Old Cairo and Coptic Cairo

Old Cairo and Coptic Cairo. The History of Old Cairo. Cairo which is the Arab Republic of Egypt is the Capitol and is depicted as the largest City among all the Cities, also positioned as the first on the Arab level in terms of population which is approx.. nine point five Million people which inhabits it’s approx.. five hundred and twenty eight million square meter Area. The City of Cairo holds great importance which is due to the fact that it has a long History and Cultural and civilizational variety, and has seen many Historical Eras come and go. It is settlement to many Mamluks, i.e. Pharaonic , Greek, Roman, Coptic and Islamic. Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo which incorporates the Babylon Fortress, Coptic Museum , Greek Church of St. George and the Hanging Church, and it is also believed to be the Place where the Holy Family Stayed. Locality of the Area around Cairo did not begin near the Present Day City Centre. The original Place of what has become the Modern City now sits on the Southern Outskirts of the City, which is known as Old Cairo. Over two thousand Years ago this was the beginning of an Ancient Canal between the River Nile and the Red Sea, and it was at this calculated location that the first Settlements in the Area grew up. The course of the River which has now changed, lies now several hundred meters to the West, however this location is still pointed by several significant Historic Sites, most of which dates back to the Greco-Roman Period when Egypt became a Christian Nation. The archeological findings depicts that the Settlement on the Site began before the Sixth Century.BCE. In approx.. 525 BCE, a Fortress named Babylon was built here at the Mouth of the Canal, which depicted the boundary between Upper and Lower Egypt. Later the Romans were to build also a much larger Fortress on the same site, which now serves as the Foundation upon which many of the Sites Present here Today were constructed. Striped with Red and White Brick the Meters thick Walls of the Roman Fort are still visible Today, as you leave the Mar Girgis Metro Stop or walk down the Mar Girgis Street into Coptic Cairo.This was the Fort that the invading Muslim Army of Amr Ibn Al-Aas besieged in the First Battle of the Muslim Conquest of Egypt. Today Old Cairo is full of Sites dating from Egypt’s Christian past and the beginning of Islam’s presence in Egypt. Two of the earliest Sites from Islamic Egypt are found here. Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mopsque, the first Mosque constructed on the African Continent, and the Nilometer that was built on Rhoda Island soon after the Muslim Invasion of Egypt. Coptic Cairo. Coptic Cairo is a distinctive Area with Old Cairo that has an abundant amount of Christian Churches and other Sites that date from the Centuries between the fall of the Pharaonic Religion and the arrival of Islam when Egypt held a Christian Majority. Coptic Cairo is largely constructed around the Fort of Babylon upon the remnants of it’s walls. The Coptic Museum which hosts the largest collection of Coptic Chjristian Artworks and Artifacts in the World is also to be found here. Discovered in 1910, the Museum records Coptic History from the beginning of Christianity in Egypt throughout the Ottoman Era, which shows a variety of Artwork influenced by Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman Traditions. In addition there are also six Churches to be found here which dates back to the early Christian Era. The Hanging Church which also bears the name of the Church of the Virgin Mary was constructed in the Nineth Century to hang high upon the Walls of Babylon. The effect of this hanging has now declined enormously as ground levels have risen around the Walls. Further into Coptic Cairo there are several other Older Churches to be found including the Church of St. Sergius, which also dates back from the Fifth Century and was apparantley constructed upon the Site of a Crypt where The Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph took shelter during their time in Egypt. Journeying even further back is the Ben Ezra Synagogue. This is the Oldest Synagogue in Cairo, discovered in the Nineth Century on what is thought to be either the Site of the Temple of Jeremiah or the Site where the Daughter of the Pharaoh discovered Moses among the Reeds.