Amazing Cave Churches Carved Out of Solid Rock | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 0 (Part 4)

Middle East’s Largest Church - Saint Simon Church (also called the Cave Church), Cairo, Egypt

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

I arrived in the early morning at the Oasis Hotel, so I had the afternoon and full evening free on my first day (Day 0) in Cairo. The tour guide suggested a few tours, and I picked visiting the Winter and Summer Churches located on the outskirts of Cairo.

The Monastery of Saint Simon is located in the Mokattam Mountain. To visit this historic area, you have to go through Garbage City, home of the famous Zabbaleen. The residents here are Coptic Christians who collect, sort, and recycle garbage of Cairo, all done by hand—no machines. The way this community does all the work manually is an incredible story in itself.

There are seven churches and chapels hidden inside the Monastery of St. Simon the Tame, all within a series of caves. The Virgin Mary and St. Simon Cathedral is the largest church in the Middle East with a seating capacity of 20,000 in the amphitheater.

The Cave Church of St. Simon is literally carved out of the solid rock of the stone mountain. The cave church is really a natural grotto, also known as the summer church. There is another underground 'winter' church as well.

Inside the church, you will find beautiful engravings covering the walls, representing stories from the Bible. The whole area has lots of engravings and artworks on the walls, on the mountains, statues, paintings, and carvings and all over.

Some other cave churches carved out of the rock are St. Bola’s Church, St. Marks Church, and St. Simon the Tanner’s Hall.

In recent days, there was another Church discovered underground. The Church (now known as the Burnt Church) got burnt, possibly from electricity. However, the picture of Jesus Christ did not burn. I saw the signs of smoke and fire on the frame, but miraculously the picture got saved without any significant damage.

The whole area was historic and felt like going back in time, especially the engravings on the walls telling various events from the Bible that occurred in Egypt.

There were lots of visitors, both local and foreigners, in that area. The security presence was noticeable. After seeing so many historic places in one area, I got tired and our team wanted to go for a restaurant or café to relax a little bit.