This is Egypt
🏛️ Cultural & Historic· 📍 Cairo, Egypt

Cave Church in Garbage City and Coptic Quarter of Old Cairo

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Cave Church in Garbage City and Coptic Quarter of Old Cairo

Overview

In the morning pick up from your hotel in Cairo and visit the Monastery of Saint Simon, also known as the Cave Church of Zabbaleen. It is located in the Mokattam Mountain, a short drive through the so called “Garbage City’ – a large population of garbage collectors or Zabbaleen that live there. Several churches have been built into the caves found in Mokattam, First we visit, Saint Simon the Tanner Hall and St. Mark’s Church. This huge cave was discovered in the year 1974. It was full of hundreds of tons of stones even up to the ceiling of the cave (which is 17 meters high from the ground), and was later prepared to contain two stores: 1. The upper story is the St. Simon the Tanner Hall, with seating capacity of 2000 people for spiritual meetings. The walls are decorated with many wonderful pictures engraved on the rocks representing scenarios from the Bible Then we continue and visit the Cathedral of Virgin Mary and St. Simon the Tanner. After the tour transfer back to your hotel.

How this compares

Cairo · 5282 Cultural & Historic · typical ~4,081 EGP · 3,716 EGPabout average

Highlights

  • Private tour
  • Hotel pickup

What's included

  • Private transfer
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Qualified Egyptologist guide
  • Gratuities
  • Lunch

Frequently asked questions

How long is this experience?
See details
Can I cancel my booking?
This experience isn't refundable. Check the operator's policy before you book.
What's included?
Private transfer · Hotel pickup and drop-off · Air-conditioned vehicle · Qualified Egyptologist guide

Reviews

j
jessiernewton33
★★★★★
May 2026

Dina loves her country and has spent her life learning all she can to share her knowledge with others. We traveled with our 9 year old son and his favorite part of the tour was our trip to the oil store. Learning and creating our own scents, who knew?! My husband and I enjoyed seeing inside the church cave, hanging church and synagogue. Our driver was very kind and safe. We did feel like Dina was preoccupied at times and we would suggest guides pointing things out while driving (mosques, ancient artifacts, etc) as we felt rude continually asking what things are that we are driving by.

7
771paulau
★★★★★
Apr 2026

Great! So friendly . Thank-you for taking us around

b
berniceac
★★★★★
Mar 2026

Following an excellent tour the previous day with our guide. Dina, we decided to book this tour also. There is so much to see in Cairo, but we are really delighted that we took the time to visit the hanging Church, the underground church, and the Nunnery of St. George. This historic and unique area is steeped in the atmosphere of faith and prayers over centuries. The history, architecture and art are so full of meaning that will be potentially missed without a guide. And we were grateful to Dina who Is knowledgeable and passionate about the history, as well as being a lovely person.

l
larryr54
★★★★★
Feb 2026

Excellent tour! We have had nothing but exceptional service from Twitter Egypt Tours. Starting with our airport pickup and continuing with the local tours that we have taken with them! Out tour guide Joseph was a wealth of knowledge and gave us a super tour of coptic Cairo and the wonderful Museum of Civilization! Seeing the mummies is something one should not miss! Again an excellent company to deal with. Issac was quick to answer our requests. Kyrllios is an amazing driver in this traffic madness! Super!! Super!!

4
447jurateb
★★★★★
Nov 2025

We booked a private tour in Cairo visiting Cairo's National Museum, old city, and felucca ride. Our tour guide Gina was extremely professional and knowledgeable in Ancient Egyptian history. She told us many interesting facts and fascinating stories. She made our tour adventurous and filled with fun. Gina also recommended what else to visit while in Cairo. I totally recommend spending one day with Gina, no matter the places you go. Biggest Thanks to Gina for a wonderful day in Cairo. Jurate

B
B6119LZpeteri
★★★★★
Oct 2025

This was an amazing tour and one filled with the perfect amount of activities/sites for anyone who is looking to see the amazing history in Cairo. Highly recommend the team from Twitter Egypt Travel who organised everything from tours, bookings and transport to and from the hotel.

3,716 EGP/ per person
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Great! So friendly . Thank-you for taking us around
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