The rock cathedral
A stone amphitheatre under an overhang.
Mmmmmm mai — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Виктор Пинчук — CC BY 4.0 · Виктор Пинчук — CC BY 4.0 · Mohammedghorayeb — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mohamedsamir1994 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Cave Church, formally the Monastery of St Simon the Tanner, is a group of Coptic Orthodox churches cut into the Mokattam cliffs in Cairo, above Manshiyat Naser, the district of the Zabbaleen, the city's informal rubbish collectors. It holds six churches. The largest, the Cathedral of the Virgin and St Simon, can take about 20,000 people and is counted as Egypt's largest church. Carving began in the 1970s inside a cave in the hillside, and the churches grew with the Coptic community living below. They take their name from St Simon the Tanner, a Coptic cobbler whom church tradition links to the miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain in the 10th century, in the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Muizz. The story is a religious tradition handed down among Copts. In the cathedral, stone benches curve like an open amphitheatre beneath a huge overhang of rock, all facing the sanctuary. Around the complex, 76 images carved in relief on the rock walls show scenes from the Bible. Smaller churches lie along paths and open terraces in the hillside. The church lies 1.5 km east of the Citadel in a straight line. The road climbs between Manshiyat Naser's waste-sorting workshops, so a taxi or guide is the easiest way in. This is where people live and work, so ask before photographing them. Allow about an hour and avoid services.
A stone amphitheatre under an overhang.
76 images cut into the hillside.
Five more churches in the hill.
Manshiyat Naser, foot of the Mokattam hills, Cairo
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Yes. Visitors are generally welcome outside services, in modest dress and keeping quiet inside the churches.