The Cave Church — Attraction in Cairo

The Cave Church is an incredible site that, while slightly unusual, I would recommend to any visitor coming to Cairo.

Also known as Monastery of Saint Simon the Tanner, the site is the largest church in the Middle East and the largest cave church in the world. Impressively,the church has been progressively carved and dug out of the cliff face itself by the local community since the 1970s, now with the main church having a total capacity of over 20,000.

To reach the church one must travel through Cairos famous ‘Garbage City’. This is essentially a suburb of the city of Cairo serving as a makeshift recycling/garbage treatment plant. The journey up the hill to the church was as impactful as it is fascinating and while yes going through Garbage City is the only way up to the church (a common question asked by visitors) it is a common tourist location which local guides are generally happy to visit.

Visiting the church was truly unforgettable and a nice change from typical tourist activities in Egypt (temples, temples and more temples), there were some amazing carvings on the cliff walls, the two cave churches both had an amazing sense of space and for those interested there is also a flying fox.

When I visited there was a roaming guide offering English tours in English shared a bit about the history of the church. Afterwards he accepted either personal donations or donations to the continued work...

The highlight of my recent visit to Cairo. For someone who is always interested in local life rather than a place being a tourist attraction, I thoroughly loved visiting The Cave Churches. There are three churches on site. I didn’t get to see the third church which was closed and we were also running out of time. Yes, touring around the churches is free even with a guide but you are welcome to make a donation. Warm welcome here. As mentioned by others, transportation can be tricky. We got there with Uber after a visit to the citadel which is literally opposite garbage city. The driver wanted to charge a fair bit of money to wait for us, putting fear into us that we wouldn’t make it back. We declined his offer. He was cunning as you unfortunately find with several drivers especially when they realise you are a tourist, quoting you prices in dollars. We walked out of the complex and took a Tuktuk to the bottom of the hill through garbage city to the main road then took an Uber to our next destination. Garbage City was an experience. This is their home and livelihood. The Cave Churches exist to serve this community and beyond. Let’s hope that one day Garbage city would be more cleaner and safer (health wise)for the communities that live there. There is a cafe on site. Prices are the same as local shops so very competitive. Definitely...

Cave Church, officially named Saint Simon the Tanner Monastery, is located in the Garbage City area of Mokattam Mountain and is one of the largest Coptic churches in Egypt. Built in the 1970s, it utilizes a natural cave in the cliff and can accommodate over 20,000 people, making it the largest open-air church in the Middle East. The church is named after the 9th-century Coptic saint Simon, who is celebrated for the miracle of moving mountains.

The Cave Church is renowned for its spectacular carved artwork, with stone walls intricately depicting numerous biblical scenes. Serving as the spiritual center for the Zabbaleen community, a Christian group living in the Garbage City, the church functions not only as a place of worship but also as a hub for cultural activities, bringing spiritual comfort and artistic light to this impoverished area.

A small story about Saint Simon the Tanner: In the 10th century, the Egyptian caliph demanded that Christians move Mokattam Mountain by faith or face persecution. The patriarch received a vision of the Virgin Mary in a dream and found a humble shoemaker, Saint Simon, to help accomplish the task. Simon and the Christian community prayed together, and miraculously, the mountain moved a distance, saving the Christian...