Deir Al-Sultan

The rooftop of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre features a cluster of low stone domes and cramped living quarters known as Deir Al-Sultan. This monastery belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a claim contested by the Coptic Church for centuries. In eighteen sixty-two, the keys to the monastery were famously seized by Coptic monks, leading to a long diplomatic standoff. Today, the Ethiopian monks remain in these small, weathered rooms, maintaining their presence in the heart of the city's complex religious landscape.