دير الأنبا سمعان

Set on the Nile's West Bank across from Aswan, the Monastery of St. Simeon is one of Egypt's largest and best-preserved Coptic monasteries, a fortress-like complex of mud-brick and stone rising from the desert sand. Founded in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 10th, it once housed hundreds of monks before it was sacked by Saladin's forces in the 12th century and abandoned.

Today you can wander its roofless church with faint traces of frescoes, the monks' cells, bakeries, wine presses and stables, all enclosed by tall defensive walls. Reaching it is part of the adventure: a short boat crossing followed by a walk or camel ride up through the dunes. The isolation and silence give it a haunting beauty, with sweeping views back over the river.