Coptic Cairo Tour ( St.Simon,Hanging church,st. Sergius church)

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa), which is still in use, is called the Hanging or Suspended Church as it is built on top of the Water Gate of Roman Babylon. Steep stairs lead from the forecourt to a 19th -century façade topped by twin bell towers.

   30 min

2. Abu Serga (Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus) is a Coptic Christian church situated in the Coptic Quarter of Cairo. Dedicated to the saints, Sergius and Bacchus, it is most famous due to the belief that it was built on the site where Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus resided during their time in Egypt.

   30 min

3. Ben Ezra Synagogue used to be a Christian place of worship by the name of El-Shamieen Church and according to a legend, the building was built on the exact spot where Moses was found as a baby in his basket. However, when the Coptic Christians owning it weren’t able to pay the annual taxes imposed by the Muslim rulers any longer, they had to sell the church. It was sold to Abraham Ben Ezra, who purchased the building in 882 AD for 20,000 dinars and turned it into a Jewish synagogue

   15 min

4. Formally known as St. Simon the Tanner Monastery, Cairo’s vast Cave Church pays tribute to a miracle St. Simon (also written St. Samaan or St. Simeon) is believed to have performed. The city’s Coptic Orthodox Christian garbage collectors (Zabbaleen) dug the church out of the Mokattam mountain during the 1970s.

   2 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 5 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Cairo

• Its from-price is 75% above the median of the 10229 experiences we list in Cairo.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 2347 of 10229.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Cairo

Cairo is Egypt's sprawling capital on the Nile, where the Pyramids of Giza meet medieval mosques, busy bazaars and the treasures of the pharaohs.

On the western edge of the city, the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx rise from the desert plateau, with the step pyramid of Saqqara and the ruins of Memphis further south. Cairo's great museums, the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square and the vast Grand Egyptian Museum beside the plateau, hold artefacts spanning thousands of years.

Top-ranked sights in Cairo: Egyptian Museum (Museum of Egyptian Antiquities), Saqqara (Sakkara), Khan El-Khalili.

See all 10229 experiences in Cairo