On our final day staying in downtown Cairo, Shae and I took an Uber over to Old Cairo to explore Babylon Fortress. This is a fortress that’s home to several churches, a synagogue, a mosque, a museum and more.
Even more noteworthy, some of the locations are thought to have played an important part in the lives of Jesus, Moses and more. We only had a few hours available to explore the fortress and the buildings contained inside as we had to check out of our hotel that afternoon, but here’s what we got to see during our visit.
1) St Sergius and St Bacchus Church
Our first stop was St Sergius and St Bacchus Church which is also known as both Abu Serga and The Cavern Church. The alleyway leading to the church had a sculpture of Joseph, Mary and Jesus heading in to Egypt.
Construction of the Coptic church is thought to have begun in the 4th century AD. It’s named after St Sergius and St Bacchus who were martyred in the 4th century.
At the entrance of the church there’s a memorial set up for a different saint – St Bashnouna. He was martyred in 1164 AD having been tortured and burned alive for not denying his faith. On April 24, 1990, his bones were found while the church was being restored and so those relics are now on display (albeit wrapped up) as part of the memorial.
It was a beautiful church to wander around and there was even a baptismal font dating back to the 4th century AD still on display.
The reason it’s sometimes known as The Cavern Church is due to its purported history. It’s thought that the church was built on top of where Joseph, Mary and Jesus rested after fleeing to Egypt.
That included a well that they’re thought to have drank water from.
2) Ben Ezra Synagogue
One reason Babylon Fortress is a fascinating location is because it’s not only home to several churches, but also to places of worship for other major world religions. One of those is Ben Ezra Synagogue.
Ben Ezra Synagogue is an important location because it’s believed to be built on the site where the baby Moses was found on the banks of the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter.
3) Saint Barbara Church
Next up was Saint Barbara Church which was also built in the 4th century AD.
The church is named after St Barbara who was murdered by her father after she tried to convert him to Christianity. Her relics and relics of other saints can be found in the church.
4) Grounds of Babylon Fortress
After visiting Saint Barbara Church, Shae and I took a quick wander around some of the grounds inside Babylon Fortress. There were a number of other buildings inside, some of which looked fairly old and others that looked new and/or restored. There weren’t any signs for these buildings though, so I’m not sure if they have any historical importance or if they’re all mausoleums.
5) Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Our next stop was the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is also known as Qasr al-Rayhan.
While several of the places of worship we visited that day seemed to be open mainly for the benefit of tourists, it seemed like the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary is still primarily used as an actual place of worship.
6) Church of St George
One of the largest and most distinctive buildings in Babylon Fortress is the Church of St George.
Unfortunately it’s not the original church on the site. The original building was constructed more than 1,000 years ago, but was destroyed in 1904 by a fire. It was subsequently rebuilt, with its reconstruction being completed in 1909.
The new building was beautiful inside though and had a large domed ceiling.
7) St George Cemetery
After taking a look inside the Church of St George, we then walked through its Greek Orthodox cemetery for a little while.
8) Church of the Virgin Mary
Just to confuse matters, Babylon Fortress is home to both the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (see further up) and the separate Church of the Virgin Mary. Not to mention the fact that the Hanging Church is also known as Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church!
9) The Coptic Museum
Inside Babylon Fortress is the Coptic Museum. We didn’t visit the museum as we were running short on time as we had to head back to our hotel to check out that afternoon, but I wanted to mention the museum in case you want to build in time to spend some time there too.
10) The Hanging Church
One of our final stops was The Hanging Church. It’s one of the oldest churches in all of Egypt, dating back to at least the 7th century AD, but possibly even earlier than that.
We didn’t spend too much time exploring the church as there was a large school group receiving a presentation inside. There were some lovely, intricate designs though and it was another beautiful church inside the fortress.
11) Mosque of Amr ibn al-As
Our final stop was a few minutes walk up the road – the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As. It was built in the 7th century AD and was the first mosque to be built in Egypt. It’s named after Amr ibn al-As who introduced Islam to Egypt.
We didn’t get to look around inside as we weren’t dressed appropriately (we were both in shorts and t-shirts), so after taking a couple of quick photos outside, we took an Uber back to our hotel.
Final Thoughts
If you visit Cairo in the future and have a spare few hours, we’d highly recommend visiting Old Cairo and spending some time exploring Babylon Fortress. There are many places of worship with significant historical importance, so I’m glad we had a chance to visit them.
Check Out All The Posts From Our Dubai/Egypt/Jordan Trip
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[…] staying in downtown Cairo, we headed over to Babylon Fortress in Old Cairo. This is home to many Coptic churches, a synagogue and more. The basement below one of the churches […]