Day Tours
Coptic Churches and Ben Ezra Synagogue
1 days$0/ per person
- Coptic Cairo
- Coptic Heritage
- Old Cairo
- Coptic Tour
- Egyptology
- Christian Sites
- Coptic Churches
- Religious Tour
- Ben Ezra Synagogue
Coptic Cairo — Where Three Faiths Share One Street, Duration 8–9 hours, Licensed Egyptologist or Coptic-heritage guide, Max 6 guests
This is the highest-margin product in your Egypt range, and the one most likely to be undercut.
Almost everything on this itinerary is free. The Hanging Church, Abu Serga, Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Amr ibn al-As Mosque and the Cave Church of St Simon all charge nothing at the gate
That cuts both ways. It means OTAs list this tour from $14 to $30 and still make money (Tripadvisor listings) — and those tours are a driver, forty minutes at the Hanging Church, and a bazaar stop where the guide takes commission.
Your entire product here is the guide. There is nothing else to sell. Price and market accordingly.
There is one street in Old Cairo where a fourth-century church, a ninth-century synagogue and the first mosque built on the African continent stand within a few hundred metres of one another, inside the walls of a Roman fortress.
Walk down a staircase beneath the altar of Abu Serga and you are standing in the crypt where tradition holds the Holy Family sheltered during the flight into Egypt. A short walk away is the synagogue built where Pharaoh's daughter is said to have found the infant Moses in the reeds — and where, in 1896, scholars opened a sealed storeroom and found three hundred thousand medieval manuscripts that rewrote what we know about Jewish life in the medieval Mediterranean.
Then, in the afternoon, we drive into the Mokattam hills, past a neighbourhood the guidebooks skip, to a church carved into a cliff face that seats twenty thousand people.
No pyramids. No crowds by lunchtime. The oldest, strangest and most human corner of Cairo.
Tour Overview
Country
Egypt
Duration
1 days
Starts
Hotel
Ends
Hotel
Age Range
6 – 99
Arrival Transfer
Yes
Departure Transfer
Yes
Tour Guide
English speaking Guide
Hotel Rating
Meals Included
Optional Lunch
Tour Style
Tour Style
Religious
Trip Type
Private
Guiding Style
Fully Guided
Tour Pace2/5
Physical Rating3/5
Trip Map
Tour Highlights
The Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa) - One of the oldest Coptic Christian churches in Egypt, renowned for its unique location suspended above a Roman fortress gatehouse.
The Church of the Virgin Mary - Also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, this church is significant as a major center of Coptic Christianity. It offers visitors a chance to experience the heart of Egypt’s Christian heritage through its sacred relics and beautiful architecture.
Church of St George - A prominent Greek Orthodox church famous for its distinctive round (rotunda) shape and beautiful iconography. It serves as a vibrant spiritual center and a symbol of Cairo’s diverse Christian traditions.
Church of St Sergius and Bacchus (Abu Serga) - Believed to be built on the spot where the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt,
Church of St Barbara - A historic Coptic church with origins dating back to the 5th or 6th centuries AD, noted for its traditional architectural features and religious significance within the Coptic community.
Ben Ezra Synagogue - One of the oldest synagogues in Egypt, famous for its association with the discovery of the Cairo Geniza, an invaluable collection of Jewish manuscripts. It represents Egypt’s rich Jewish heritage and interfaith history.
Mosque of Amr ibn al-As - The first mosque built in Egypt and Africa, established in 641 AD. It is a landmark of Islamic Cairo and a symbol of the early Islamic expansion, featuring historic architecture and a spiritual ambiance.
Cave Church of St Simon the Tanner (Mokattam) - An extraordinary church carved inside the Mokattam hills, known for its dramatic setting and vibrant Coptic worship.
Itinerary
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Coptic Cairo — Where Three Faiths Share One Street
Detailed Itinerary 08:15 — Hotel pickup Private air-conditioned vehicle. Early start is deliberate: we want to be inside the Coptic complex when it opens and out before the cruise coaches land around 10:30. 09:00 — The Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa) The complex opens at 09:00 and is a car-free pedestrian quarter, so the vehicle drops at the Mar Girgis gate and collects afterwards. The Church of the Virgin Mary is built directly on top of the southern gatehouse of the Roman Fortress of Babylon — hence the name. Its nave literally hangs over the Roman towers, and a glass panel in the floor lets guests look straight down into the fortress. Inside: a marble pulpit on thirteen columns for Christ and the apostles, an ark-shaped wooden ceiling, and a screen of inlaid ivory and ebony. 45 minutes. Free entry. Open 09:00–16:00 (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities). 09:45 — Church of St George and the Roman towers The circular Greek Orthodox church built on top of a Roman drum tower — the only round church in Egypt, and a good five-minute stop for the guide to explain the fortress layout before descending into the sunken lanes. 10:00 — Church of St Sergius and Bacchus (Abu Serga) The emotional centre of the whole tour. Fourth or fifth century, basilica plan, and beneath the altar a crypt roughly ten metres down where Coptic tradition places the Holy Family's refuge during the flight into Egypt. 45 minutes. Free. Note: the crypt floods periodically and is sometimes closed — check on arrival and reset guest expectations early rather than at the staircase. The descent is steep and narrow. 10:45 — Church of St Barbara Two minutes' walk. Tenth century, one of the finest iconostasis screens in Egypt, and considerably quieter than its neighbours. 11:10 — Ben Ezra Synagogue Ninth century, built into the shell of a fourth-century Christian church, and comprehensively restored — most recently in a Ministry conservation project launched in 2021 covering structural cracks, ceiling isolation and the wooden and painted decoration. Two traditions converge here: that this is the spot on the riverbank where the infant Moses was found, and — historically verifiable — that the building's genizah storeroom held over 300,000 medieval documents, the single richest archive of medieval Jewish daily life anywhere in the world. 30 minutes. Free entry, donations expected. Security screening at the door. Photography is strictly prohibited inside — brief guests before they walk in, not after a phone comes out (Viator). 11:45 — Coptic Museum Optional Inside the fortress walls. The world's largest collection of Coptic artefacts — textiles, Nag Hammadi codices, carved wood and stone from monasteries across Egypt, and the mashrabiya-screened interiors that are worth the ticket on their own. 90 minutes. 280 EGP foreign adult, 140 EGP student. Open 09:00–17:00, ticket office closes 16:00. Ticket window is cashless (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Coptic Museum visitor information). 13:15 — Mosque of Amr ibn al-As A short walk north. The first mosque built in Egypt and on the African continent, founded in 641 AD by the commander who conquered the country and made Fustat its capital. Almost nothing of the original fabric survives, but the vast columned courtyard is the point — and standing in it, twenty minutes' walk from a fourth-century church and a ninth-century synagogue, is what makes this itinerary land. 30 minutes. Free. Shoes off, headscarf for women — carry spares in the vehicle. Avoid prayer times; see the Friday warning below. 13:45 — Lunch Options depending on group and budget:- Local Egyptian lunch in Fustat or Maadi — koshari, grilled meats, mezze; the honest version
- Nile-view restaurant in Maadi or Garden City — for higher-tier clients, adds a 15-minute transfer
- Felucca sail with lunch on board — strong upsell, adds roughly 60 minutes
60–75 minutes. 15:00 — Cave Church of St Simon the Tanner, Mokattam The drive in is part of the experience and needs handling honestly. The route passes through the Zabbaleen quarter — Cairo's Coptic waste-collector community, who recycle a higher share of the city's rubbish than most European municipal systems manage. Guests should be briefed that this is a working residential neighbourhood, not a spectacle, and that photographing people requires asking. Then the cliff opens. A 17-metre-high cavern discovered in 1974 and cleared of hundreds of tonnes of rock, now the largest church in the Middle East, seating up to 20,000. Vast biblical scenes are carved directly into the living rock face by a Polish artist over two decades. Several smaller cave churches sit alongside it. 75–90 minutes including the drive in. Free entry, donations welcomed (Viator). Not wheelchair accessible — significant steps and standing. 16:45 — Return to hotel Arrival around 17:15–17:45 depending on traffic.Optional extensionsNational Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) — five minutes from the Coptic complex in Fustat, and home to the 22 Royal Mummies. The strongest add-on you have, but it needs 2 hours and closes at 17:00, so it replaces the Cave Church rather than joining it. On Fridays NMEC reopens 18:00–21:00 (NMEC visitor guide) — which is the one way to fit both into a single day. Church of the Virgin Mary, Maadi — the traditional departure point where the Holy Family boarded a boat south; free, 20 minutes, and a natural add for pilgrimage groups. The Virgin Mary's Tree, Matariya — 120 EGP entry (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities). Modest site, meaningful to pilgrims, awkward on traffic. Khan el-Khalili and El Fishawy café — evening extension, tea in the 250-year-old café.Two Scheduling Traps 1. Friday and Sunday mornings Friday: the Amr ibn al-As Mosque is a working congregational mosque and effectively closed to visitors around midday prayer, roughly 11:30 to 14:00. On a Friday itinerary, move the mosque to the start of the day at 09:00 or drop it. Sunday: the Hanging Church and Abu Serga hold Sunday liturgy in the morning. Services are genuinely moving to witness, but visiting access is restricted and the churches fill with worshippers. Either sell Sunday as a deliberate "attend the liturgy" variant with a later museum start, or steer clients to Monday–Thursday. Coptic feast days close the complex to tourists entirely — get your ground handler to send you the Coptic calendar each year. 2. Cashless ticketing The Coptic Museum window is card-only, as is now standard across Egyptian sites. Since it is the only paid entry on the core itinerary, a declined card means your one ticketed stop fails. Guide carries a working corporate card, and a backup.Why Visit These Sites? Explore the rich tapestry of Cairo’s religious and cultural heritage Witness remarkable architecture spanning Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions Gain insights into Egypt’s history of religious coexistence and diversity Ideal for travelers from the USA and UK interested in spirituality, history, and culture- Overnight:
- Your Hotel
- Meals:
- Optional Lunch
- Visit:
- Churches, Ben Ezra Synagogue
- Entrance Fees:
- $40
Arrival flight for Day 1
Book to land in time for the first day of the tour.
TLV → CAI · pick your date
Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.net/transport/flights/tlv/cai//?adults=2&cabinclass=economy&rtn=0&sortby=bestKayak: https://www.kayak.com/flights/TLV-CAI/2adults?sort=bestflight_aAdditional Info
Cost Build (per adult, 2026 published rates) Hanging Church Free (MOTA) 09:00–16:00 Abu Serga (Sts Sergius & Bacchus) Free (MOTA) 09:00–16:00 Ben Ezra Synagogue Free (MOTA) Donations expected, no photography Church of St George / St Barbara Free Mosque of Amr ibn al-As Free, Prayer-time restrictions Cave Church, Mokattam Free Donations welcomed Coptic Museum 280 EGP (~$6), student 140 EGP (MOTA) NMEC — optional 500–550 EGP (~$11) (NMEC ticket guide) Sources report 240, 300 and 550 EGP — verify before quoting Virgin Mary's Tree, Matariya — optional 120 EGP (~$2.50) (MOTA) Children 6–12 at 50% of adult. Sell on the guide's depth, the Cave Church inclusion that most half-day products skip, and the promise of no shopping stops — put "no bazaar commission stops" in the bullet list, because it is the number one complaint on the cheap listings.Add-on Guest price guide NMEC with Royal Mummies Hall $32 Felucca sail on the Nile with lunch on board $28 Church of the Virgin Mary, Maadi $10 Virgin Mary's Tree, Matariya $12 Khan el-Khalili and El Fishawy evening extension $20Jewish heritage — your Israeli market Ben Ezra is the anchor. The Cairo Genizah is one of the most significant Jewish archaeological discoveries ever made, the building sits on the traditional site of Moses's rescue from the Nile, and it is a 45-minute flight and short drive from Tel Aviv. Pair it with the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria from your Alexandria product and you have a two-day Egyptian Jewish heritage itinerary that essentially nobody in the Israeli outbound market is packaging properly. That is a genuine gap, and it is yours to take. Practical notes for this client base: no photography inside Ben Ezra, security screening at the door, the building is no longer an active place of worship, and you want a guide who can speak to Genizah scholarship rather than recite the Moses legend and move on.Guest Brief for the Confirmation Email- The Coptic complex is car-free — expect roughly 2 km of walking on uneven stone lanes
- Modest dress required throughout: shoulders and knees covered for all guests, headscarf for women at the mosque (we carry spares)
- Shoes come off at the mosque; slip-ons make the day easier
- No photography inside Ben Ezra Synagogue — please do not attempt it
- Small EGP notes for church donations and restrooms; card for the museum
- The Abu Serga crypt and the Cave Church both involve steep steps — not suitable for wheelchair users or guests with serious mobility limits
- The drive to the Cave Church passes through a working residential neighbourhood; please ask before photographing people
- Sunday mornings may be affected by church services — we will confirm the day before
Season Year-round, and this is your best hot-weather Cairo product. Most of the day is indoors or in shaded stone lanes, and there is no exposed desert plateau — so it holds up in July and August when Giza becomes a morning-only proposition. Peak demand is Christmas and Coptic Christmas in early January, and Easter and Coptic Easter,Return flight after Day 2
Departure flights for the last day of your itinerary.
CAI → TLV · pick your date
Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.net/transport/flights/cai/tlv//?adults=2&cabinclass=economy&rtn=0&sortby=bestKayak: https://www.kayak.com/flights/CAI-TLV/2adults?sort=bestflight_a
What's included & what's not
Tap an item to build your own package — remove what you don't need, add the extras you want, then send the summary with your inquiry.
Included (3/3)
Not included (0 added)
Pricing
Essentials
- Group departure
Signature
- Small group (max 8)
Luxury
- Private Guide & Driver
Additional Extras
Sound and light show
in Egypt are night events held at famous historical sites like the Giza Pyramids, Karnak Temple, and Philae Island
A Nile River dinner cruise
in Egypt is a 2 to 3 hour evening excursion featuring an open buffet, live music, cultural performances belly dancing and Tanoura shows
An optional lunch buffet
Usually features local or traditional dishes, side items, and fruits, though specialized diets (like strict vegan or allergen-free)
Good To Know
What does this Coptic Cairo Day Tour include?+
Private transport, a licensed Egyptologist guide, entrance fees to five Old Cairo sites, lunch, and hotel pickup/drop-off from Cairo city hotels.
What makes this different from other full-day tours from Cairo?+
It exclusively focuses on Coptic heritage sites without including Islamic Cairo landmarks, covering five dedicated Old Cairo Christian sites in one circuit.
What sites or experiences does this tour cover?+
The Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue, Coptic Museum, Abu Serga Church, and Church of the Virgin Mary in Zaitoun, visited in that order.
How long is this tour and when does it start? +
Approximately 8 hours with morning pickup and afternoon drop-off at Cairo hotels.
Are entrance fees included? +
Yes, all entrance fees for the five sites are included with no extra payments required.
Is this tour suitable for travelers with a Coptic heritage interest? +
Yes, it is ideal for those specifically interested in Coptic Christian heritage, focusing solely on Old Cairo's Christian Quarter.
What is the best time of year for this tour? +
October to April is best for walking in the Coptic Quarter; summer visits are still feasible as most time is indoors.
Send Inquiry
About this tour
Additional information
Confirmation
You receive written confirmation by email once your booking is accepted, usually within 24 hours.
Documents
A valid passport with at least 6 months' validity is required. We advise on visas for Egypt and Jordan before travel.
Pick-up
Hotel pick-up and drop-off in the tour city is included; we confirm your exact pick-up time the evening before.
Group size
Private departures run for your party only. Small-group departures are capped so everyone hears the guide.
Accessibility
Some archaeological sites involve uneven ground, steps and heat. Tell us about mobility needs and we adapt the pace.
Children
Family friendly. Child rates and car seats are available on request; infants usually travel free.
What to bring
Comfortable walking shoes, sun protection, water, modest clothing for religious sites and cash for tips.
Insurance
Travel insurance covering medical care and cancellation is strongly recommended and is not included in the tour price.
Cancellation & refund policy
30 days or more before departure
100% refund
15 – 29 days before departure
50% refund
14 days or less before departure
No refund
- • Cancellations must be sent in writing to explore@exploreplus.net; the date we receive your email is the cancellation date.
- • Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 14 working days.
- • Third-party costs already paid on your behalf (domestic flights, Nile cruise cabins, special-event tickets, visas) are non-refundable once issued.
- • Date changes requested 15 days or more before departure are free of charge, subject to availability; inside 14 days they are treated as a cancellation.
- • If we have to cancel your tour for reasons within our control, you receive a full refund or a free date change — your choice.
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