Roman Tower of the Babylon Fortress
Between the Churches of Saint George and Saint Mary in Coptic Cairo stands one of the two southern towers of the Roman Babylon Fortress, completely open for tourists to view. This is the very tower you can approach closely and examine in detail. While its "twin" is almost entirely hidden beneath the building of the Church of St. George, and the northern towers are integrated into other structures, this tower stands before visitors in all its stark and majestic beauty.
What Is It and When Was It Built?
This tower is part of the southern gate of the grand Babylon Fortress, erected by order of the Roman Emperor Trajan around 100-110 AD to control the key shipping canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea.
Original Might: Together with the second tower, it formed an impregnable gateway. The original tower`s height was at least 15-20 meters. It was built from giant sandstone blocks, perfectly fitted together without any mortar - the classic Roman technique of opus quadratum. Its circular shape made it resistant to battering rams.
Oblivion and Rediscovery: After the Romans left and with the rise in ground level due to Nile silt deposits, the tower, like the entire fortress, sank several meters into the ground and was forgotten. Its upper part, which remained above ground, was for centuries simply part of the urban landscape. Systematic uncovering and clearing of the tower from accumulated layers occurred in the 20th century during archaeological work studying the Coptic Quarter.
What Do Tourists See Now?
Today, visitors can explore this tower from all sides and see astonishing details:
Monumental Masonry: You can appreciate the enormous scale of the stone blocks, some weighing several tons. The characteristic rough dressing of the sandstone is clearly visible.
Legionary Marks: On many blocks, Roman stamps and marks (tituli picti) are preserved - letters, numbers, or symbols. These are notations made by Roman legions or contractors responsible for quarrying and delivering the stone. It is a direct message from the 1st-century builders.
Visual Stratigraphy: The tower serves as a living illustration of cultural layer growth. It is clearly visible how deep it sank into the earth over 1900 years. The line of the modern roadway shows the ground level of the Roman era.
Architectural Context: From the viewing area near the tower, the best vantage point for understanding the entire complex opens up:
• Directly in front of you—the second southern tower, almost entirely "engulfed" by the building of the Church of Saint George, whose dome rises above it.
• Between the towers - the space of the ancient gateway, above which the "Hanging" Church of Saint Mary (Al-Muallaqa) seems to float.
• This view allows you to encompass three eras at a single glance: Roman military might (the tower), Byzantine-Coptic Christianity (Al-Muallaqa), and Greek Orthodox heritage (the Church of St. George).
Why Is This Important for the Visitor?
This freestanding tower is the key to understanding the Coptic Quarter and all of Cairo.
Tangible History: It is the only structure from the Roman era in Cairo that you can walk around and study in detail.
Explaining the "Hanging" Churches: It vividly shows why the Church of Saint Mary is called "Hanging." The church was not built on the ground but on an arch spanning the two towers, and you are standing right at its base.
The Starting Point: It makes the abstract phrase "Cairo is built on the ruins of a Roman fortress" tangible. Everything you see around you in the quarter—churches, museums, narrow streets—exists thanks to and around this ancient military core.
This freestanding Roman Tower is a clear example of history in the very heart of the Egyptian capital. Cairo began here. Imperial Rome chose this site for a strategic fortress, and it has never lost its significance since. History layered here; it did not erase the past. Christian churches did not destroy the Roman towers but used them as a foundation, creating a unique architectural symbiosis.
