Hanging Church in Cairo

The city of Cairo has a lot of churches, because the majority religion is Islam, and numerous religious buildings are the mosques. The Church of the Virgin Mary, known as the Hanging Church, is one of the oldest monuments of Egypt and the most visited Coptic Cairo.

This Orthodox Church is called Hanging Church because it is situated on one of the gates of the fortress of Babylon, a Roman fortress. The nave is suspended over the road to the interior. Although early travelers called it the "Church of the Staircase" by having to climb 29 steps to reach it.

The Hanging Church, also known as Al-Muallaqa is probably the first Christian church in Cairo to be built according to the classic lines of the basilica. It is estimated that could be built in 690 or so, although there are references to the existence of a church in this place from the third century.

As we enter the Hanging Church which most attracts our attention are its high white marble columns, between which contrasts a black, made of basalt. In its interior you can admire the beautiful decoration of the nave ceiling and Corinthian capitals of the columns, which give an even more tense construction.

This beautiful church was rebuilt several times, ending the last renovation in 2007, when it was restored to 96% of it. For this reason, today, is in very good platform and hopefully it stays that way for many years. The restoration work consisted in reducing the groundwater level around the fort and the Coptic Museum, adjacent to the church in renewing the lighting and the restoration of the paintings on the walls of the temple.

Read our guide to travel to Cairo and find out more useful information to visit Cairo.