Amazing Ben Ezra Synagogue
The 9th-century Ben Ezra Synagogue, located just outside the Coptic enclave walls, is housed in the shell of a 4th-century Christian church. After Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jerusalem temple in the sixth century, the prophet Jeremiah gathered the Jews here, according to tradition. The nearby spring is said to be the location where the pharaoh’s daughter discovered Moses in the reeds and where Mary drew water to wash Jesus.
The synagogue was restored in the 12th century by Jerusalem’s Rabbi Abraham Ben Ezra. In 1890, a cache of over 250,000 historical papers known as the Geniza documents was discovered in the synagogue. Researchers were able to piece together details of the life of the North African Jewish community from the 11th to 13th centuries.
The Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus, also known as Abu Serga.
It is the ancient church built on the site where the Holy Family resided during their escape journey, Its current location is what is known as the Complex of Religions in Old Cairo, within the Fortress of Babylon. Like many other early Christian churches, the Abu Serga church and its underground cave were designed according to the layout of a basilica, thus together consisting of three parts: the porch, the nave and the sanctuary (the cave is under the sanctuary). The church is notable for its unique architectural and artistic elements which reflect the spirit of Coptic church architecture in Egypt. These include the pulpit, font, ivory and wood inlaid templons, and unique religious decoration of saints and apostles.
When was Ben Ezra Synagogue built, and where is it located?
Ben Ezra Synagogue, the oldest Jewish temple in Coptic Cairo, was built in the 9th century AD. Although it is now primarily a tourist attraction due to the departure of Egypt’s Jewish community in the 1950s after the founding of Israel and the Free Officers’ Revolution, the site still holds significant historical significance.
The 19th-century discovery a huge cache of documents, the synagogue’s treasury, which recorded the history and transactions of Cairo’s Jewish community since the 11th century, provided the most complete account of medieval Jewry anywhere in the world. These documents, however, are now held at Cambridge University in England.
Two separate myth state that the synagogue is built on the site where the pharaoh’s daughter found Moses hidden in the reeds of the Nile or on the site of the Temple of Jeremiah.
Amazing Abu Serga Church
You will see one of the oldest churches in Cairo dating back to the nineteenth century AD. It is one of the most important tourist attractions; Because it still holds great importance in the contemporary history of Judaism. Ben Ezra Synagogue was originally known as the Levantine Church. It is located behind the famous Hanging Church in the Old Cairo area. Going back to its history, it was originally a Christian church that was sold to the Jews in 882 AD. Ibrahim bin Ezra bought it for 20,000 dinars. It came from Jerusalem during the reign of Ahmed Ibn Tulun. It is believed that the site of the Ben Ezra Synagogue is the place where the “chest of the child Moses” was found and taken by the wife of the pharaoh at that time. You will see a wonderful rectangular building with two floors. The first is for men and the second is for women. Its entrance is located on the north side. The Ben Ezra Synagogue is characterized by unique geometric decorations dating back to the era of the Turkish rulers that you have not seen before. You can see it in the side halls with patterns such as star patterns, pentagonal patterns, and rectangles. Various floral motifs were also used as a background for these geometric patterns. They were also found around the Star of David in the middle of the ceiling.
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