Around Cairo...again

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Cairo, Egypt

Well I woke up this morning not entirely sure what I was going to do. I was hoping to stay tonight with a family friend, but she ended up out in the desert (she actually works in Cairo while I only vacation here) so that was not going to work. I of course am attempting to be more spontaneous so had no Plan B. I was still hoping things would work out during the day, so thought I would check out a few more things in Cairo.

Of course I was not that organized with this either. I knew what I wanted to see but not really how to get there. Eventually I hired a guy to drive me around (through the hotel). Basically my friend Mohammed (yes that is his name), would drop me off at the door of where I was going and then pick me up at the same place after an agreed period of time and then take me to the next place. This actually turned out to be a very good idea. So for about 7 hours and $60 (Canadian) I had a private chauffeur. I did feel a little guilty as I had a 6 passenger van to myself and I watched the 12 passenger vans with 20 people in it drive by but I guess that is how it goes.

Anyway, my first stop was a the Citadel which actually is made up of a few places. Inside you will find two museums (Police National Museum and Military National Museum) and two Mosques (Mohamed Aly Mosque and the Mosque of Al Masir Mohammad Ibn Qalaun). Really they were all very interesting. I first stepped into the Mosque of Al Masir. I was dressed appropriately (long pants, shoulders covered) so there were no issues except that I forgot to take off my shoes. A lady nicely reminded me to remove them and then I could enjoy the place. Both Mosques are absolutely stunning….really more than I thought I would see.

The Mohamed Aly Mosque

This is on another Cairo hilltop. I never did find out what it was.

Looking out over Cairo. I can honestly say that this is the largest city I have ever visited. I am told the population is around 17 million however they say during the work week it is more like 25 million.

I then decided to hit the two museums. First off the Police Museum. Mainly I could only enjoy the items on display as there were not that many written descriptions in English. You could really see the progression of police in Egypt and some of the specific things they have been involved in (including Presidential assassinations and such). Lots of weapons on display as well. The Military Museum was a lot larger and written descriptions much better but two unfortunate things about this place. First, many of the rooms were closed so I missed some of the connecting info as I travelled from year to year. The second things was that I was stalked through the entire museum by two guys. At first they just wanted my phone number (I almost gave it to them…let them pay for a long distance call to Canada) but after I made it clear to them they would not be getting it I though they would go away. They did not….and they did not seem to speak English (while I was trying to explain to them to go away) however outside the museum they seemed to understand English just fine. I almost got to see if they understood knee to the groin but lucky for them they did eventually go away and disappear.

The Military Museum. It is in an old Palace.

Anyone what to know why I have issues with spelling while in Egypt? This would be exhibit a.

I then met up with Mohammed again and he drove me over to the Mosque and School of Sultan Hassan. Mohammed actually joined me here and I have learned that although as a tourist I have to pay to come in, Egyptians and Muslims get in for free (if I had lied when asked if I was Muslim I could have gotten in but I will pay the few bucks). This was also a very amazing place. It was very interesting to wander through the mosques. It gave me a must closer glimpse at a world that I know very little of and mostly from television. The tranquility and peacefulness of these places certainly gives you a different perspective and one that others should see more often.

Inside the Mosque

Once I left the mosques, Mohammed zipped us down to a totally different part of Cairo, Old Cairo and Coptic Cairo. Coptic Cairo is the Christian part of the city. As it is a tourist destination it is barricaded and all traffic in and out is watched very carefully. Once inside I was able to spend a great amount of time in the Coptic Museum. How much of the Coptic history did I maintain…not that much…it is a history I had very little pre-knowledge of so a little difficult to maintain but certainly will make for some interesting reading later. What really blew my mind were some of the items on display. Many limestone tablets, statues and sculptures from different monasteries in ancient Egypt. Of course I have no pictures because I could not take any pictures….I actually had to “check” my camera at the door before I was allowed in. There was also a huge section the textiles, which are considered the most characteristic of Coptic art. The depicted daily life, customs, beliefs and mostly used linen, wool and silk and sometimes cotton. Very well preserved considering many of these were under sand for a whole lot of years.
Also under sand for a lot of years were items from the Nag Hammadi Library. They are dated to the 4th century and are considered one of the most valuable collections of ancient text found. They provide new information about history of religion, coprology, philosophy and codicology (the study of the externals of manuscripts in codex form, the techniques of their manufacture and the history of manuscript collections). ( I learned a lot of new words in the short hour I was in this museum). They were actually found by a camel driver in 1945. I very much doubt he knew what he had discovered. There is not very much left of these old books but what is left has been very carefully preserved and so neat to see.

Part of the old Babylon Fortress

I also hit up a couple local churches including The Hanging Church. Things close up a lot earlier around here (1700 or so) so I could not see as much as I wanted to though. The Hanging Church is very famous though. It gets its name because its nave is suspended over a passage of the old Babylon Fortress.

The Hanging Church

One of the old alley ways in Coptic Egypt

A metro station in Coptic Egypt

The last stop before heading back to the hotel was the Khan El Khalily bazaar. This place was really crazy. I found myself wandering in and out of shops and up and down alley ways, thinking I was going to come back to the same place….but no, I was usually somewhere different. I did buy a few things though (my Egyptian shopping complete) including a few things I had been looking for. I also almost got myself a kitten. The little guy fit in the palm of my hand and was so cute. I probably should not have picked him up (but hey I've had all my shots so I figured it was ok). There were cats everywhere in the market (most looking pretty clean and healthy too which is not always the case in this country) but none of them were that little. I put him back though because I figured I was probably going to have a really hard time sending him back to Canada.

Once my shopping was complete Mohammed fought the traffic and I made it back to the hotel…..still with no place to stay. I checked one more time and once again confirmed that there was no room at the Inn so I had some dinner, hung out on the roof, checked some email and then had the boys drive me to the airport. They tried to charge me double the cost but I dropped a name and got it for cheaper, (see flirting with the day staff does pay off, even in Egypt). I figured it really wouldn’t be a trip if I did not sleep at the airport at least once so here I am. My flight to Sharm El Shiekh does not actually leave until 1000 but the Air Egypt guy has told me to just check in the morning and perhaps I can make the 0515 flight.

Until then I will try to grab some sleep on an airport bench. I love travelling!!

Julie