The Church Saint Barbara is located in Coptic Cairo, in the Babylon fortress, specifically on the eastern side of the fortress. The church is named after Saint Barbara, however, it was originally dedicated to Saints Cyrus and John. The body of Saint Barbra is buried in the church, where visitors were actually allowed to touch it. This church is one of the beautiful churches in Egypt and holds high value and importance.

Saint Barbra was a beautiful girl who was born in Asia Minor, to a very rich pagan father. She refused to marry and dedicated her life to serving her new religion which she had converted to. She was killed and made a martyr by her father and a legend says that a lightning bolt immediately struck her father and turned him into ashes.

Saint Barbra’s church was built in the late 4th century and early 5th. Like most of the old churches of Egypt, it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. A wealthy man named Athanasius built what is considered the main structure of the church in the 7th century. The church’s main restorations occurred in the 11th, 12th and 20th century.

The church, although representative of the old Coptic architecture, also resembles the old basilicas. It was built of bricks and stones, and has a rectangular shape, with a length of 26 metres, a width of 14.5 metres and a height of 15 metres. The building had two arm-like extensions added to it which made the church have a cross shape. The original design of the church had a courtyard, two suites and a private balcony for the women. These features are still present today, but are enclosed by walls that were added later. Some of the other features of the church include a minbar and a mihrab, similar to those found in mosques, and a very beautiful wooden wall that is decorated with star-shaped drawings and ingrained with ivory and seashell. The church is also known for having a big number of valuable items, lots of which are now kept at the Coptic museum, which is a two-minute walk from the church.