The church of the Virgin Mary has become known as the hanging church because it was built on top of a 4th century BC on the southern wall of a Roman fortress of Babylon. The church is also referred to as the suspended church or the Staircase Church or Al-Moallaqa as its nave is suspended over the passage. The church dates back to the 5th century AD and from the 7th century to the 13th century AD, it served as the residence of the Coptic patriarch where it witnessed many historically decisive events like general elections and religious ceremonies, which makes it one of the oldest and important Christian landmarks in Egypt.
The initial construction of the hanging church was built using logs of palm trees and layers of stones above the ruins of the ancient Roman fortress and also contains a wooden roof in the shape of Noah’s ark. It is designed in a basilican style of architecture. The hanging church is currently 30 ft above the ground resting on 15 gracile columns which made it tower all of its surroundings back in the day. The hanging church was changed and enlarged over the years. The main entrance of the church contains iron gates under a pointed stone arch and two twin bell towers that can be seen beyond a narrow courtyard decorated with artistic biblical designs.
The hanging church contains 110 marvelous icons representing the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, St Peters, and many archangels like Gabriel and Michael, and the oldest icon dates back to the 8th century. The main altar is made of ebony inlaid with ivory and decorated in craved Coptic cross designs that date back to the 12th or 13th centuries. The entire interior of the church is covered with bone and ivory inlaid designs that are heavily influenced by the geometric designs of Islamic art.
For all these reasons alone, this church is indeed the most beautiful of all and every traveler shouldn’t miss such an attraction during their holiday in Egypt. If you are in Cairo and prefer to visit the hanging church, then our Egypt holiday private tours from UK are your best choice to explore everything Egypt has to offer in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and Aswan.
Private 4 Days Cairo Tour Packages for British Travelers 4 days Cairo Egypt Tour package will shed ligh...
5 Days Cairo and Alexandria Tour Package For British Travelers 5 days Cairo and Alexandria tour package ...
6 Days Cairo, Luxor & Aswan Tour Package For British Travelers 6 days Cairo, Luxor & Aswan tour ...
Amazing 7 Days Cairo and Hurghada Holiday for British Travelers 7 Days Cairo & Hurghada tour package...
Egypt Tours Portal prides itself on being the best travel agency in Egypt as proven by our numerous positive reviews.
This review is a late, but I had to provide some feedback. My brother and I went on vacation in October 2022 and booked with Egypt Tours Portal. With on-line sc...Read More
My fiancé and I booked a private 5 day tour of Egypt with ETP starting in Cairo followed by Aswan, Abu Simbel and Luxor. We just got home and continue to talk ...Read More
This was the trip of a lifetime that I was able to have with my eldest son - an absolutely amazing experience. To be able to actually see the places and artifac...Read More
Highly recommend this tour company!!! Our guides, Moses, Mahmoud, Magred and Mohamed were exceptional, their knowledge of the history is more that accurate, the...Read More
Egypt Tours Portal is an excellent company to use to arrange your visit to Egypt. They work with phenomenal guides (we had Mahmoud Nour in Upper Egypt and Mohse...Read More
It was an absolutely amazing trip where we saw some of the most historical and beautiful sights in Egypt. Our tour guide Mohamed Elshemei was extremely knowledg...Read More