Things to Do in Coptic Cairo

Coptic Cairo is an area where on a small piece of land you will find a huge concentration of Christian monuments, including the Jewish synagogue of Ben Ezra, the remains of the ancient fortress known as Babylon, the famous hanging church and a unique Coptic museum dedicated to this almost extinct culture. I recommend you to visit this neighbourhood even if your stay in Cairo is only 2 days or :less.

Old Cairo is so called because it is the old part of Cairo, and predates what is now called Cairo. I recommend taking a walking tour of the area to get an overview of what life was like in the area before you set out to visit the landmarks of the Coptic Quarter.

St George's Greek Church is a large round church located in the Fortress of Babylon, which was the seat of the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria. It can be visited free of charge daily from 9am-5pm.

A flight of steps leads up to St George's Greek Church. The façade has a relief of St George dressed as a Roman soldier astride an Arabian horse and slaying a dragon carved into the brick wall. The 20th-century church still retains the stained-glass windows of earlier churches and the Qaa el-Arsan wedding chamber dating back to the 4th century. It has beautifully carved interiors and the dome has a beautiful green roof with the image of Christ in the middle. Most of the images depict St George fighting for the preservation of Christianity. The nearby monastery is the site of the largest religious festival held annually on 23 April, a must-see if you travel to Cairo in April.

The Greek Church of St George was built in 684 by a wealthy scribe named Athanasius. The present structure was built in 1904. It is connected to the nearby monastery of St George. It is believed that St George was imprisoned and martyred near the church. It was a Coptic church until the 15th century, when it became a Greek Orthodox church.

• Price: Free
• Hours: Every day from 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you want to visit the only Greek Orthodox church in Cairo.

The location of the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus is where the Holy Family is said to have rested while fleeing the oppressive rule of King Herod to Egypt. They are said to have lived here while Joseph worked in the nearby fortress. The church dates back to the 5th century and the present building dates back to the 8th century. A special mass is held annually on the first of July to commemorate the arrival of the Holy Family, a visit of interest if you're travelling to Cairo in July. The church can be visited free of charge daily from 9am-4pm.

The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus or Abu Serga is in the form of a basilica. There is a narthex, a nave and two aisles. The central sanctuary has a 13th-century wooden screen with ebony panels inlaid with ivory. The frieze and icons in the church date to the 15th and 16th centuries. It has a 10-metre-deep crypt that often floods when the levels of the Nile River rise. The church has an active congregation and is the second most important Coptic church in the city next to the Hanging Church.

• Price: Free of charge
• Hours: Every day from 9am-4pm
• Recommended if you want to enter one of the few active churches in the Coptic Quarter.

This beautiful and clean cemetery is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Egypt. The gravestones are beautiful, decorated with statues of angels, saints, doves, crosses and the like.

It is very common for women to weep at burials and speak aloud. You can see how the image of weeping women is very common in the murals and bas-reliefs of ancient Egyptian tombs.

• Price: Free
• Hours: Everyday from 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you want to see the ancient Egyptian tombs up close.

St. Barbara's Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the many famous Coptic Orthodox parishes that can be found in the Coptic district of Cairo. The building is located in the eastern part of the Babylon Fortress and is one of the oldest buildings in Cairo, dating back to the 5th or 6th century AD

The Church of St. Barbara is known for its many precious items. These items were sent to the nearby Coptic Museum, which is only a two-minute walk from the church. The basilica structure and tripartite sanctuary of the church closely resemble that of Abu Serga (The Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus). Nearby is a convent comprising several buildings, including a school built by the well-known architect, Ramses Wissa Wassef.

Although the Church of St. Barbara has been a lasting example of ancient Coptic architecture, it bears a resemblance to ancient basilicas. It comprises an entrance, a narthex, a long nave, several aisles and three sanctuaries. Like most other Coptic Orthodox churches that have more than one sanctuary, the middle sanctuary is the most important, dedicated to St Barbara.

• Price: Free of charge
• Hours: Every day from 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you want to delve a little deeper into the Coptic Orthodox religion.

The Ben Ezra Synagogue is the oldest Jewish place of worship in Cairo. The land was purchased by Rabbi Ben Ezra of Jerusalem to build the synagogue and was named in his honour.

The architecture of the Ben Ezra Synagogue is in the style of a basilica. There are two floors, a lower floor for male worshippers and an upper floor for women. Steel bars divide the main hall into three parts. The central room contains the Bima or desk for reading the Torah. Twelve columns support the ceiling and six marble steps lead up to the wooden altar. The interiors are decorated in Turkish-style floral and geometric patterns. Today the synagogue has become a thriving tourist attraction in Cairo and one of the top things to see in Cairo.

• Price: Free of charge
• Hours: Daily 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you want to see the oldest Jewish place of worship in Cairo.

If you're looking for a trip back in time you should know that the Coptic Museum in Cairo is the repository of the largest collection of early Egyptian Christian art in the world. The exhibits tell the story of Egypt between the era of the Pharaohs and Islamic rule, and the building and surrounding garden cover an area of 8000 square metres. It contains objects donated by the Coptic community and artefacts once housed in the Egyptian Museum. It became a State Museum in 1931.

The first floor has religious artefacts and objects made of carved stone, stucco, religious frescoes and wooden objects.The first floor has textiles, manuscripts, a valuable collection of Coptic icons and metal objects. The third floor is the most important and contains a library with 1200 of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts, a valuable collection of early Christian Gnostic texts found near the city of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt.

Extra information

The entrance ticket is for the museum only, all other churches, the synagogue and surrounding structures are free to visit. If you plan to take photos inside, be sure to pay the additional fee at the entrance and keep the permission slip. You can visit daily from 9am to 5pm. And in Ramadan, from 9am to 3pm. For more information visit the following link.

• Price: Between 1.8 and 2.25€.
• Opening hours: Every day from 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you want to get a closer look at Egyptian Christian art.

The Babylon Fortress is often called the birthplace of Cairo. It is the oldest part of the city and dates back to the Bronze Age.

Today, the Babylon Fortress has several Coptic structures built into its walls. The towers are 10 metres high and have a diameter of 31 metres. It has a pattern typical of Roman fortresses with five limestone blocks and three brick blocks. It is also called Qasr el Shamee or the Palace of Candles because candles used to light the towers on the first of every month and on Christmas days. I recommend visiting in January (1 and 7 January) and on Christmas days in December.

• Price: Free
• Opening hours: Every day from 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you love Roman towers and the views from the top.

The Hanging Church gets its name from the fact that it is located over an ancient Roman gate and its nave hangs over a passage. The real name of the church is Sitt Mariam or St. Mary's Church. A visit at Christmas is highly recommended, as there are often interesting ceremonies inside.

Today, the Hanging Church is the official residence of the Coptic Pope. It was built in the 7th century and it is believed that there were churches on its site as early as the 3rd or 4th centuries. The most credible theory is that it was rebuilt several times in the 10th century by Patriarch Abraham.

The Hanging Church has a beautiful courtyard flanked by religious mosaics. The marble pulpit has thirteen pillars depicting Jesus and the 12 apostles. The east end has three shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St George and St John the Baptist. The sanctuary screen dates to the 12th or 13th century and is made of ebony with ivory inlay. It has a row of seven large icons. The left screen has 17 icons and the right screen has 7 small icons at the top. The church is a thriving place of worship and important celebrations. For more information about this church visit the following link.

• Price: Free of charge
• Hours: Everyday 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you are attracted by religious mosaics.

As soon as you step out of the metro, the first thing you'll see are the ancient Roman walls on your right. In the 2nd century AD, the Romans built a fortress in Cairo along this quarter, which they called Babylon. The rounded towers of the western gate of the Babylon fortress were built in AD 98, and along with the existing southern gate, are among the oldest structures in Cairo.

This tall fortress once controlled traffic and trade along the Nile, while also being connected to the Red Sea canal. The Roman walls are visible from the street, and there is no fee to view or take photographs.

• Price: Free
• Hours: Every day from 9am-5pm
• Recommended if you are passionate about Roman architecture.

There are a couple of restaurants on Cairo's Coptic Road that I definitely suggest you visit. The atmosphere in these restaurants is very calm and peaceful, and going to one of these restaurants is definitely a chance to take a break from the busy day and try the local Egyptian cuisine. If you visit one of these restaurants, start with lemon mint, a lemonade with added mint that is popular throughout Cairo and a great way to hydrate yourself. The two closest restaurants are HanaDays Kitchen, located 300 metres from the neighbourhood, which specialises in roast chicken and chicken products, but also offers more variety. And Fish Boat Abouzeid restaurant, located almost 500 metres from the neighbourhood, specialising in seafood dishes.

• Prices: Between 8-25 euros
• Opening hours: Every day from 9am-10pm

Coptic Cairo is located in a congested area of central Cairo, but is easily accessible by taxi or rented car. It is also one of the few tourist sites in Cairo that has its own metro stop, called Mar Girgis. So if you want to try the metro in Cairo, this could be a good opportunity.

If you are otherwise driving, simply enter the name 'Mar Girgis' into your Google Maps and you will have a direct route to the entrance of the complex.

To avoid the crowds, try to visit the neighbourhood on a Monday to Friday morning, the earlier the better. Domestic tourists living outside Cairo tend to visit the complex on weekends, making it busier than usual. Also note that some of the churches are still operational, and there is a recreation centre and a wedding hall, so it's not just a tourist neighbourhood.

Coptic Cairo is very close to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (about a 10-minute drive), so it makes logistical sense to visit both places on the same day.

If you're still keen to see more Coptic churches, one really beautiful one is the Church of the Cave (Monastery of St Simon the Tanner), which is carved into the Moqattam Mountain. It's also not a bad idea to take the time to wander around the small alleyways of Coptic Cairo, which are lined with souvenir shops and historical details carved into the walls.