🏨 Private Tour Coptic Cairo and the Churches of the Virgin Mary With Guide - Cairo Activity - Cairo Travel Guide

Private Tour Coptic Cairo and the Churches of the Virgin Mary With Guide - Cairo

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From $60.00

Price varies by group size

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Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration: 7 hours

Departs: Cairo, Cairo

Ticket Type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

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Overview

After pickup from your hotel in Cairo, begin your guided tour of Ancient Egyptian churches by Cave Church named St. Simon. Then the important archaeological area of Coptic Cairo. Visit The Hanging Church first, perhaps the most famous and oldest surviving church in Old Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Next, head to the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, also known as Abu Serga, which is believed to have been built above the site where the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus Christ resided after their trip to Egypt. Move on to the Church of St. George, one of the oldest Christian and Egyptian churches dating back to the first Christian era.
Then, take a short break for lunch in a local restaurant before resuming your church visits at the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary. Continue to the Church of Saint Barbara, well-known for its precious items, before exploring the Church of St. Mercurius in the Abu Sayfayn Cloister.

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Lunch

Private Transportation & Private Guide

Visit Abo Serga Church

Visit Cave Church

Visit Hanging church

What's Not Included

Transfer from 6 October City & New Cairo Hotels Extra charge $10 per Person

Traveler Information

INFANT: Age: 0 - 4
CHILD: Age: 5 - 10
ADULT: Age: 11 - 100

Additional Info

Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
Wheelchair accessible

All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

What To Expect

Cave Church

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.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hanging Church (El Muallaqa, Sitt Mariam, St Mary)

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. Beyond is a small inner courtyard, usually filled with sellers of taped liturgies and videos of the Coptic pope, Shenouda III.The interior of this 9th-century (some say 7th-century) church, renovated many times throughout the centuries, has three barrel-vaulted, wooden-roofed aisles. Ivory-inlaid screens hide the three haikal s (altar areas), but in front of them, raised on 13 slender pillars that represent Christ and his disciples, is a fine pulpit used only on Palm Sunday. One of the pillars, darker than the rest, is said to symbolize Judas. In the baptistry, off to the right, a panel has been cut out of the floor revealing the Water Gate below. From here there is a good view of one of the gate's twin towers.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Synagogue Ben Ezra

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.The synagogue became a place where North African Jews congregated for major festivals and famous rabbis came to worship on their visits to Cairo. Then, during a restoration in 1890, the most famous and diverse Geniza in the world was found. In an empty space below the roof, roughly 300,000 priceless manuscripts were hidden away, a collection that is now known as the Cairo Geniza.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Church of St. Barbara

A signature sight of Coptic Cairo, the Church of St. Barbara stands close to the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. Its history may date back to the fourth century, although it’s been extensively reworked over time. Coptic Christians believe the chapel houses the relics of St. Barbara, martyred by her father in the city of Heliopolis.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus

Abu Serga (Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus) is a Coptic Christian church situated in the aCoptic 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.Abu Serga was thought to have been built in the 4th or 5th century and is one of the oldest Coptic churches in Egypt. One of its most interesting features is the crypt where the HolyFamily were said to have rested. The crypt is 10 meters deep and, when Nile levels are high, is often prone to flooding.The building is a traditional basilican structure with a nave and two side aisles with a western return aisle. Twelve grand columns stand between the nave and the aisles, eleven of which are made from white marble, while one is made from red granite.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

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