You might have heard of the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” but you’ve never heard of the Hanging Church in Cairo. The former was one of the 7 Wonders of the World, while the latter once the seat of papacy of the Orthodox Church. This tiny church is known for its apparitions where Mary appeared to Pope Abraham.
Why Hanging Church?
The Church is built over two Roman towers called Babylon Fortress. However today, you won’t be able to see much of the tower since the land surface has risen to some 6 meters. The towers were covered with logs of palm trees with layer of stones that served as the ground/foundation of the church.
To reach the church, you have to pass through 29 steps. Thus, it once earned the monicker as the ‘Staircase Church.”
By Alain – Full Story at Keep Calm and Wander
The view of Cairo skyline from The Citadel isn’t really the best one you could get but it’s good enough to see the city from this elevated point. From here, sprawling Old Cairo dominates the skyline that’s covered in pollution.
Tall buildings are far and away, except for the skinny, towering minarets from the mosques. Surrounding the Fortress are concrete, brick houses of mostly earth hues and narrow streets with unending traffic dilemma.
There are two open terraces where you can see Cairo skyline from The Citadel. This is the first one I discovered on the northern side.
On January 2011, Egyptians from all walk of life gathered at Tahrir Square in Cairo to protest the country’s declining state. Poverty, government corruption and unemployment were (and still is) rampant. These drove citizens to protest against the rule of Hosni Mubarak who governed the country for three decades.
Going around Tahrir Square nowadays, one will find graffiti splattered on abandoned, dilapidated buildings. And few are on fences and doors. Most of the graffiti themes are still deeply rooted on the reasons why Egypt Revolution happened five years ago: hunger, injustices, unemployment and political bureaucracy.