Coptic Egypt: A History and Guide

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Summary: A guidebook to Christian Egypt
Review: Coptic Egypt is little known and less understood. OutsideCairo, it's monuments go virtually ignored by the ordinarytourist, while within the city, they are visited briefly, if at all, while on tours of "Old Cairo" which emphasize Islamic Cairo. While neither so grand nor so old as Egypt's Pharonic sites, the Coptic sites are fascinating in their own right and take Egyptian history forward from the time of the pharaohs through the Arab invasions of the seventh century (until which time, Egypt was a Christian country) to approximately the 12th century when many of the monasteries were deserted. This book is a wonderful introduction to the religion, its practices, its history, and its beliefs. It goes on to list the various sites by region of the country-churches and convents in Cairo, monasteries in the rest of the country. There is an excellent chapter on the Coptic Museum where outstanding examples of Coptic art are displayed. Some of the monasteries, dating back to the third and fourth centuries are deserted, but many are still in use and functioning, so a list of religious holidays is helpful if the traveler wishes to avoid the crowds. These monasteries are not only well-preserved examples of 5th century ecclesiastical architecture, but also contain some first-rate icons which can range in age anywhere from the fifth to the twelfth century. All in all an excellent introduction to a fascinating subject.