Apr 15 - The Sights of Cairo

Our wakeup call came at 3:00 a.m. Not sure why I bothered to go to bed because I hardly slept. Doug got a little bit of sleep. We were In the lobby by 3:30 a.m. We each got a box breakfast with a banana, an apple, a sad cheese sandwich and two donut-like muffins. On the bus and on our way to the airport by 4:00 a.m. with the same young man who shepherded Doug and myself from the airport on Tuesday. A large Starbucks coffee at 6:30 a.m. perked me up a bit. Got some of yesterday’s write up done while we waited. Our flight left at 7:45 a.m. and we got to Cairo about 8:15 a.m. local time. Cairo is an hour behind Amman. Harry was there to guide us through the airport and to get us to our bus. Our driver is Monty and our guide is Mostafa.

For Doug and myself, this is 5th continent that we have seen – North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and now Africa. We have South America and Antarctic to go. Might have to settle for six out of seven.

First some information about Egypt (thanks Wikipedia):

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and Saudi Arabia do not share a land border with Egypt.

From 1882 until 1952, Egypt was under British protection. It gained its independence following the 1952 revolution and was declared a republic in 1953.

Our first impression of Cairo is that it is so modern. It has a population of 25 million – that’s over one quarter of all the 95 million people in Egypt. I, wrongly, was expecting a place resembling Casablanca in the famous movie. Cairo is busy, with crazy, honking drivers. Lane markings on the road are non-existent and drivers squeeze in wherever they think they can gain a few inches. The traffic in the older areas of Cairo is complicated by tuk-tuks whipping around and going the wrong direction of the flow of traffic. A tuk-tuk is a little 3-wheeled machine – rather like a scooter with a roof, a seat for 2-3 passengers and a crazy driver. And then, to make life interesting, you see wagons drawn by horses or donkeys in and amongst the craziness. Throw in some wild motorcycle riders (no helmets of course), and you have a fine mess of traffic that requires nerves of steel and a constant application of the horn to be able to handle it. Oh yes, and jay walking is a nation sport here. There seem to be no crosswalks and very few lights, so people just step out and take their chances – men, women, children, everyone. Kudos to brave Monty for handling it all.

Mostafa took us on a city sight seeing tour since we couldn’t get into our hotel until later in the afternoon.

Our first stop was at the tomb of Anwar Sadat. He was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. As President, he led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty; this won him and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first Muslim Nobel laureate.

From the Sadat Memorial, we went to the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque is a mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in Egypt and commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pashabetween 1830 and 1848. Situated on the summit of the citadel, this Ottoman mosque, the largest to be built in the first half of the 19th century, is, with its animated silhouette and twin minarets, the most visible mosque in Cairo. This mosque, along with the citadel, is one of the landmarks and tourist attractions of Cairo and is one of the first features you see when approaching the city from any direction.

We jaywalked like the locals to look at Abdeen Palace which is a historic Cairo palace, and one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the President of Egypt. You can see the British influence in the ornate ironwork gates.

Next, Mostafa took us on a boat ride up and down the Nile River. We rode in a felucca – a traditional wooden sailing boat that has been used in the protected waters of the Red Sea and on the Nile River for thousands of years. It was a great way to see more of this city while enjoying a quieter and calmer mood than a motorized boat would have to offer.

We had lunch at the Fish Boat – a restaurant that is an old boat floating on the Nile River.

Our next stop was Coptic Cairo which is a part of Old Cairo which encompasses the Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites. Holy Family visited this area and stayed at the what is now the site of Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church (Abu Serga) during their 3 year 11 month exile in Egypt as they hid from King Herod. The cave where they stayed for 3 months is called the Cavern Church.

The Hanging Church (Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church) is one of the oldest churches in Egypt dating to the 3rd century AD. It was built above the gatehouse of the Babylon Fortress and its nave is suspended over a passageway, giving it its name.

The Church of St. George is a Greek Orthodox church within Babylon Fortress in Coptic Cairo. The church dates back to the 10th century (or earlier). The current structure was rebuilt following a 1904 fire.

We were also able to see the site where Moses was plucked from the reeds of the Nile River by the daughter of the pharaoh.

We visited the Ben Ezra Synagogue near the Moses site.

We made a brief stop at the Amr ibn Al Aas Mosque, but Doug and I declined to go in since we had seen the splendid Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi during our visit to Dubai.

Fr. Paul said a lovely mass for us in a chapel run by the Sisters of St. Elizabeth of Padua. They minister to the approximately 800 lepers in Cairo.

Finally, we got to check into our hotel. We were thrilled to see two pyramids right near the hotel. This hotel is a step up from those we stayed at in Jordan. We will be here for four nights – the rest of the group will be here for five nights as they fly home Friday morning while we head out Thursday night. For the second hotel in a row, we got a room with twin beds. Going to see about moving to a king bed room tomorrow.

Had a lovely dinner - the dessert buffet sucked me into its vortex. We are going to the pyramids tomorrow!!Read more