The Zabbaleen 'The Garbage People of Cairo'

For people grown up in Europe, States, Canada, .., the impressions you get might reorder your mind and the habbits you're used to. The Zabbaleen people (garbage collectors) go back centuries where coptic where allowed to breed their pigs by leftover food in an Islamic area. Nowadays the Zabbaleen people collect garbage all over Cairo, efficiently sort it by hand, and therefore recycle up to 80 %. The shreddered and neatly packed material is sold back to industry, where it is cleaned up and reused. That's the way the Zabbaleen walk their daily life as it is given. By the 1980s the Zabbaleen have established the world's largest cave church by digging into the hill, upwards the district. The church St. Simon has around 20.000 handmade seats of stone and the Zabbaleen do not take any touristic fee, it is open for any one. Next to it is St. Marcus church which is inside a cave, where might be able to listen to a various number of birds breeding and, therewidth, sharing the place with the Zabbaleen. If needed, they also established clean rest rooms with tap water outside, common to western standards. If you decide to go there, stop at the main entrance at the south by taxi or uber. Some drivers even won't drive you indside, due to road quailty. However, wait a moment, there are Tuk Tuks (three wheeled motorbike taxis) comeing out and taking anyone in. Name St. Simon, get in, that's it. There is no need to deal a price, the Zabbaleen are very friendly, they take you up, and if you pass around 20 Egyptian pound, you will receive a smile. Getting back is bit tougher, while you might have to walk inside the district, looking for a free Tuk Tuk passing by. You can easly navigate by mobile and there is only a single crossing, where you have to turn left, until several Tuk Tuks show up that you can signal with the hand for a ride out the district. You do not have to fear anything, the Zabbaleen are that friendly and help you at anytime. :-)

Really interesting place to visit. We drove through on our way to the monastery of St Simon. The zabbaleen do a brilliant job, collecting and sorting the rubbish from the city. I read that they recycle 80%. The people work very hard, and provide an essential service.

If you are going to st simon church you will pass by this area its smelly people there try to recycle cairo garbage

Bad smell in most of the area .but the monastery is sooooooo great 👍

nice to see all these people and their life

quite safe abd educative place to see how christian minority lives

For an European this is a wake up call to a very different reality.

當地人很友好。這裡很震撼，蒼蠅到處都是，到處堆滿了垃圾與塵土飛揚，氣味非常難聞。但可以體驗當地生活。