A Roman fortress, a hanging church, a synagogue and a crypt, all within about four hundred metres.
Old Cairo predates Islamic Cairo by centuries and sits inside the walls of Babylon, a Roman fortress whose round towers are still standing beside the metro station.
The Hanging Church is the one everybody comes for, and the name is literal: it is built on top of a Roman gatehouse, with sections of glass floor showing the drop beneath. Parts date to the seventh century. The interior is dark wood and inlaid ivory, and it is a working church, so services take precedence over visitors.
Abu Serga, a few steps away, claims a crypt where the Holy Family sheltered during the flight into Egypt. Whether or not you take that literally, the crypt itself is very old and the claim has drawn pilgrims for something like fifteen hundred years.
The Hanging Church is the one everybody comes for, and the name is literal: it is built on top of a Roman gatehouse, with sections of glass floor showing the drop beneath.
Ben Ezra Synagogue closes the walk. Its storeroom held the Cairo Geniza — around 400,000 discarded medieval manuscripts, preserved because Jewish law forbids destroying texts containing God's name. It is one of the richest sources on medieval Mediterranean life that exists anywhere.
