The Monastery of St. Simon in Mokattam

Cave Church (St Simon the Tanner Monastery, Cairo)

Do you expect that one day you will visit a monastery that contains a group of Coptic churches and religious relics carved in the mountain through Egypt tours? This is not an expectation, but it is a fact, as there is a monastery of St. Simon carved in the Mokattam mountain and one of the most important Coptic religious shrines in this region.

Their walls are carved into the rocks and it is a symbol for a long history of tolerance. This building was not built completely. After the discovery of the cave in which Saint Simon was buried, this monastery was built with the help of the cleaners’ sons in Mokattam who lived in this place. All this historical info will be cleared in your Egypt day tours.A large number of stones were used to build this great monastery. This monastery that is included in our Egypt travel packages consists of Four churches, namely the Church of Anba Abram the Syriac, the Cathedral of Our Lady and Saint Simon, as well as the Church of Saint Paul. After your visit to these sites in Egypt luxury tours. You can visit the Citadel of Salah Al Deen who was an Ayyubid leader who came to Cairo and built his historic castle there to protect Cairo from the enemies’ attack.

Things to do in Mokattam

The Mokattam area is considered a large religious area that contains a lot of things to do in Egypt Classic tours . You will be lucky to visit the Mokattam area, which contains many historical Islamic monuments, such as the Muhammad Ali Mosque located inside Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi Castle and many wonderful mosques that contain beautiful Islamic motifs built in the era of the Mamluk and the Fatimid state. What do you think about visiting the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx after visiting Mokattam?

When you take your Cairo day tours in this area, you can Visit many historical sites and old streets in which you will find many markets that sell beautiful souvenirs. Do not forget to take pictures in this very beautiful area, as this area is considered a sacred complex of religions and expresses religious tolerance.

The Remains of Simon al-Kharrazi in a tomb in Cairo

Archaeologists and priests were invited to search for the relics of Simon al-Kharrazi. They knew that he was buried in the tombs of Al Abash in Cairo. A structure dating back to Simon Kharaz was found in an old church called the Church of the Virgin Mary in 1991, and it was located under the church by a meter. They also found pictures of the Patriarch Abram the Syrian, with a man carrying a bowl of water, and it is said that this person is Simon Kharrazi, and the bowl was made more than a thousand years ago. The bowl is kept in the Church of St. Simon, in Cairo.

What is the history of Simon the Tanner Church and Mount Mokattam?

He worked in leather and in fixing shoes, and he was a good man.One day a beautiful lady came to fix her shoes, and his eyes fell on her legs, therefore This person felt a tulip and put a needle in his eye, and when the priests in the church knew this story, they pardoned him.

There was a minister of Jewish origin with Al-Mu’izz Lden Allah Al Fatmi who was the ruler at that time. This minister hated the Christians, but The Caliph was keen on literary councils, that is why the Coptic Patriarch was invited to argue with the Jews about issues of religion. The Patriarch went with Bishop Sawiris, who on accused the Jews of ignorance in this day, but that angered the Jewish minister who decided to plot for the Christians and chose what Christ says that if you were believers, you would ask the mountain to move from its place to another place and mountain will do.

The minister advised the Caliph to force the Christians to move this mountain from its place, so the caliph loved this idea, so the Caliph aske the Patriarch to do this miracle. Clerics prayed for this miracle to happen on the third day, the Virgin Mary appeared to the Patriarch and ordered him to go to Simon Kharrazi and tell him to do this task and the Patriarch went to Simon Kharra, who agreed to pray for the god to move the mountain from its place, and the miracle happened, a strong earthquake occurred in this area, which led to move the mountain from one place to another place, thus the miracle was accomplished.

It is strange that after this miracle, Simon Kharrazi escaped and left this area because he was a modest man who did not like praise because he knew that people after this miracle would sanctify him and boast about him and he was known for his tolerance, humility and love for others and he liked to serve others. These stories and others will be relevant through Egypt Easter tours.

The Monastery of Saint Simon in Aswan

in addition to your enjoyable visit in Aswan day tours, you can visit the Monastery of Saint Simon, which is located between the banks of the Nile River, and this monastery dates back to the end of the seventh century AD and later appeared in the thirteenth century due to the lack of Nile water in this region. It is one of the greatest Coptic places that you can visit In Cairo tour Packages, the southern part of the monastery includes a painting of The Christ among the angels in the western part. Other parts contain subsidiary rooms and small caves. Your Egypt Christmas tours in this historical place will be unique, because it is in one of the most important Coptic sites in the world. This monastery is distinguished by its very old construction, which is characterized by beauty and the craftsmanship.

Design of the Monastery of Simon in Aswan

This monastery was built on a high place in the desert and it is said that this monastery was built on the ruins of Romania citadel, because of the large number of towers on the walls of the monastery. There is an archaeological church and on the walls of the monastery there are inscriptions of the Lord Christ, and some saints. There are also modern buildings in this monastery. Inside the monastery there are buildings made of Granite, as well as mud bricks. There are two entrances in the east and west to perform religious rituals.

This monastery that is included in our Egypt short break tours used to receive pilgrims coming from the countries of the Maghreb on their way to the Arabian Peninsula. Christian clergy used to offer them food and drink, and this indicates the religious tolerance and mutual love between Muslims and Christians in this region, therefore there were some drawings and inscriptions found inside this monastery that showed the presence of Muslims in this monastery and their love for Christians. The importance of this monastery dates back to Saint Simon who lived in the fourth century and the fifth century AD, who was very tolerant and was known for many miracles.