Babylon Fortress
Babylon Fortress
Babylon Fortress (Mar Girgis Metro Station, Cairo) — As you leave the Metro station, you arrive at the twin towers of the western gate of the fortress of Babylon Fortress, Coptic Museum & Hanging Church, built by the Roman emperor Trajan (98-117 CE). These towers were built on what were the banks of the Nile at that time. The Orthodox Church of St. George stands on top of the left-hand tower. Along from the towers, the Coptic Museum houses an extensive collection of Coptic art and artifacts, as well as secular items, collected from old churches and houses. There is much to admire here—old icons, textiles and manuscripts; so it will take a few hours to fully peruse the collection. If you enter the grounds of the Coptic Museum, you can walk through the gates and see the old gatehouse under the Hanging Church.
The Al-Muallaka (Hanging) Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is so named as it is suspended above the gatehouse. It was founded in the late 7th Century. Destroyed 200 years later, it was rebuilt and eventually became the center of the Coptic Patriarchate. Over the years the structure has seen several renovations, and though the Patriarchate has moved, Coptic Masses are still held in the sanctuary. Often, members of the Coptic community are present and offer free in-depth tours of the church.