Interior Of The Virgin Mary And St. Simon The Tanner Cathedral, Part Of The Monastery Of Saint Simon. Editorial Image

Pictured is the interior of the Virgin Mary and St. Simon the Tanner Cathedral, 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. The pictured Virgin Mary and Satin Simon the Tanner Cathedral is is the largest and has an amphitheater that seats 20,000. 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.