e

&n the lower terrace are the original rock caves of the saints$ the church with its !aptistery$

and (ancient# lodging for pilgrims. %ere$ the entrance gate pro0ects out from the east wall of

the enclosure !eneath a defensive tower. &ts vesti!ule leading into the monastery has a !arrel

vaulted roof.

The Prin!i"al #hur!h of the Monastery


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with the khurus (choir# so that altogether$ they formed a large$ single trefoil with three

rectangular compartments. The addition of two rectangular rooms flanking the sanctuary$

covered with half domes$ was a later e3pansion in the eastern :one of the church. 1ehind the

sanctuary is a room that reminds us of the corridor in a similar location !uilt into 7u!ian

churches. 1ehind the church lining the east wall of the monastery are a few cells for monks$

each with three stone !eds.

*lan of the )hurch

There were a num!er of visi!le wall paintings that were still discerna!le at the end of the

nineteenth century$ !ut alas$ most of these are now !adly damaged or even destroyed. &t has

!een suggested that these paintings date to the eleventh or twelfth century$ though !elow

those that can still !e seen are at least another layer of paintings in the apse of the church. &n

the eastern semi-dome their remains visi!le a scene of )hrist enthroned within the mandorla$

held !y two angles$ with flames rising to its !ase. )hrist holds a !ook on one knee with his left

hand$ while his right hand is raised in !lessing !eyond the edge of the mandorla. A human

figure with a s5uare nim!us appears in a praying position on the e3treme right. 1elow this

scene$ the walls are adorned with arcades and pendentives.

;n the north wall of the sanctuary there is still e3tant a painting of 0u3taposed$ haloed figures

seated$ representing the twenty-four *riests (elders of >evelation#. Also$ in a niche on the

west side of the church is a painting depicting the %oly Virgin Mary standing !etween two

!owing angles.


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)eiling of the Grotto

The $""er Terra!e

The upper terrace consisted of the large keep (5asr# that provided permanent living 5uarters

for the monastic community. This was somewhat unusual in that most keeps served only as

temporary housing during sieges. The upper terrace can !e approached !y a stairway along

the north wall of the church in the lower part of the monastery. The keep$ its massive si:e

unusual in comparison to those of other monasteries$ is a three-storied !uilding that

dominates the ruins. &ndividual cells for the monks$ a refectory$ kitchen and several

workshops were included in this structure$ though no well or other water supply to sustain the

community during times of siege has ever !een discovered. 7evertheless$ it represents the

clima3 in development for this type of structure.

The >efectory

The ground floor of the keep encompasses the refectory$ together with rows of cells that flank

a vaulted corridor. This corridor$ with three windows for illumination$ is oriented north-south$

and the wall at its north end is the northern enclosure wall of the monastery. The cells are

furnished with as few as two and as many as si3 stone !eds. The refectory$ a rectangular

room that was originally divided !y a row of four columns and roofed !y two rows of

contiguous cupolas n pendentives$ is on the northwest side of the corridor. The floor of the

refectory is paved with !aked !ricks$ upon which are seven mud!rick rings that formed the

!ase of the seats used !y monks when they took their common meals.


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A cell with !eds of stone

Thee are various dependencies attached to the kitchen west of the refectory. ;ne room

contains a reservoir that held part of the monastery"s water supply. Even though no water well

has ever !een found on the monastery grounds$ there is an ela!orate plum!ing arrangementthat provided water on the upper terrace !athrooms$ latrines and several laundering

esta!lishments.

The )orridor in the ?eep

The oil press$ with its granite millstone decorated with three crosses$ is situated on the upperterrace south of the keep. There was also a mill and !akery outside the keep$ and a num!er

of ovens of different si:es were found on !oth terraces. ;ther structures include a wine press$

storage anne3es$ sta!les$ a vat to decant the water and another to e3tract salt.


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The pottery kilns in the southern :one of the monastery were used to produce Aswan pottery

that was used in @pper Egypt and 7u!ia during >oman$1y:antineand the early &slamic

periods. %ence$ they are of special interest.

The cemetery of the monastery has yielded nearly two hundred tom!stones$ many of which

range in date from the si3th through the ninth century. Their te3t$ which shows three distinct

editions and different prayer formulas$ is highly valua!le to researchers.
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St. Simeon Monastery

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