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 the Aswan area 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. The monastery was 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 !ishop of 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 anti5uities removed some de!ris from the church$ !ut apparently little else was accomplished.

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 the twelfth 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 study of early )hristian tom!stones in the 7ile Valley$ and the kilns of the monastery have also proven significant for research into archaic Aswan pottery.

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 Lo er 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

<ithin$ the church was !uilt during the first half of the eleventh century (or possi!ly earlier$ in the tenth century# and represents the oldest of its kind in Egypt. Though only the lower part of it remains$ it is an important e3ample of a domed o!long church$ a type that dates !ack to the !eginning of Egypt"s 9atimid *eriod (4=4-''6+#. The naos has a nave and two side aisles. The domes are octagonal in shape$ with the two largest domes covering and dividing the nave$ which is lined with pillars$ into two s5uare areas. The aisles of the nave end to the east along the sanctuary in a room which originally had an entrance in its east wall. This was an unusual arrangement for )optic churches$ and the entrances were su!se5uently !locked. The room at the east end of the south aisle served as a !aptistery. There is also a grotto at the west end of the north aisle of the church$ where the structure rests against the rock which delimits the lower terrace$ that is an ancient Egyptian rock tom! used !y the monks as a ha!itat. This may have !een the original dwelling of An!a %atre himself. A rectangular cruciform sanctuary$ originally covered !y another dome$ was once connected

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. <ithin the grotto at the west end of the north aisle$ the walls were originally decorated with a se5uence of figures num!ering thirty-si3 in one register. &t has !een suggested that these represent some of the seventy-two disciples of )hrist. The ceiling of the grotto is adorned with !usts within large s5uares and small octagons and set against a geometrical design of fretwork patterns. These painting can !e dated to the si3th or seventh century.

)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.

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 arrangement that 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 upper terrace 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.

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:antine and 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.