The Cave Church Of The Zabbaleen In Cairo

By Gerard @presurfer
image credit: vagabondblogger cc
The Monastery of Saint Simon the Tanner, also known as the Cave Church, is located in the Mokattam mountain in southeastern Cairo, Egypt, in an area that is known as 'garbage city' because of the large population of garbage collectors or Zabbaleen that live there. The church was established in 1975 and has a seating capacity of 20,000.
This cave church is the largest church in the Middle East. It is named after the Coptic Saint, Simon the Tanner, who lived at the end of the 10th century, when Egypt was ruled by the Muslim Fatimid Caliph Al-Muizz Lideenillah.