Egypt #1: Hidden Gems
Hidden Gems
Marilyn Borst, Associate Director for Partnership Development, on behalf of the team
With our last two arriving in the wee hours of the morning, The Outreach Foundation team in Egypt was complete: Steve Burgess, Kimmy Briggs, John and Judy Daniel, Morgan Sentas and Jason Sentas, Linda Bowman, and Casey Wood. Grateful to God for safe (and uninterrupted!!!) travel, our jet-lagged and sleep-deprived (but eager!) group headed out for our explorations in Old Coptic Cairo.
Christianity was brought to Egypt at Pentecost and this part of Cairo harbors churches whose foundations go back to the 4th century, like the Church of Sergius and Bacchus, who were soldier/saints martyred during the 4th century in Syria by the Roman Emperor Maximian after they converted to Christianity. This church contains a subterranean chamber that tradition maintains served as a shelter to the Holy Family when they were forced to flee to Egypt.
The Church of the Virgin Mary (7th c), better known by its nickname, the Hanging Church (which comes from the fact that it was built atop the walls of a 4th century BC Roman fortress) has beautiful modern mosaics and its grand steps were a perfect location for a group shot.
Our first day ended at the Monastery of Saint Simon, known for its 7 “cave churches” (modern creations hewn from the rock), located in the Mokattam mountain in southeastern Cairo. To get to it, you must wend your way through the densely packed lanes of a “garbage city” – so called because of the large population of garbage collectors that live there and pick through the refuse collected from this city of 20 million to find recyclables like paper, plastic, and medals. It is life at the margins and it was FOR them that the churches were “built.” The largest of the churches is an amphitheater which seats 20,000. Our guide, tour manager, friend and fellow Presbyterian, Mourad Sedky, told us of a remarkable 12-hour ecumenical prayer vigil that took place here on 11-11-11 and which brought 40,000 local Christians to seek God’s care and blessing against a rising tide of fundamentalism (hence thwarted) and which filled the night sky with praise and petition. Holy ground, this.
