Cairo: Old Coptic Church and Monastery St Simon Cave Church Visit
4.8
42 Ratings
Cairo

Embark on a private tour to the El Mokattam Mountain Cave Church, also known as the Monastery of St Simon, along with an exploration of the splendid churches in Coptic Cairo. This journey covers key Christian landmarks in Cairo, including the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, the Church of Saint Barbara, and the Suspended Church.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Coptic Cairo - our guide will pick you up from your hotel in cairo or giza then by private car transfer to visit Coptic old Cairo city , first start with Babylon fortress 98 B.C. by roman emperor Trajan then visit the hanging church which date back to 3rd century and was built on the 2 tower remain from babylon fortress then going to visit the holy crypt church as we believed the holy family stayed their for three month then visit the Jewish community to visit ben ezra synagogue and your guide will explain about Jewish history and their coming to Egypt and prophet Moses

  • Cave Church - Formally known as St. Simon the Tanner Monastery, Cairo’s vast Cave Church pays tribute to a miracle St. Simon (also written St. Samaan or St. Simeon) is believed to have performed. The city’s Coptic Orthodox Christian garbage collectors (Zabbaleen) dug the church out of the Mokattam mountain during the 1970s.

What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Private tour
  • Bottled water included
  • No hidden fees – all taxes and charges included
  • Comfortable transport by private vehicle
  • Expert guidance from a qualified Egyptologist
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • 6th october city , nasr city , new settlemnt ,airprot and it is surrounding 30 usd extra
Additional Information
  • Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
Location
Coptic Cairo
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(42 Ratings)
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Patrick_o
Jun 10, 2024
Crazy Cairo Streets! - Doaa was a fantastic guide and really informative. She took us all around and explained everything in detail and even helped in some negotiating when we wanted to make a couple of purchases. Our driver was also fantastic and navigated us thru some of the worst traffic I have ever seen with ease. 10/10 would definitely book again!
Review provided by Viator
Roving16760262864
Jun 10, 2024
Highly recommend! - Fantastic guide Ehab!! Punctual, informative, and gracious. Wonderful religious sites, and wonderfully explained.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Resort05304306049
May 5, 2024
Cairo Copic Journey - THE Egypt religious cultural heritage experience was amazing. A lot to learn and see besides Pyramids. Our Tour guide Adoo and driver were great. Patient, knowledgeable. Plus we took amazing pics , memories I won't forget.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ameliam135
Mar 29, 2024
Unique experience seeing how Christianity thrives around the world - Very good experience with Mohammed, our tour guide. The drive through the Rubbish city to St Simon church is a stark contrasted experience. You almost don’t expect to find a 20000 auditorium at the top of the hill. Hanging church was very crowded but Mohammed helped us navigate it well! Highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Minakos375
Mar 29, 2024
Something different - We inadvertently picked a busy day, Easter Friday, to visit historical churches etc. but our guide Ibrahim was knowledgeable and good at keeping the pace. Our driver got us through amazing Garbage City alleyways safely. A satisfactory morning tour for us. Thank you guys.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maureen_g
Feb 26, 2024
Old Cairo and Coptic Churches - Hesham Egypt did a good job setting us up with our Guide Marcil and Driver Samir. Marcil was very well studied and patient with all our questions. She took the time to explain all the sites in Old Cairo and the Coptic churches and to ensure we understood the significance of the sites. Marcil made us feel like family. Our driver Samir was very safe and very personable as well. I would recommend asking for Marcil and Samir by name! This tour is a must for any Christian visiting Cairo.
Review provided by Viator
Curious116685
Feb 13, 2024
Extraordinary insights into Coptic Egypt - a Must Visit! - This review is meaningless without Bisho, our guide Bisho is no like other - you know you are in the hands of someone who loves his country to no end, someone who loves the Coptic traditions, someone who doesn't shy away from explaining the good and the bad, and someone who refuses to be anything but real - and it shows in his every action. In the mind of the listener, Bisho creates an overwhelming empathy for the subject, so much so that you can't remain unaffected after the tour. This tour is incomplete without Bisho. The tour per se, was conducted on time, Coptic locations were covered as indicated on Viator, and nothing was found amiss - expectations versus delivery, and is an absolute must-visit tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Loveluxurytravel2015
Feb 7, 2024
Great tour with an exceptional guide - This is a great tour. It rounded out all the highlights on our final day in Cairo. Our tour started with pick-up in a comfortable car and introduction to the history/context of Egypt on the way to our first destination. Karim, our guide is a passionate and knowledgeable Egyptologist. He brought history to life with detailed explanation and timeline of events. If I was the tour guide, I would not be able to muster the level of passion, enthusiasm, and patience that Karim showed through out the tour. The last stop after the Hanging Church complex was the Cave Church. Many are discouraged because of the drive through the “garbage city” on the way. We found the drive interesting and gave us a perspective on handling of garbage in a metropolis like Cairo. The Cave Church is nothing like I have seen before! Again, Karim explained the backstory of St. Simon which enhanced our experience of the place. We highly recommend this tour and Karim as your guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katelynj801
Jan 22, 2024
Awesome! - My guide, Ehab , was super informed about all the things and able to speak to them well, he had facts for basically everywhere we went. And it’s clear he is well connected to all these areas, and respected there and so passing me on to other guides was very normal for him. My driver, Moaz, was very hospitable as well. I really enjoyed the views and learning about these areas. It was a great tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yasmin_m
Jan 13, 2024
Amazing sites but terrible Spanish guide & manager (Sitios increíbles, pero una guía de español terrible) - I wanted to share our experience with the tour arranged by tour manager, Hehsam who booked it with spanish guide, Haizam. Unfortunately, the tour did not meet our expectations due to a few issues…the tour experience was definitely not worth the £100 spent. Our guide seemed disinterested and barely explained anything. Instead of providing insightful information, he spent most of the time waiting for us. When questioned, he gave brief, unhelpful answers, and it felt like there was a language barrier, despite occasionally speaking with him in English hoping it would improve the experience if the language barrier was the issue but it made no difference… This experience was particularly disheartening as we observed nearby tours with guides providing excellent descriptions in Spanish. I shared my feedback with Hesham who was rude and just kept saying he cannot honour a partial refund because he already paid the guide then blocked me when I explained I would be leaving an honest review. Do not book this tour unless you are willing to risk the possibility of disappointment. It is better to book directly with a guide who you can meet during your visit to these historical sites. Quería compartir nuestra experiencia con el tour organizado por Hehsam, quien lo reservó con el guía español, Haizam. Desafortunadamente, el recorrido no cumplió con nuestras expectativas debido a algunos problemas... la experiencia del recorrido definitivamente no valió la pena los £100 gastados. Nuestro guía parecía desinteresado y apenas explicó nada, pasó la mayor parte del tiempo esperándonos. Cuando se le preguntó, dio respuestas breves e inútiles, y sintió que había una barrera del idioma, a pesar de hablar ocasionalmente con él en inglés con la esperanza de que mejorara la experiencia si la barrera del idioma era el problema, pero no hizo ninguna diferencia... Esta experiencia fue particularmente desalentadora, ya que observamos recorridos cercanos con guías que proporcionaban excelentes descripciones en español. Compartí mis comentarios con Hesham, quien fue grosero y siguió diciendo que no puede cumplir con un reembolso parcial porque ya pagó la guía y luego me bloqueó cuando le expliqué que dejaría una critica honesta. No reserve este tour a menos que esté dispuesto a arriesgarse a la posibilidad de sufrir una decepción. Es mejor reservar directamente con un guía que pueda conocer durante su visita a estos sitios históricos.
Review provided by Viator
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1 Adult
June 2024
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