With over 300 full-color photographs, this is the first fully illustrated book devoted to Christian houses of worship in Egypt. The text incorporates the latest research to complement the broad geographic scope covering nearly all significant Coptic sites throughout the country, from the ancient Coptic churches in Old Cairo to the churches in the monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun, the Red Sea, and Upper Egypt. Churches associated with the Holy Family’s sojourn in Egypt, including Gabal al-Tayr and Dayr al-Muharraq, enrich the volume. Many modern churches housing contemporary Coptic art that have not been dealt with in other publications are featured here—especially the Cathedral of St. Mark and his shrine at Anba Ruweis in Cairo.

Churches of all other Christian denominations in Egypt are also described and beautifully illustrated here. A number of famous Greek Orthodox churches are included, as well as two Evangelical Coptic churches. Catholic, Armenian, and Anglican churches designed and decorated by European architects and painters in the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century are given their due: they represent little known treasures of Christian art and architecture. Introductory chapters on the history of Christianity in Egypt, the architecture of the Coptic Church, and Coptic wall paintings help readers to appreciate fully the great cultural, artistic, and architectural heritage of Egypt’s Christians.

GAWDAT GABRA, a former director of the Coptic Museum, is the author or editor of numerous books related to the literary and material culture of Egyptian Christianity, including Coptic Monasteries: Egypt’s Monastic Art and Architecture , Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and Monuments through Two Millennia (both AUC Press 2002), and Christianity and Monasticism in the Fayoum Oasis (AUC Press, 2005). He is the co-editor of the three volumes of The Popes of Egypt (vol. I: AUC Press, 2004).

Gertrud J.M. Van Loon specializes in Coptic art and archaeology. She holds a PhD from Leiden University, where she is currently working as a researcher.

SHERIF SONBOL is a highly regarded Egyptian photographer. He has contributed photographs to numerous illustrated books, including Egyptian Palaces and Villas, 1808­1960 (AUC Press, 2006).

During her travels to Egypt over the last twenty-five years, Carolyn Ludwig came to appreciate the rich Christian heritage that is woven through this country¹s history along with the threads of its more famous pharaonic past. She was deeply moved by the humanity of the stories still told about the few years in the life of Christ when the Holy Family fled to Egypt and traveled up the Nile. She was also moved by the humble simplicity of Egypt¹s early churches, built of brick and plaster, their colors mirroring the sand of the vast desert landscape that surrounds them. Inspired, she set about visiting as many churches in Egypt as possible, especially those associated with traditions of the Flight of the Holy Family.