You can’t come to Egypt and not take a ride on a camel, apparently. So, we did. We got up early and crossed the Nile from Aswan‘s east bank across to its west bank, where all the culture related to the afterlife was situated. On the western bank, just below the tomb for the Aga Khan III, is a small stable of camels and their keepers – mere slips of boys with eager grins.

We ensured the indignity of our unpractised and unbalanced mounting of the Desert Taxis didn’t go unrecorded, and then began our stomp up through the sand and rocky paths towards the remains of the monastery founded by the legendary Saint Simeon (or Simon The Tanner, as he was also known).

Our guide for this short expedition was the delightful local lady “Maggi” (a shortened version of a lovely Nubian name that she knew we wouldn’t be able to pronounce, let alone retain in our tiny western brains. She was right – we couldn’t. It must be the effects of the sun?).
Sat atop the rocky ridge overlooking the Nile at Aswan the monastery initially appears to be quite compact, but as you enter the building you realise that it is split into the lower religious section consisting of a large courtyard and a small church. Up some stone steps the larger expanse of the functional elements of the complex become apparent, with areas for stabling camels, toilets, a laundry, extensive sleeping quarters and storage rooms.
After our guided tour we were left to our own devices for as long as we needed. Up here, on this deserted desert ridge we were the only visitors, and we left to explore the place at our leisure. Immediately I got my dowsing rods out and began to investigate the area for interesting subtle energy spots.
My first quest was to find whether there was any Spirit of Place at this location. There was. I asked to be taken to the spirit’s current location and the rods began to direct me to an area of the monastery that I hadn’t been to as yet. Eventually I arrived at a small room with one triangular end which had no windows. This would surely not have been a place of residence without windows? Mind you, from what we had heard St Simeon was a strange man. We heard the story of a hole in the ceiling through which Simeon had his hair held by other monks so that he wouldn’t fall asleep while reading scriptures. If his eyes drooped then the monks gave his hair a tug to keep him awake! And I thought I was dedicated to the cause!
The rods twirled around into a circle at a spot to the southern end of the room.Q. Was this SOP the spirit of St.Simeon? YES. Further inquiries began.



You must be logged in to post a comment.