Coptic textiles
Art of Christian Egypt.
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It holds the largest collection of Coptic antiquities in the world, in the heart of Old Cairo within the walls of the Roman fortress of Babylon. Marcus Simaika Pasha founded it in 1908 and it opened in 1910, its facade modelled on that of the Fatimid al-Aqmar Mosque. Its galleries show Egypt in the Christian era, from the early centuries AD into Islamic times: colourful Coptic textiles, icons, manuscripts, stone and wood carvings, metalwork and wall paintings moved from old monasteries. Among its best-known holdings are the ancient Nag Hammadi manuscripts. The building itself is lovely, with carved wooden ceilings, mashrabiya screens and a quiet garden, reflecting how Coptic and Islamic art blended in Egypt. A foreign visitor's ticket costs about two hundred and eighty Egyptian pounds, and it opens from nine to five. It stands in the Religions Complex beside the Hanging Church and close to the Amr ibn al-As Mosque, so take them in on one walk around Old Cairo.
Art of Christian Egypt.
Rare ancient texts.
A lovely building and garden.
Religions Complex, Old Cairo, near Mar Girgis metro station
Ben Ezra SynagogueThe oldest synagogue in Cairo, in the Religions Complex of Old Cairo among the C1 minute walk4.3
Hanging ChurchThe best known of Egypt's Coptic churches, called hanging because it was built o1 minute walk4.8
Church of Abu Serga (Saints Sergius and Bacchus)One of the oldest churches in Egypt, the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, k1 minute walk4.6
Church of St George (Coptic Cairo)The Church of St George is a Greek Orthodox church inside the Babylon Fortress i1 minute walk
NilometerAn octagonal well sunk at the tip of Rhoda Island, with a graduated marble colum7 minutes walk4.3The Hanging Church and the Babylon fortress in the same complex, the Amr ibn al-As Mosque a few minutes away, and the nearby National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.