The Monastery of St Simeon stands on the west bank of the Nile, a forty-minute walk through desert sand from the river, or a short camel ride. Built in the seventh century and expanded in the tenth, it is one of the largest surviving Coptic monasteries in Egypt and one of the best-preserved examples of early Christian monastic architecture anywhere in the Middle East.
The fortified walls enclose a substantial complex: a basilica, monks' cells arranged on two levels, stables, a bakery, oil presses, and storage rooms. The cells still show traces of painted decoration on their plaster walls. At its height the monastery housed around 300 monks. The ride by camel from the west bank ferry landing is part of the experience and adds an appropriate note of adventure to what is already an atmospheric destination.