This article has been translated from Russian language using an artificial intelligence-based translation algorithm. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the quality of the translation. You can read the original of this article in Russian here, and ask questions on the topic of our travel forum in English here.
The Coptic Church of As-Samayyun or The Heavenly Cathedral, also known as the "Inhabitants of Heaven" temple is the main Orthodox Christian church in Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the iconic sights of the city. Built in 2010. If you visit it, you will definitely be amazed by the scale and beauty. Indeed, until you see this place with your own eyes, it is difficult to imagine that such a thing can be found in a Muslim country. But in fact, this is not surprising, because in Egypt every tenth believer professes Catholic or Orthodox Christianity.
Although this church is Orthodox, it is strikingly different from the traditional Orthodox churches and churches in Russia and the post-Soviet space. In its architecture you will not see the usual domes, outwardly it looks more like a cross between a Catholic cathedral and a mosque. Inside you will not see icons, they are replaced by frescoes, and benches are set up for parishioners, again, as in a Catholic church.
for large groups of tourists who are brought here with sightseeing tours, and sometimes for individual tourists who visit the temple, the rector of the temple in good russian talks about christianity in egypt. For example, you will learn that Egyptian Christians mark themselves with a cross on their wrist, and study the Bible in Arabic. As a thank you, you can leave donations for the temple.
When entering the temple territory, you will have to go through security control through a police checkpoint, sometimes even require you to present your passport or photocopy. To enter the temple directly, one should adhere to traditional norms in clothing and behavior: do not visit drunk, do not swear, do not enter in too revealing and bright clothes. If you come here in too open clothes, you can use the free capes at the entrance. Strangely enough, there are no strict requirements for covering the head with women and for the absence of a headdress.
Panorama of the Coptic temple in Sharm el-Sheikh
🕐 Working hours: from 06:00 to 21:00.
💵Entrance fee / ticket price: free of charge.
🚶 How to get there: The Coptic church is located in the Hai en Nur area, it is a little away from the tourist areas of Hadaba and Sharm el-Maya (As-Samayoun Coptic Church on the map). A visit to the church is included in the program of sightseeing tours of Sharm el-Sheikh, which are offered to vacationers on vouchers from tour operators. Unfortunately, such excursions are more aimed at taking tourists to shopping malls and shops, and therefore many refuse such excursions. If you decide to refuse, you can visit the temple on your own without any problems. You can get to it by taxi from any part of the city, the price, depending on the place of departure and your ability to bargain, will be $ 2-30. But you can get there much cheaper if you use local fixed-route taxis, then the trip will cost from 5 to 20 Egyptian pounds (approximately 0.1-0.4 rubles, see all about the money of Egypt and the exchange rate). Minibuses do not go directly to the church, and therefore you will have to check with the minibus driver if he is going to some well-known landmark. For the Coptic Church, such a well-known landmark is the large supermarket Carrefour or the main hospital Sharm International Hospital. From these places to the temple will have to walk about 1 kilometer. See more about the transport of Sharm el-Sheikh and what tourists can use to travel here.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Sharm el-Sheikh with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites:
- 📷 Search for excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sputnik8.com
- 📷 Search for excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tripster.ru
- 📷 Search for excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tezeks.com