Editing Cairo (section)

===Old Cairo===
{{Main|Old Cairo|Coptic Cairo}}
[[File:Hanging Church Cairo.jpg|thumb|The [[Hanging Church]] in [[Old Cairo]]|left]]
This area of Cairo is so-named as it contains the remains of the ancient Roman fortress of Babylon and also overlaps the original site of Fustat, the first Arab settlement in Egypt (7th century AD) and the predecessor of later Cairo. The area includes Coptic Cairo, which holds a high concentration of old Christian churches such as the [[Hanging Church]], the [[Church of St. George (Cairo)|Greek Orthodox Church of St. George]], and other Christian or Coptic buildings, most of which are located in an enclave on the site of the ancient Roman fortress. It is also the location of the [[Coptic Museum]], which showcases the history of [[Coptic art]] from Greco-Roman to Islamic times, and of the [[Ben Ezra Synagogue]], the oldest and best-known [[synagogue]] in Cairo, where the important collection of Geniza documents were discovered in the 19th century.{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=43}}

[[File:010112 00001 Koptisches Viertel, Kairo.jpg|thumb|Cemetery in Coptic Cairo]]
To the north of this Coptic enclave is the Amr ibn al-'As Mosque, the first mosque in Egypt and the most important religious centre of what was formerly Fustat, founded in 642 AD right after the Arab conquest but rebuilt many times since.{{sfn|Williams|2008|p=39}} A part of the former city of Fustat has also been excavated to the east of the mosque and of the Coptic enclave,{{sfn|Gabra|van Loon|Reif|Swelim|2013|p=|pp=275–279}}{{Sfn|Williams|2018|pp=47–48}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toler |first=Pamela D. |date=2016 |title=In Fragments from Fustat, Glimpses of a Cosmopolitan Old Cairo |url=https://www.aramcoworld.com/Articles/January-2016/In-Fragments-from-Fustat-Glimpses-of-a-Cosmopolit |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=AramcoWorld |language=en |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606192722/https://www.aramcoworld.com/Articles/January-2016/In-Fragments-from-Fustat-Glimpses-of-a-Cosmopolit |url-status=live }}</ref> although the archeological site is threatened by encroaching construction and modern development.{{Sfn|Williams|2018|pp=47–48}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-17 |title=Islamic Egypt's first capital under threat |url=http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/islamic-egypts-first-capital-under-threat-232512028.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref> To the northwest of Babylon Fortress and the mosque is the Monastery of Saint Mercurius (or ''Dayr Abu Sayfayn''), an important and historic Coptic religious complex consisting of the [[Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo|Church of Saint Mercurius]], the Church of Saint Shenute, and the Church of the Virgin (also known as ''al-Damshiriya'').{{sfn|Gabra|van Loon|Reif|Swelim|2013|p=178}} Several other historic churches are also situated to the south of Babylon Fortress.{{sfn|Gabra|van Loon|Reif|Swelim|2013|p=230}}