St. Simeon monastery
Saint Simeon Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Egypt , was built by a monk during the 7th century and was subsequently dedicated to a 4th century local saint called simeon ( who listens ) known to locals by the name of Anba Hedra. ( hedra means jar carrier , in reference that he used to bring water to aal elderly and sick people who couldn't bring water from the Nile ).
According to legend, Anba Hedra was born to a christian parents , from his childhood he liked living as monks , but his family forced him to engage a girl of their family to marry her , when he was eighteen years old , on the day of his wedding he renounced mankind and immediately decided to devote himself to chastity and become an ascetic after witnessing a funeral procession.
Anba Hedra, known today as St. Simeon spent the next seven years doing religious studies under the direction of Saint Baiman. On completion of his studies, Anba Hedra spent the next eight years involved in ascetic practices before finally retiring to the desert ز
Anba Hedra later moved onto Elephantine Island and began building a monastery. The original structure was built from stone and mud bricks, and surrounded by a ten foot high wall which gave the Saint Simeon Monastery a fortress-like appearance. Records show that the monastery was also rebuilt or at least extended during the 10th century.
By the time work on the monastery was completed in the 10th century, it provided accommodation for around 300 monks, and it had room for roughly 100 pilgrims. The monks that lived at the monastery would travel into Nubia in groups with the aim of converting Nubians to Christianity. Unfortunately, Saint Simeon Monastery was all but destroyed by Saladin and his forces in 1173 and it was sadly never rebuilt.
Visitors can also explore the chamber where St. Simeon used to spend several hours at a time praying. According to legend, he used to fasten his hair to the ceiling above his head in case he fell asleep during these extended prayer sessions.
