Ten days ago was international Labor Day, so I chose to discover a new place in Cairo “Saint Simon the Tanner’s Monastery.”  My main goal was to find the calligraphy street art from a French - Tunisian artist “El Seed.” I was following him on social media when he was working on the 50 buildings last year, and since then finding his street art had been on my bucket list.

El Seed is a French-Tunisian artist. His graffiti has appeared all over the world from all the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the high buildings of Sharjah passing by the Tunisian desert. Through his art he is trying to bring people, cultures and generations together. EL Seed and Bahia Shahab have been awarded the 14th the UNESCO Sharjah prize for Arab Culture.

In his new project ‘Perception’, El Seed questioned the level of judgment and misconception society can unconsciously have upon a community based on their differences. 

 

In the neighborhood of Manshiyat Nasr in Cairo, the Coptic community of Zaraeeb collects the trash of the city for decades and developed the most efficient and highly profitable recycling system on a global level. Still, the place is perceived as dirty, marginalized and segregated.
 

To bring light on this community, with his team and the help of the local community, el Seed created an anamorphic piece that covers almost 50 buildings only visible from a certain point of the Moqattam Mountain. The piece of art uses the words of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, a Coptic Bishop from the 3rd century, that said: ‘Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first. [إن أراد أحد أن يبصر نور الشمس، فإن عليه أن يمسح عينيه ]

After some research to localised the “Calligrafitti,” I found someone mentioning Saint Simon’s Monastery, the place itself seemed to be a nice place to visit, and at least if I wouldn’t find the graffiti I would have discovered a new place.

Thus I ordered a Careem-taxi with a final destination of Manshiyat Nasr. Reaching the Monastery is not easy because of the narrow streets, trash carts pass you by along with piles of rubbish, plastics and tins on the sides of the alleys with people sorting them out.

At the far end of the village, awaits you an unexpected, stunning place; a vast open space lying in the bosom of the hills, with dramatic colored carvings all over the mountain. The carvings were done by a Polish artist who begun working there several years ago. They represent stories from the Bible such as the Holy Family journey and the Nativity scene.

 

The main Cathedral there is named after the Virgin Mary and St Simon in commemoration of the legend of transferring the Mokattam Mountain in November 979 when Simon the Tanner was chosen to fulfil this miracle.

 

According to Coptic sayings, the Caliph Al Muizz, an enlightened man, was fond of literacy gatherings and inviting different religious leaders to debate in his presence with neither anger nor contention.

 

In one of those meetings in which Pope Abram and a Jew named Jacob Ibn Killis were present, the Pope got the upper hand in the debate. Plotting to take revenge, Ibn Killis quoted the verse where the Lord Jesus said in Mt 17:20: "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, nothing will be impossible for you" and demanded him to prove that his religion is right by means of this.

 

The Caliph saw in this an opportunity to remove the mountain that was spoiling his view. At the same time, if they proved unable to do so, it would be the proof that the religion of the Christians was wrong and he would be done away with them completely or so goes the Legend.

 

And so, after 3 days of prayers and fasts by the people throughout the land of Egypt, Simon was chosen to move the Mokattam Mountain. It is said that a great earthquake swept over the mountain. Each time the people stood up to worship, the mountain was thrust up and the sun would be seen from under it. When the people sat down, the mountain thrust down. This was repeated three times. [2]

Through this journey in Manshiyat Nasr, I have not only found the calligraphic street art, I’ve learned more about Saint Simon the Tanner and the place dedicated to him, but also I have been surprised at the top of the site by the High Ropes Team. Through climbing activities adapted to all levels the High Ropes Team has welcomed me not only while I was trying the climbing parkour but also showed me around the different caves which compose the sites. I can highly recommend visiting Saint Simon the Tanner monastery and the different activities it offers.

Some people asked why I, as a Muslim girl, visited this Christian site. I always have been interested in other cultures and religions. It is part of who I am.  Visiting a Christian site is also not a new experience to me. Still, I never know how people will react to see a veiled Muslim girl at  a Christian site, so I decided to bring my flatmate.  She is Muslim but not veiled. I was split between two feelings: either people would take my initiative as a lack of respect towards their beliefs, or they would be happy to see Muslims curious and eager to know more about their history and beliefs.

I was fascinated by the work that has been done there, this entire place carved out of the rock. I do strongly believe that respect is the key of understanding. I don’t need to share the same beliefs as someone to respect their beliefs. I have the ability to accept the fact that people are different. Excited – Happy- Curious- I was super thrilled  to visit a Christian site. It is always a new adventure and an opportunity to meet new people.

Once there, we quickly got the attention of the people, so we decided to walk to the higher point of the cliff. Atop the cliff, we found “The High Ropes Team Cave Church,” a climbing club situated on the cliff of the Saint Samaan site, and managed by enthusiastic young Christian man.

The club was originally founded by a Polish sculptor named Mario who engraved most of the sculptures in the holy place. My friend and I tried the beginner trail guided by two young Coptic men, Mina (16 years old) and Abanop ( 24 years old). Being from different religious traditions didn’t stop us from exchanging  our Facebook information, laughing and having  fun together.

We don’t need to be politicians or celebrities  to have an impact on Coptic-Muslim relations. Knowing that this  brief  exchange might have  contributed to good relations between Copts and Muslims satisfied  me. It might seem insignificant for some people, but imagine the opposite: if we had an unpleasant experience, it would have increased the cliché of conflicted  relations between Copts and Muslims in the Middle East. We all have an impact on the society, to solve a big problem, one must  begin with small actions, working from the bottom to the top.

Cairo, May 12, 2017

Dina Bouchkouch is a Moroccan-French student of Foreign Applied Languages, English - Arabic, specialized in International Relations at the University of Bordeaux and interns at the Center for Arab-WestUnderstanding.

[1] El Seed, “ Perception- Zaraeeb- Egypt,” http://elseed-art.com/ Athanasius was bishop but he was also one of the Patriarchs in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

[2] Lara Iskander, “The Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner,” June 14th, 2011, Tour Egypt, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tanner.htm