Coptic Cairo: Address, Coptic Cairo Reviews: 4.5/5
Coptic Cairo
Coptic Cairo
4.5
Neighbourhoods • Points of Interest & Landmarks • Historic Walking Areas
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Once known as the Roman stronghold of Babylon, Cairo’s oldest section is the ancient heart of the Coptic Christian community featuring five original churches, the first mosque built in Egypt and the oldest synagogue, all representing three of the major world religions.
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Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Coptic Cairo
The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
1,148 within 5 kms
Andrea Manasterly & Nile Peking Boat
3
0.4 km$$ - $$$ • American • Deli • Diner
HanaDays Kitchen
2
0.4 kmMediterranean • Healthy • Middle Eastern • Soups
O Sole Mio
4
0.5 km$$ - $$$ • Italian
Fish Boat Abouzeid
41
0.5 km$$ - $$$ • Egyptian
El Mostafa Pastry
1
0.6 km
900 Degrees
23
0.8 km$$ - $$$ • Italian • Pizza • European
Marrakech
5
0.8 kmMoroccan • Mediterranean
Kababgy Abou Tarek
2
0.8 km
Attia Egyptian Street Food
0.5 km$ • Mediterranean • Egyptian
Clef Musical Cafe
2
0.9 km
Attractions
168 within 10 kms
Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George (Mari Girgis)
222
39 mReligious Sites
The Coptic Museum
320
56 mArt Museums
Hanging Church (El Muallaqa, Sitt Mariam, St Mary)
783
0.1 kmArchitectural Buildings • Religious Sites
Synagogue Ben Ezra
217
92 mHistoric Sites • Religious Sites
Fort of Babylon
53
84 mHistoric Sites
St. Mercurius Church (Abu Seifien)
11
62 mHistoric Sites • Religious Sites
Souk al Fustat
11
0.2 kmFlea & Street Markets
Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-As
136
0.5 kmReligious Sites
Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus
161
0.8 kmChurches & Cathedrals
Nilometer
102
0.5 kmDams
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Popular mentions
4.5
2,044 reviews
Excellent
1,288
Very good
581
Average
144
Poor
18
Terrible
13
clarae
London, UK19 contributions
Mar. 2022
Well worth a visit, to wander around and stumble across various churches eg the one which includes the cave where holy family rested! All highly evocative of an old religion, seemingly little changed.
Written 19 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mike BR
Haddington, UK7,218 contributions
Mar. 2022
Both the Coptic Church and Museum were not on our 'Must See' list, but we were so glad we were taken as both were fascinating and interesting.
Written 6 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Traveller of the world
1,116 contributions
Mar. 2022 • Solo
This is a lovely part of Cairo. Like a different world away from the chaotic roads nearby! I would say to take a guide as you will miss a lot of the history and important attractions which are 'dotted' around. A good idea is to do a half day guided tour. Very interesting and we learnt a lot.
Written 29 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Miles Archer
Boca Raton, FL7,172 contributions
Feb. 2022 • Solo
Lots of religious history here including about the Coptic Christians, of which I knew almost nothing. I bought a book in English that explained their history. I did some reading from the book when I got back to my hotel room. Don't miss this site.
Written 27 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
982pradipb
Navi Mumbai, India409 contributions
Feb. 2022
It is a lovely area of the Cairo City where the Coptic Christians live for thousands of years. It houses churches where Jesus Christ along with his mother stayed for sometime. The area oozes history . The area has narrow alleys with book and souvenir shops for visitors .
Written 23 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
PavelKram
Prague, Czech Republic22 contributions
Feb. 2022 • Family
Hanging church, Babylon fortress and Mar Girgius church are places worth to visit. Synagogue Ben Ezra is closed due to reconstruction. Our guide Mahmoud +20 122 8232071 provided us with many interesting background details about Coptic and Christian.
Written 8 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
IrishAudity
New Cairo City, Egypt292 contributions
Nov. 2021
Must see when in Cairo. Our guide told us it is the oldest part of Cairo. A lot of fascinating churches, buildings and history.
Written 4 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Nick P
Staten Island, NY292 contributions
Jan. 2022
I went into this experience skeptical because I am not very religious anymore. But with the help of our guide I was able to understand a lot more about the significance of the neighborhood. You need a good guide (not guidebook) to advise what you need to understand. Truly loved walking the alleyways seeing the street book vendors. They led to the Hanging Church and the Cavern Church, which are brilliant. Look inside, sit and meditate. Ben Ezra synagogue was closed for renovations when we were there and our guide did not bring us to other churches, though I wish we had time.I was inspired.
Written 31 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
ravichandra108
Hyderabad District, India236 contributions
Nov. 2021
This area is conveniently reachable via the Metro (Mar Girgis station). The St. Sergius and St. Bacchus church is built over the underground chamber where the Holy Family is believed to have lived in Egypt.
Written 25 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
podrozniczka60
New Jersey14,334 contributions
Dec. 2021 • Family
Fascinating part of Cairo. Coptic language is basically as close as linguistically possible to the old Egyptian language before the Arabic influence. It uses not the hieroglyphs but the Greek alphabet. It is used in Coptic liturgy. It also helped Jean-Francois Champollion decipher the ancient hieroglyphs.
Visiting the Coptic Cairo is mostly a walking tour featuring the old Coptic churches and the museum.
Do not miss the 5th century Abu Serba where you can decent to the cave that had sheltered the Holy Family during their flight to the Egypt . Another interesting objective of the tour is exploration of the “hanging church” from 7th century.
During the walk you will see many interesting icons, walk by many bookineers and decent to the lower levels of the ancient Cairo.
Visiting the Coptic Cairo is mostly a walking tour featuring the old Coptic churches and the museum.
Do not miss the 5th century Abu Serba where you can decent to the cave that had sheltered the Holy Family during their flight to the Egypt . Another interesting objective of the tour is exploration of the “hanging church” from 7th century.
During the walk you will see many interesting icons, walk by many bookineers and decent to the lower levels of the ancient Cairo.
Written 11 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Hello. My name is Amr, a local guide, and I have a car. I can go anywhere in Egypt and organize the days and places of the visit for you, Alexandria, Cairo, Giza, the desert, the pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, Dahshur, the Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Ancient Civilization. . The old church, Memphis Museum, Salah El-Din Citadel or Muhammad Ali Mosque, Old Cairo, Ibn Tulun Mosque, Amr Ibn Al-Aas, There is also a pick-up service at the airport. boarding a large boat wandering the Nile River with a meal and watching the artistic performances in the boat, and visiting any place in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and anywhere In Egypt, there is also camping in the desert, entering the desert in a 4x4 vehicle, as well as climbing sandy mountains by car, skiing on sand and swimming in a lake within the desert and waterfalls. And visit nature reserves inside the desert so that you can see my Facebook page, and I will send you photos of places and any other details you want as well. I will make you try Egyptian food, grills and Egyptian sweets and try everything and I will also protect you from exploiting the sellers when buying anything to get the cheapest prices. I will accompany you in all places and make you live an unforgettable travel experience with me. This is the name of the Facebook page / Step by step for tourism
RICARDO M
21 contributions
Onde consigo saber os horários das missas ?
Viagens pelo mundo ... descobertas ✈️❤️
Sao Paulo, SP685 contributions
As missas acontecem aos domingos das 07:30 às 10:00 hs
Quarta feira das 06:00 às 08:00 hs
Sexta feira das 07:30 às 10:30 hs
Sábado das 07:00 às 09:00 hs
jaykayjaykay
Walla Walla, WA107 contributions
How long did you spend (or would you recommend spending) exploring around the churches and museum here?
LaithEM
Amman, Jordan81 contributions
We were visiting the place as a family of five with a 6yo and two teenagers so we took our time to visit all churches and attractions and that was for about three hours. We followed that by visiting the handicrafts center and a short walk to Amr Ibn Al-Ass Mosque. So we arrived there at around 10 and we left the area by 4pm
Kees H
Cairo, Egypt26 contributions
I saw your response to my description of Old Cairo. I think what you wrote is fair. If someone is interested in seeing old churches and understanding something of the history of Christian Egypt than Old Cairo is an excellent place to go to but if the interest for this is not there one should not go but that applies to all locations one visits, religious or non-religious. Wishing you all the best.
Bari U
Washington DC, DC35 contributions
I agree with you. Best wishes.
irislover04
Denver, CO35 contributions
Did you use a tour company? If so which one.
Thanks, Laura
Annette T
Adelaide, Australia16 contributions
Laura we used Private Guide Ayman Ahmed. You can look him up on facebook or through Trip Advisor. I highly recommend him. He is professional, polite, punctual, speaks English, has amazing knowledge of Egypt and Egyptology and caters to your needs. We were only in cairo 4 days and covered so much. He has "special" access to several sites and pyramids and makes suggestions to maximise your visit. If you would like more information I will gladly supply more.....Well worth booking Ayman. :)
Elmartinez00
Toluca, Mexico734 contributions
Que posibilidades hay y en caso donde encontrar arte religioso (cristiano:catolico)
Ivan P
Mexico City, Mexico19 contributions
Hola! mira en este barrio el Copto hay un par de tiendas, pero en la mayoría venden cosas egipcias, es decir artesanías propias de la cultura, faraones en miniaturas, pirámides, etc. lo que encuentras en la mayoría de los bazares.
Pero si encontrarás algunos locales donde venden cosas católicas. Es un barrio pequeño, y como está amurallado no hay pierde que no veas los locales. Al entrar al sitio, antes de la parte amurallada encontrarás un par de tiendas y restaurantes, aquí nosotros vimos un par de tienditas donde vendían arte religioso católico, dentro igual, ojalá y encuentres lo que específicamente buscas.
Lo que es un hecho es que en ninguna otra parte de la ciudad es probable que encuentres más arte religioso católico porque es una ciudad completamente musulmana.
Cada vez que recuerdo mi visita en estos lugares me emociono, si vas a ir a Egipto será el viaje de tu vida. Saludos
Elmartinez00
Toluca, Mexico734 contributions
Cual es la posibilidad de conseguir una biblia en árabe egipcio
Victoria M
Paris, France416 contributions
Hola, supongo que en la Mezquita de Alabastro tendrán. Suerte
quanto è distante da piazza tahrir(non trovo indicazioni)?
Michele D
43 contributions
Trova una metro e scendi a Mar Girgis
Frequently Asked Questions about Coptic Cairo
- We recommend booking Coptic Cairo tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 801 Coptic Cairo tours on Tripadvisor
- According to Tripadvisor travellers, these are the best ways to experience Coptic Cairo:
- Half-day Tour in Churches of Cairo (From AU$50.80)
- Private Islamic and Christian Cairo Day Tour (From AU$28.22)
- Half-Day Private Guided Tour of Coptic Cairo with Lunch (From AU$35.28)
- Private Tour of Coptic Cairo Including Saint Simon Church in Moqqatam (From AU$60.54)
- Tour To Citadel And Coptic And Islamic Cairo (From AU$33.56)
- Hotels near Coptic Cairo:
- (3.59 km) Kempinski Nile Hotel Garden City Cairo
- (2.35 km) Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence
- (4.79 km) Freedom Hostel
- (3.60 km) Safir Hotel Cairo
- (3.63 km) Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah
- Restaurants near Coptic Cairo:
- (0.37 km) HanaDays Kitchen
- (0.42 km) Andrea Manasterly & Nile Peking Boat
- (0.46 km) O Sole Mio
- (2.30 km) Xodo
- (2.32 km) Nairu Restaurant and Lounge
- Attractions near Coptic Cairo:
- (0.04 km) Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George (Mari Girgis)
- (0.06 km) The Coptic Museum
- (0.13 km) Hanging Church (El Muallaqa, Sitt Mariam, St Mary)
- (0.09 km) Synagogue Ben Ezra
- (0.08 km) Fort of Babylon