Egypt's Babylon:
Coptic Cairo

July 7, 2006

Above is a picture of "Babylon".. Egyptian style. I have always been curious about that name, but in reading Maqrizi I see that the name is really "Bab al-Yun" (The Yun Gate).. which sounds like "Babylon if you say it quickly enough. These are the remains of the Byzantine fort which dominated the area before the Arabs swept through Egypt..

The governor here was a certain Makuks, and according to the traditions related concerning the conquest of Egypt, he tried to bargain with the Arabs.. who were a small force (beginning at 3,500-4,000 troops, although later reinforced with 12,000). Makuks sent a messenger to strike a deal with the Arabs, and the messenger came back with the following story:

When the messengers came to Makuks, he asked: "What is your opinion of them?" They replied: "We saw a people for whom death is more beloved to each of them than life and lowliness more beloved to each of them than eminence. Not one of them has for this world desire or craving, rather they sit upon the ground and eat upon their knees. Their commander is just like all the others. Their eminent ones cannot be told apart from their lowly ones, nor the nobles among them from the slaves. If [the time for] prayer comes no one among them does anything else..." [1:290]

The reason for the conquest is easy to see: ruggedness in pursuit of the goods of the next world. Despite a diminutive force these Muslims would carry everything before them. These events would have taken place in 641 AD, although the earliest surviving book on these events is the Futuh Misr from the mid 9th century.. two hundred years later! The author of that book, Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam, drew upon earlier accounts.. but still it is clear that this versioin has at least a pinch of piety added into the mix.. praise for the godly superiority of the conquerors.

If the ruins of the Byzantine fort serve naturally to call the attention back to the Muslim conquest, they also bring the Coptic Church to mind.. The "Hanging Church" was built upon two of the ruined ramparts of the old fort (thus it is literally "hanging" in the air if one goes underneath to look at its foundations). Over the years these ruins marking the old Byzantine fort were surrounded by Coptic churches and convents.. It is almost as if the ruins marked the good old days when Christianity ruled, and were thus chosen as the site for Coptic institutions (note, though, that this is version of history as slanted as the Islamic one.. since by most accounts the Copts resented the Byzantines and did not initially oppose the Arab advance).

The Hanging Church is still a functioning church, and a few years ago I attended a service here. No one speaks Coptic anymore, but the scripture reading and liturgy continues to be done in Coptic.. while the sermon is in Arabic.

Right next door to the church is the Coptic Museum. It has been closed for a few years and only re-opened a short while ago. I can attest that it has changed tremendously, with much more material on display. It is interesting to look for cultural overlaps.. that is, places where Islamic and Christian styles meet. The facade of the museum is itself an example, copying the look of the al-Aqmar mosque, but Christianizing it by means of crosses and such things..

In this example of domestic design, the tiling, the marble, and abstract designs are reminiscent of Islamic art.. but the crosses obviously set it apart. It will not do to make a great divide between Islamic and Christian art in Egypt.. the two are interdependent.

This is a niche salvaged from the ruins of St. Jeremiah in Saqqara. It is an indention with Mary and the infant Jesus, surrounded by the 12 disciples. Looking at these niches with painted columns on both sides, I am struck by the resemblance to the Islamic prayer niches.. pointing believers toward Mecca. I know that is no original thought.. but after walking through so many mosques, and then to come across this.. it just makes the similarities more salient. The human representations were of course replaced with abstract designs..

This is a stone pulpit of some kind, also salvaged from the monastery of St. Jeremiah in Saqqara. Again, it was hard not to think of the similarly triangular pulpits found in mosques.

I do not want to give the impression that borrowing is only and Islamic phenomenon.. Some of the early Christian pieces in the museum showed the influence of traditional Egyptian religion. On the above marker one can see how the cross is transformed into an ankh..

Our model for the growth of religions should give an important place to such borrowing.. and this theme runs throughout these blogs on mosques and other religious sites in Egypt. Religions, like people, are made up of assorted borrowings.. which are quickly brought into conformity with the new system. But let's forget that popular view in which religions are hermetically sealed!

If you ever visit the new Coptic museum, give a few looks up to the ceilings (some people miss these!).

I don't think this ceiling above is very old.. maybe 19th or 18th century? It is a striking view of what must be the Nile. It is also difficult to find anything specifically religious in the picture.. although it may well have been found in a Christian home. I would suggest that aesthetic pleasure is one way to leap ahead of religious divisions. Apples and pears, river boats and houses, designs and colors.. everyone can agree that these are pleasant.. and anyone could have had this scene running along their ceiling. What is more ecumenical than a lovely scene?