Restorers 'damaged 4th-century church'

One of the best-known Christian sites in the Middle East, the 4th-century Hanging Church in old Cairo, is at the centre of a storm over an allegedly botchedrestoration.

One of the best-known Christian sites in the Middle East, the 4th-century Hanging Church in old Cairo, is at the centre of a storm over an allegedly botchedrestoration.

The Coptic priest attached to the church, Father Markos Aziz, is so incensed at the results of renovation work commissioned by the Ministry of Culture that he is considering legal action. Officials have suggested that he "stick to his prayers" rather than pass judgement on a project that one official insisted was "going smoothly".

But as Fr Markos picks his way through workers carrying bags of cement into his church, originally constructed over part of a Roman fortress, he says it would have been better if the work had never been done. "We have lost history here, the history of the church," he says.

One of his main complaints is the disappearance of a fresco depicting Roman emperors worshipping pagan deities, which he says may have indicated that the church was once a Roman temple. He says it and a marble pulpit were plastered over during renovation work in the 1980s. He had hoped the current renovation would reveal it again, but he says it has gone completely.

Fr Markos ridicules an explanation by one ministry official, that the wall was covered with limestone "because Copts believe that this scene was idolatrous". He says he was never consulted. "It is criminal. With that logic, the Egyptians should destroy the Pyramids and the Sphinx."

Fr Markos blames the problem on the Ministry of Culture commissioning building contractors rather than restoration experts to carry out the 30m Egyptian pounds (about £6m) project. "They may be able to build and put up highways, but here they have made many, many mistakes," he says. "I am so sad."

Contractors are busy renovating much of old Cairo, including both Christian and Muslim monuments, as part of a project designed to attract tourists, and Fr Markos is not alone in his concerns. One archaeologist working in the area said: "Conservation and restoration require expertise and sensitivity that you are unlikely to find in a construction company. This kind of problem happens all the time. What is unusual is that someone is complaining about it."

Fr Markos's criticism is also unusual since Coptic priests in Egypt generally try to avoid controversy, preferring to speak only in private about difficulties in getting permits for new churches or approval for restoration work. But Fr Markos is not the retiring type. He says he has already won one legal case against the Ministry of Culture, when it tried to impose entry fees for the many visitors to his church.

Efforts are under way to resolve what has become a high-profile dispute. A Coptic conservation expert has been called to Cairo from his Red Sea monastery, and Italian experts are due to be flown in next month. But Fr Markos says he will fight on in court if necessary.