The Cairo Tour

Following Alexandria we did a tour of Cairo, a very lively, very colorful and very NOISY city.  It is an interesting mix of the very modern with the old and the ancient.  We visited the citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster Mosque of Mohamed Ali, both impressive structures.  We were allowed to go into the mosque after removing our shoes and covering our heads.  It was prayer time and we observed the men in the central part of the mosque through a very ornate divider.  The art and architecture were amazing and there were interesting light fixtures and stained glass windows.  Our guide spoke to us about the history of Islam and gently touched on current politics without one word of animosity but with an eye toward mutual understanding and respect.  We then traveled to Coptic Cairo to see where the early Christian church took root in Egypt.  There we saw the crypt where it is traditionally held Joseph and Mary with the young Jesus hid after fleeing Pharoah's massacre.  We also saw the Hanging Church ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hanging_Church) and lit a candle there.  We went to the Church of Saint Sergius where bones of some of the religious leaders are still kept.  Afterward we went to the Ben Ezra Jewish Synagogue spending some thoughtful time there.  It was interesting trekking about the very narrow streets of old Cairo and finding out how much stuff one can cram into a tiny space!  We learned to eat good big breakfasts before leaving for the day because it was usually late afternoon when we were starving (and whining to our guide) and wanted food!  The ultimate visit of the day was the Egyptian National Museum!  There we saw all the things from King Tut's tomb that didn't go on national tours and it was truly spectacular!!  There were a bajillion ancient artifacts and the museum had them sorted according to time frame.  It was a stunning display!  We paid a little extra to go see the mummies and we were glad we did.  Ramses the II is how old?!?!?!  Doesn't look a day over 30 ;) !  We also didn't realize that animals were mummified and there were two crocodile mummies!!  Apparently if you were poor a piece of a critter will suffice as your sacrifice so they mummified cats, birds or pieces thereof....or made fakes if you couldn't find any pieces!!  After that very long day we were on a 2215 flight to Aswan to continue our adventure with another early morning flight to catch to Abu Simbel.  We had to leave our very nice guide, Waleed. (In all Shelly and I had seven flights during the entire trip!)  We checked into the Movenpick in Aswan a little after midnight.  Great hotel and a nice bed to fall into!  Tomorrow...Abu Simbel and Aswan.

Christine xx