Cave Church & Garbage City: Cairo's Hidden Christian Sites

The Cave Church carved from Mokattam mountain, where Coptic garbage collectors built a sanctuary

A private two-hour tour of Cairo's lesser-known Christian sites: the Cave Church of St. Simon the Tanner, carved into the Mokattam mountain by Coptic trash collectors in the 1970s; Garbage City, home to the Zabbaleen community; and a site associated with an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Your Egyptologist guide picks you up from your hotel, handles admission, and provides in-depth context on each stop.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Cairo's Christian minority sites

• Pickup from hotel
• Travel to Cave Church Monastery
• Explore St. Simon the Tanner Monastery
• Visit Garbage City and meet Zabbaleen
• See Virgin Mary apparition site
• Return to hotel

The experience

The Cave Church of St. Simon the Tanner is the centerpiece: a vast sanctuary dug directly into the Mokattam mountain by Cairo's Coptic Orthodox Christian garbage collectors, known as the Zabbaleen. The church honors a miracle St. Simon is believed to have performed, and the scale of what the community carved out of the rock is what makes it stand apart from the tourist circuit. Your guide explains the history and significance of each space as you move through it.

Garbage City itself is where the Zabbaleen live and work, collecting and sorting Cairo's waste. It is not a polished attraction. It is a working neighborhood, and seeing how the community operates gives context to the Cave Church and to the faith that sustained them. The tour also includes a stop at a site connected to an apparition of the Virgin Mary, another layer of the Coptic Christian story in Cairo. Air-conditioned transport moves you between the three locations, and your guide handles all admission tickets.

The tour runs two hours total, which is enough time to see each site without rushing. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included, so you leave from wherever you are staying and return there at the end. Bottled water travels with you, and depending on which option you book, lunch at a traditional Egyptian restaurant may be part of the day. The guide is a qualified Egyptologist who speaks English, Spanish or Arabic.

What’s included

• Qualified Egyptologist guide in English, Spanish or Arabic.
• hotel pickup and drop-off from your Cairo accommodation.
• air-conditioned private vehicle.
• admission to all three sites.
• bottled water.
• traditional Egyptian lunch on selected options.

Options for this experience

4 options

Car and driver onlyGuide in English, Spanish or Arabic · 15 departure times: the first at 07:00, the last at 14:00Car and driver only, no guide: includes the cave church and garbage city; pickup is included

Car, driver and guideGuide in English, Spanish or Arabic · 19 departure times: the first at 07:30, the last at 17:00Car, driver and guide for the cave church and garbage city; pickup is included

Best seller, all-inclusive option 1Guide in English, Spanish or Arabic · 17 departure times: the first at 07:00, the last at 16:00Car, driver and tour guide, plus a choice of lunch at Koshry, a mixed grill, a 30-minute Felucca boat ride on the Nile, or Khan el Khalili; includes the cave church and garbage city; pickup is included

Best seller, all-inclusive option 2Guide in English, Spanish or Arabic · 15 departure times: the first at 07:00, the last at 14:00Car, driver and tour guide, with the Coptic church, the Hanging Church and the Holy Crypt, plus the cave church and garbage city; pickup is included

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Lasts 2h, runs every day, 20 start times, from US$ 14 per person, with a live guide in English, Spanish and Arabic, as a private tour and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesEvery day20 departure times: the first at 07:00, the last at 17:00

Book up toStart time

AgesAdult (7 to 90 years) · Child (1 to 6 years)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and Arabic

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 6 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by Hesham Egypt tour guide

Is this one for you?Book the car and driver option if you want to move between the sites without a guide's narration. Book with the guide included if you want the history and context of each location explained. Children from age one are welcome, and the tour suits all fitness levels since travel is by vehicle and walking is minimal at each stop.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and Arabic.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (1 to 6 years).

What is the Cave Church of St. Simon the Tanner?

St. Simon the Tanner is a vast monastery carved directly into the Mokattam mountain by Cairo's Coptic Orthodox Christian garbage collectors during the 1970s. It honors a miracle the saint is believed to have performed and serves as a working church for the Coptic community.

Who are the Zabbaleen, and what will I see in Garbage City?

The Zabbaleen are Coptic Christian trash collectors who live and work in the neighborhood known as Garbage City. On the tour, you see how the community collects and sorts Cairo's waste. It is an active, working area rather than a museum or staged attraction.

How much time do I spend at each location?

The entire tour is two hours, covering three sites with transport between them. Your guide paces the stops so you have time to see each one without rushing, though the exact time at each location depends on what interests you most.

Is lunch included in this tour?

Lunch at a traditional Egyptian restaurant is included depending on which tour option you book at checkout. Some options are transportation and guide only, while others add the meal. Bottled water is provided on all versions.

Do I need to arrange my own way to the tour, or does the guide pick me up?

Hotel pickup and drop-off from any Cairo hotel are included, so the guide collects you from where you are staying and returns you there when the tour ends.