Home Excursions Daily Tours Cave Church and El Moaaz street

Cave church that is the famous name of the Monastery of St. Samaan the Tanner at the heart of El Mokattam, is a very beautiful church and one of the largest churches in the country. It dedicated to Saint Samaan, the patron saint of the church who is associated with a miracle of moving the Mokattam hills in 979 AD. It was built to serve the local inhabitants there who are predominantly Christian. They are all of poor trash collectors who were moved there in late 1960s. They work on classifying garbage for recycling processes. The inhabitants built their house in a primitive way and resumed their other activities mainly breeding livestock particularly pigs. The current building of the main church was laid in the 1970s and the body of Saint Samaan the Tanner (the Shoemaker) was later moved in it, the place now is very picturesque and has a unique charm. El Moaaz street is considered to be the biggest open-air museum for Islamic architecture in the world. Most of the tourists when they visit the Islamic quarter of Cairo they end up circling the souq ( Khan El Khalily market), and as a lack of knowledge they miss this street, however, the street is much bigger than the market and has lots to see rather than just shops and cafes. The street was one of 2 mean streets crossing Cairo when it was first built 1000 years ago. The first thing to see when you enter the street is the ancient gate that used to protect Cairo, attached to the huge enclosure wall. Once you enter you cross the street you will be able to see an uncounted number of ancient mosques, Mosuleums, old workshops for traditional and handicrafts industries, local restaurants, coffee shops, and the real Egyptian market where Egyptians go for shopping, not tourists. In other word, you will be in real Cairo, the one as a traveler you really look for to experience. You can walk this street in 45 minutes as a quick passenger or you can spend 2-3 hours taking pictures and, visiting the buildings on both sides, and paying attention to the little details. With the guided tour, you will be listening to lots of stories about the Mamluks kings of Egypt, Heroes rose and fell. A woman that led the army and saved the Egyptian kingdom……….and so much more. The highlights in the street  Bab El Fotoh  Bab El Naser  Bab Zwaela with a panoramic view of Cairo (a hidden gem)  El-Hakim Mosque  el-sheik Moaed mosque (a hidden gem).  El Ghoria market  The Tentmakers  Ben Qalaoun complex  Egyptian pie restaurants