Saint Simon Monastery - Cairo
The Monastery of Saint Simon is also known as the Cave Church. It is located in the Mokattam mountain in southeastern Cairo in a area called Zabbaleen. The Zabbaleen translates as the “Garbage People” which refers to the Chrisitian minority who live in the area and collect garbage.
The area around the church was much cleaner as compared to the Zabbaleen which I had to pass through in order to reach there. This Coptic church was established in 1975 beside the Mokattam Hill later two additions were made in order to enlarge it. The Monastery of Saint Simon is named after the Coptic Saint, Simon the Tanner, who lived in Egypt at the end of the 10th century.
This is the largest church in Egypt, apart from the religious gatherings, this church is also famous among tourists for it’s beautiful engravings made in the hill. On the face of the Mokattam Hill, a series of religious art work is created by many international artists.
To the left of the building stairs are created which bring visitors to the bottom of the St. Simon’s Cave Church. This Cave Church has a beautiful amphitheater which can hold up to 20,000 people.
