The crypt
A Holy Family stop.
Marianna emad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ovedc — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Olaf Tausch — CC BY 3.0 · Sherief1969 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sailko — CC BY 3.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Olaf Tausch — CC BY 3.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0
One of the oldest churches in Egypt, the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, known as Abu Serga, inside the walls of the Babylon fortress in Old Cairo; it dates back to the fourth or fifth century and was rebuilt after a fire in the Middle Ages. Its standing comes from the crypt below the sanctuary, where the Holy Family, Mary, the infant Jesus and Joseph, is believed to have stayed during their flight into Egypt, making the church one of the main stops on the Holy Family route. Groundwater often floods the crypt floor. The church is a basilica with two rows of ancient marble columns, a wooden iconostasis inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl, a marble pulpit, old icons and a timber roof. Entry is free, open from nine to four, and modest dress is expected. It lies in the lanes of the Religions Complex, a few steps from the Ben Ezra Synagogue and the Hanging Church.
A Holy Family stop.
Ivory-inlaid wood.
An Egyptian basilica.
Religions Complex, Old Cairo, inside the Babylon fortress
Coptic MuseumIt holds the largest collection of Coptic antiquities in the world, in the heart1 minute walk
Ben Ezra SynagogueThe oldest synagogue in Cairo, in the Religions Complex of Old Cairo among the C1 minute walk
Hanging ChurchThe best known of Egypt's Coptic churches, called hanging because it was built o2 minutes walk4.8
Mosque of Amr ibn al-AsThe first mosque built in Egypt and in Africa, founded by the commander Amr ibn 6 minutes walk
NilometerAn octagonal well sunk at the tip of Rhoda Island, with a graduated marble colum7 minutes walk4.3You can see it through an opening in the church, but going down is often restricted because groundwater floods it.