The Hanging Church (Al-Muallaqa)

Suspended above a Roman gatehouse, this timber-roofed basilica has anchored Coptic Cairo for over a thousand years.

Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the church earns its name because it was built atop the southern gate of the Roman fortress of Babylon, its nave seemingly hanging in the air. One of Egypt's oldest churches, it long served as the seat of the Coptic Orthodox patriarchs and is famed for its inlaid marble pulpit and coffered wooden ceiling.