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St. Simeon's Monastery

Monasteries can be beautiful sites to visit on tours to Israel. St. Simeon's Monastery is a perfect example of a lovely, tranquil monastery that is well worth the visit. Located in the Katamon neighborhood in West Jerusalem, the monastery was built over Simeon's tomb, the Jerusalemite who prophesied about salvation when he took Jesus into his arms when Joseph and Mary brought him as a baby to the temple (Luke 2:25-32). The complex was, according to the Greek inscription over the doorway, built in 1859 and took over 20 years to finish. Scholars believe it was the tomb of Simeon's priestly forbears because of an inscription in a cave nearby. A monument in the park commemorates a battle that took place around the monastery during Israel's War of Independence in 1948. Katamon, the neighborhood around the monastery, has a name that reflects the monastery's presence (Katamon comes from the Greek for "near the monastery").