Guide
The monastery of St Simon stands on a mountain at 479 metres between Antakya and Samandağ, inside the Defne district of Hatay, and was built in the 6th century AD. Before planning a visit, note what the Ministry's page states plainly: the monastery is closed because of the earthquake. The page gives no date for reopening.
The traditions about Simon hold that he began his religious education very young, gave himself entirely to God, took on an extremely severe discipline and went to live on a mountain. His name spread. Despite his youth he was said to heal the sick, and this raised him in people's eyes so that the mountain he lived on came to be called the mountain of miracles. Simon of Antioch is said to have come to this mountain in AD 541 and to have lived forty years on top of a pillar. When he died in 592 a monastery bearing his name was built here.
The monastery and its annexes are partly cut into the rock and partly built of dressed stone. The plan is a rectangle of 132 by 160 metres, enclosed by two parallel walls. The complex is cross-shaped and had entrances from three different directions. Inside stand three churches, a baptistery, and an octagonal courtyard with Simon's pillar at its exact centre. Around the monastery lie cisterns, houses, and the remains of a kitchen and pantry. The address is Yeşilyazı Yolu, 31800 Samandağ.
