Shrine of St. Mark

I took the metro today to a church where the bones of St. Mark are kept. It is a Coptic church, and the largest cathedral in Egypt.

So, I got to the church and went in through the gate and was suprised to see so many people at the church. I didn't know if there was a service but just figured I'd wander around until someone asked me what I was doing there or until I needed to ask someone a question.

I wandered into a room below the church and a man who was doing construction asked me where I was going.

SIDENOTE: I need to clarify here, that there is always a language barrier as my Arabic is very broken and they often don't speak much English, but somehow we communicate. When I write down conversations, please note they are not full sentences but a few words here and there. I write the conversations here as if they were, only because it gets the point across easier.

I asked him if I could go into the church. He said yes, and directed me to the entrance upstairs. Along the way, he asked the standard where are you from question. I told him America. Immediately, he asked if I wanted to marry an Egyptian and I emphatically said, no. He was an older man and explained that he only asked because a friend of his wanted to marry an American. Again, I shook my head and stated a dramatic, no.

He showed me the door leading into the chapel area. I headed in and he followed. I thanked him for his help, but then as I had just gotten to where I needed to go, he asks me if I want some tea, or water or something to drink. I said, no, and thanked him, but thought it weird for him to offer.

As I turned to walk away he pleaded with me and said he liked me and that he was not Egyptian. I looked him straight in the face and I was angry. I paused, then sternly said no thank you and turned away. He left. So much for simple helpfulness.

In the large chapel area, there were different children's church lessons going on. One little girl, about 12 yrs, snuck a little wave to say hello, while the teacher was getting the class in order. I thought about getting a picture but decided against it as I could see it would be a major distraction to the whole class. So instead, I snuck a wave back at her and her friends.

I wanted to find where they had the remains of St. Mark kept. I figured it'd be a big deal and fully marked but had no idea where to look. Again I wandered outside the chapel until I found a woman sitting at a desk in a small room. She led me right to it. In the room a few people were praying and there were scenes from St. Mark's martyrdom on the wall.


There was a woman praying in the room. Her name was Yoland, and she spoke very good English. She asked if I wanted to know all about this place and the story of St. Mark in Egypt and proceeded to tell me every detail I could imagine from his coming to Egypt to the building of this large church.

She showed me around for an hour. You could tell this woman loved practicing and sharing her faith and traditions. She led me to another smaller church that held the remains of other saints of which she told me their stories, as well.

Being a storyteller myself, I was so caught up with everything that I missed getting a picture with her. She really was a great blessing to run into.