Saint Simon The Tanner`s Hall, Part Of The Monastery Of Saint Simon In The Mokattam Mountains, Cairo Region. Editorial Image

Pictured is Saint Simon the Tanner`s Hall, part of the Monastery of Saint Simon in the Mokattam Mountains which are close to the center of Cairo. The Coptic Christian residents of Garbage City discovered a cave in the 1970`s and by the 1990`s cleared hundreds of tons of boulders, creating a complex of churches and meeting halls that compose the Monastery of St. Simon. St. Simon Tanner Hall is enclosed entirely within the cave and seats about 2,000. It`s walls are carved with stories from the bible. It sits above the Saint Marcus Church. Garbage City is the nickname for Mokattam Village at the foot of the mountains, home to 20,000 Zabbaleen, 90% of whom are Coptic Christians. They survive by collecting and recycling garbage.