Old Cairo

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Old Cairo

 

The Hanging Church
( El Muallaqa)

 

the entrance from the street

 

 

 

 


The Hanging Church derives its name from its location on top of the southern tower gate of the old Babylon fortress with its nave suspended above the passage. (Muallaqa translates to ‘suspended’) The church was first built, in Basilica style, in the 3rd or 4th century. However, at that time it is unlikely that the church would have been constructed in this location. They covered the towers with palm trunks and a layer of stone. The main church is thought to have been built between the 5th and 6th centuries with the south-eastern section called the “upper church” being added later. The church was destroyed in the 9th century.

 

 

inner doorway

 

the interior

 

front of the church

 

 

the pulpit

 

 

 

over the altar

 

Saint George

 

pulpit

 

contribution box

 

Christmas Crèche

 

Coptic Cross

 

Pope Kerolous of the Coptic church

 

Travels of Joseph and Mary with Jesus in Egypt

 

courtyard lantern

 

staircase church

It became known to travellers during the 14th and 15th centuries as the “staircase church” because of the twenty-nine steps that lead to the entrance.


The Church Of Abu Serga
( St. Sergius )

 

underpass to descend to the level of the church

 


The Church of Abu Serga is another 4th Century church, dedicated to two early martyrs and supposedly built on the spot where the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary and the infant Christ, rested at the end of their journey into Egypt. It is considered as the oldest of Cairo’s Christian churches.

 

the interior


They may have lived here while Joseph worked at the fortress. It is still considered to be a model of the early Coptic churches The main attraction, situated directly under the choir, is the crypt. This crypt contains the remains of the original church where tradition says the Holy Family lived. Originally this crypt was the sanctuary, but became the crypt after the larger church was built.

 

bakery delivery to the underpass


Ben Ezer's Temple

 

Ben Ezer's Temple

Ben Ezer’s Temple, lying at the end point of church buildings , is reported to have been erected in the 6th or presumably the 9th Century AD. The basilica-style temple contains a Jewish heritage library, that was inaugurated on November 25,1997. In 1896, a collection of documents known as “Jineesah” were found in the temple.

 

the temple

 



The said documents contained a number of rare manuscripts of interpretations of the Old Testament, excerpts of linguistic research on Hebrew as well as documents explaining how Jews dealt with the Arab Muslim authorities.

 

the walkway to the second floor women's entrance

 

window and roof line

 

the Moses well

At the back of the temple, there is a very deep well, where the coffers in which Prophet Moses as an infant was placed by his mother, was reportedly found.


Monastery of Saint George
Greek Orthodox Church

 

 

 

 


 

Tower of Babylon on the right


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