Old Cairo and dinner in Ma'adi

The plan for today was to visit old Cairo. Getting there was easy, as it’s reachable by metro (which works quite well – and quickly, compared to any means of transport which uses the congested roads).

Old Cairo is, as the name implies, the oldest part of modern Cairo. Apparently there was a settlement here dating to the 6th century BC, upon which the Romans built a fortress called Babylon-in-Egypt, during the 2nd century AD. This part of Cairo is (and was even more so in olden days) actually a bit of Christian stronghold, and is also called Coptic Cairo (Christians in Egypt are called Copts – which is derived from the Greek word for Egypt). Presently there are five churches in Coptic Cairo (at one time there were 20 – quite a lot for an area of less than 1 square kilometre).



We started our exploration by visiting the church of St. Mary – also known as the Hanging Church (since it was built on top of the water gate of the fortress of Babylon). It was very pretty indeed – rather different from European churches (unsurprisingly, most similar to Orthodox churches). It was also very busy, as there was a mass in progress. After visiting the Coptic Museum (very fascinating – I learnt for example that Egypt was the first country in the world to accept Christianity and also that the oldest monasteries can be found in Egypt).



We then proceeded to visit the main old Coptic Cairo, with its winding, narrow lanes (very similar to Jerusalem, apparently). Quite fascinating, and again, very different from the other parts of Cairo we had seen. Pity about all the tourists and trinket salesmen… We visited some more churches (including St. Sergus, which was apparently built on the spot where the Holy Family rested after fleeing King Herod), as well as the oldest Synagogue in Egypt (Ben Ezra – dating back to the 9th century).



In the evening, we headed down to Ma’adi again to meet up with Pablo and Olga (as well as Olga’s brother’s family, who were also visiting). We went for a very nice meal to a local Egyptian restaurant – with very nice interiors and great food (for a very reasonable price). I must admit it was the first really nice Egyptian meal so far. After the meal I shared a Sheesha (water pipe) with Olga (made me feel totally Egyptian, honest!).