Ancient site · Cairo
Babylon Fortress
An ancient Roman fortress in Old Cairo, whose former enclosure now holds the Coptic Museum and several historic churches.
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The story
Babylon Fortress is an ancient Roman fortress on the eastern bank of the Nile in the area of Old Cairo. Most sources credit its construction to Emperor Diocletian around 300 AD, while some Arabic accounts credit Trajan in the 2nd century AD with a later restoration in the 4th century. It guarded the entrance to an ancient canal, previously rebuilt by Trajan, linking the Nile with the Red Sea, at the boundary between Lower and Middle Egypt where river craft paid tolls. Its former enclosure now holds the Coptic Museum, a convent and several churches, including the Church of St. George and the Hanging Church.
Good to know
- The fortress guarded the entrance to an ancient canal linking the Nile with the Red Sea.
- Its former enclosure holds the Coptic Museum, the Church of St. George and the Hanging Church.