Monastery & Church of St George

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St George (Mar Girgis) is one of the region's most popular Christian saints. A Palestinian conscript in the Roman army, he was executed in AD 303 for resisting Emperor Diocletian's decree forbidding the practice of Christianity. There has been a church dedicated to him in Coptic Cairo since the 10th century; this Greek Orthodox one dates from 1909. The interior has been gutted by fires, but the stained glass windows and blue-green tile ceiling remain bright and colourful.

The neighbouring monastery is closed to visitors. The Coptic moulid (religious festival) of Mar Girgis is held here on 23 April.