Tour Coptic Cairo

Leave your Cairo or Giza hotel by minivan and start your 3-hour tour. If you have any particular areas of interest, let your private guide know. Your commentary and itinerary can be tailored to your wishes. Head into Coptic Cairo, an area also known as Old Cairo. This colorful quarter is the original home of the Coptic Christians, one of the world’s oldest Christian denominations. Stop to see the Hanging Church, aka St Virgin Mary’s Church. Built in the 7th century, this old church takes its name from its location: sited above a gateway in the old Roman fortress. Admire the courtyard and interiorwith its screens, marble pulpit and icons, and hear about its long history. Next, after a visit to the Monastery and Church of St George, an early 20th-century church that is the only round church in Egypt, call at Abu Serga, a 5th-century Coptic church. View the 24 interior columns and 12th-century icons on the walls, and learn how the church stands where the holy family is thought to have stayed during their flight into Egypt from Israel’s King Herod. Then, take a look at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, once a Christian church, before finishing your tour at the Coptic Museum, located in one of Coptic Cairo’s oldest areas. See some of the 16,000 ancient artifacts on display, including precious icons and books that illustrate the history of Egypt’s Coptic community. Before your tour ends, take the opportunity to visit a papyrus institute to see artisans paint on this natural material, and perhaps purchase some artworks. Your 3-hour tour then ends with a hotel drop-off.