Al-Fustat - Old Cairo

Al-Fustat was Egypt's first Islamic capital, founded in 641 AD, and is now Old Cairo, home to the Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue and the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As. The churches are free and usually open 9 am – 4 pm, and Mar Girgis metro station is right at the entrance.

Al-Fustat, meaning "the encampment", was where Islamic Egypt was first governed from. General Amr ibn al-As founded it in 641 AD beside the old Roman fortress of Babylon, and it stayed the seat of power for three centuries, until the Fatimids built al-Qahira (Cairo) a little to the north. Locals now call the area Old Cairo or Masr al-Qadima, and few places anywhere pack so many faiths into so small a space.

Within Babylon's Roman walls you can walk in a few minutes from a Coptic church perched above a Roman gateway (the Hanging Church) to the synagogue where the Geniza documents came to light (Ben Ezra). Close by are Saints Sergius and Bacchus, one of Africa's oldest churches and, by tradition, a resting place of the Holy Family on their flight into Egypt, and the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the first mosque built in Africa. Digs in Fustat itself have revealed medieval house foundations, glass kilns and the earliest Islamic-era pottery in Egypt.

The recently opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is in the same district and displays the 22 Royal Mummies.

What to see

• Mosque of Amr ibn al-As (641 AD, rebuilt many times)
• Babylon Fortress, with its Roman walls and towers
• The Hanging Church (El-Muallaqa), Coptic, 4th–7th century
• Ben Ezra Synagogue, where the Cairo Geniza was found
• Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, whose crypt is linked to the Holy Family
• The Coptic Museum, covered on its own page
• NMEC, covered on its own page

Visiting

• Opening hours: churches usually 9 am – 4 pm; closed during Sunday morning services
• Tickets: churches are free; the museums charge
• Dress: modest, with shoulders and knees covered
• Nearby: Coptic Museum, NMEC