Coming out of the train station Mar Girgis (St. George), you are immediately confronted by the presence of St. George Church, a round Coptic church built on the remains of what was once the northern tower of the Western Gate of an ancient Roman fortress along the Nile. The city enclosed within the walls was known as Babylon. It's unclear exactly why, but one hypothesis is that it means, literally, "Bab il-On," or "Gate of On (the pharoanic name for Heliopolis)."

The remains of the southern tower of the Western Gate of Babylon.

The stairs leading up to St. George Church, the only round Church in Egypt. There's a wall sculpture of St. George slaying the dragon at the topc of these steps.

The tower of St. George Church.

The entrance to some part of St. George.

Linda standing next to the huge wooden doors of St. George Church and Monastery.

Domed buildings and palm trees near the cemetary in the north section of Coptic Cairo.

Looking up at the tall stone buildings that turn Coptic Cairo's narrow alleys into canyons.

Several Coptic women are curious exactly what this crazy tourist lady is doing...

The jewelery maker senses Linda's achilles heel and asks her to have a look at his necklace...

"See how beautiful it is! 60 pounds for the Coptic work. I give you the bracelet, too, for good luck!"

How do I look?

A beautiful cage for keeping doves, inside the courtyard of the Convent of St. George (the nunnery affiliated with and down the street from the Church of St. George).

Inside the courtyard of the Convent of St. George.

Steps descending into a chapel beneath the convent. Inside that chapel is a small, dark room containing several relics of St. George. If you take your shoes off, you can go inside and touch the relics, light a candle, and/or pray. There were a bunch of people sitting around and moving in and out of the room when I was there. The atmosphere and the people reminded me of what you would see in a very Catholic village in South America--people spending the sabbath resting and praying in a modest holy spot.

Another mosaic of St. George slaying a dragon.

The Hanging Church, located just south of the Western Gate into Babylon, is named thus because it was built above the water gate that allowed water from the Nile to flow into the fortress city.

A closer look at the twin bell towers of the Hanging Church.

The nave of the church (this church, like much of Coptic Cairo these days, is under renovation).

Ornately-patterned arches support the ceiling of the Church.

Looking down into the courtyard of the Hanging Church.

St. George's Church, as seen from the steps of the Hanging Church.

Mosaics on the walls of the Hanging Church.

The Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As. Though rebuilt and renovated many times over the course of history, this is Egypt's first mosque, built in roughly 642 A.D. by Amr Ibn al-As, who conquered Egypt for Islam.

At midday Friday, as the call to prayer is sounded, followers stream into the mosque.

The plaza in front of the mosque...

More people milling about on the plaza in front of the mosque.

The side of the mosque, with its wrought-iron gate seen in the foreground.

Women in black sit outside the mosque and listen to the service.

Little friends I made outside the mosque :-)

Women taking off their shoes and entering their special section of the mosque.

Women in black sit and listen outside the mosque.

The view of the mosque from across the street.

A flag atop St. George Church flaps in the breeze.

Heading back to Heliopolis on the Metro.

(getting in the women's section of the subway)