Breakfast buffet. I'm so boring. I have one egg over easy, fruit-watermelon and honeydew melon, danish/pastry, toast, orange juice, coffee. Richard continues to eat more like a European making a sandwich of meats and cheeses. He tries everything!
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| Early morning view from our balcony |
Our pick up time is 8:00 am. Adel is our driver and Mohammed is our guide. If you don't have a driver to take you to
Coptic Cairo area you can take the metro and get off at Mari Girgis stop.
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Driving to Coptic Cairo
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| Hanging out the wash to dry |
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| Metro stop |
COPTIC CAIRO. Before the arrival of Islam Egypt was Christian and its people were known as Copts. When the Arab army occupied Egypt in 640 AD its leader Mar instructed his people to take good care of the Copts for the Prophet himself had given orders to do so. Today Copts make up about 10% of the nation.
ROMAN FORTRESS OF BABYLON. A town was built perhaps as early as the 6th century BC originally to guard the canal linking the Nile and the Red Sea. It was Egyptian or Jewish in spirit long before Emperor Trajan built the existing fortress in 130 AD. The ancient gate towers of the former fortress provide access to a sunken compound (evidence that the street level has risen over the centuries) which contains the Coptic Museum, numerous churches, a synagogue, and several cemeteries. Almost opposite the Mari Girgis metro stop there are twin circular towers of Babylon's western gate. The right hand tower is ruined. Atop the other tower stands the Orthodox Church of Saint George. Both towers encased in alternating courses of dressed stone and brick.
CHURCH OF ST. GEORGE. The only round church in Egypt. Still a working nunnery but some rooms open to the public. Medieval hall and a chapel with a casket claimed to contain relics of St. George.
HANGING CHURCH. Built above the water gate. Go up a steep stairway to enter. The main nave is ribbed like an upturned boat or Ark. There are 16 pillars which used to be painted with images of saints.
CHURCH OF ST. SERGIUS. Sunk below street level. Egypt's oldest 5th century. Steps descend to a crypt where the Holy Family is supposed to have taken shelter. No pictures were allowed inside but I snuck a couple.
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| Walking down a narrow alleyway to get to the church |
BEN EZRA SYNAGOGUE. Originally a church sold to pay off taxes, it became a synagogue in 882 AD. Restored in the 1990s.
CHURCH OF ST. BARBARA. It dates back to the 5th or 6th century AD but was rebuilt several times most notably by the end of the 11th century. Dedicated to a 3rd century saint who was executed for preaching Christianity. Lovely.
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Ceiling
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COPTIC MUSEUM. Founded in 1908. A huge collection which represents the period in world history when the old gods were being replaced by Christianity. Coptic artifacts and artwork. Stonework, metalwork, textiles, manuscripts.
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| Admission ticket |
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Coptic rugs
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| Textile art |
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Gold coins from the 7th century
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| 3rd/4th century limestone carved depicting a nymph on a sea monster with a dolphin to the right |
On our way to our next place we make a quick stop at the
Khan al-Khalili bazaar-Gouzlan. I return the cartouche that I wasn't happy with and explain fully what I want. I even write it down on paper. It will be delivered to the hotel tonight.
EGYPTIAN MUSEUM. Egypt's main museum. Right in the heart of the modern city near Midan Tahrir. One of the top museums in the world. Collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt. No pictures allowed when we are visiting. But I'm told by Mohammed that I can buy a book from the museum store that will have pictures and information as to what we will see today as well as things we don't have time for. Unfortunately this guidebook is sold out in English. Only available in Arabic, Greek, and German! Bummer. I'm so disappointed. I do buy some postcards one of which s exactly like the papyrus painting I bought! I had a list of things I wanted to see which was accomplished as well as some other stuff not on my list. We start on the ground floor. See the 3 colossi Ramses II, limestone statue of Djoser (built the Step Pyramis in Sakkara), floor from the palace Akhenaten the heretic monotheists king, Narmer Palette. From the Old Kingdom statue of Khafre who built the pyramids of Giza, statues of Rahotep and Nofret. From the Middle Kingdom statues of Senwosret I. New Kingdom-statue Thutmose III, artwork Akenaten's reign, artifacts Ramses II, Greco-Roman exhibit, Nubian exhibits. On the upper floor is the Tutankhamun collection. Gold funerary mask and sarcophagus. I so badly wish I could take a picture of that famous mask! There's a guard by the door entry into the room. However I see a guy taking a picture of it with his phone. I'm pissed. We also see the ancient trumpet, throne rooms, 4 gilded boxes, royal toilet seat! Royal mummy room has 11 pharaohs but the body/mummy of Ramses II is in another room. We only have 1 1/2 hours here. Really need double that amount of time! When I got home I ordered a book about the Egyptian Museum from Amazon.com It has over 300 pages filled with beautiful photos and a wealth of information. I also bought a picture DVD from Mohammed for $15.00 USD.
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Admission ticket
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Can definitely see the burned building in the background so close to the museum!
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| Mohammed and me |
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| Mohammed and Richard |
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Postcard-Golden throne of Tutankhamun
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Postcard-Ankhesenamun offering two bouquets to her husband Tutankhamun
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Book I ordered
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Statue of Khafre
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| Golden mask of Tutankhamun |
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| Narmer Palette |
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| Statue of Djoser |
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Postcard
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| Picture CD I bought from our guide |
We are back at our hotel by 1:00 pm. Plenty of time for the
pool.
Drinks-Sakara beer, pepsi. Also
ice cream cones! This is our last night in Egypt. Tomorrow we fly from Cairo to Athens. The plan is to walk over to the Cairo Tower and go from there.
CAIRO TOWER. 1962. Elevator takes us up to the viewing platform. Great views which would be even better on a perfectly clear day.
Sunset was disappointing. But we heard the
call to prayer which was wonderful. Bought some postcards. I decide I'd like to go to Tahir Square which is where all the protesters were. You can even see some of the buildings that got burned. Tires were set on fire. It was on the world news right before we left for this trip.
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| Admission ticket |
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| Views from the Cairo Tower |
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The traffic!
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Sunset
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We get a
taxi. We drive over to
TAHRIR SQUARE. First he takes around and around several times before he understands that I want to get out of the taxi and walk around. We get dropped off so we can walk around. Just taking it all in what happened here. Here's where it all started. Our taxi driver gets a small Egyptian flag for us. Now we're hungry and it's time for dinner.
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| We're finally out of the taxi |
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| Walking around |
ABUL EL SID.
Dinner-Egyptian classic food. Can smoke sheesha here if you want. I go for an Egyptian classic-koshari. It's chick peas, rice, ground beef, spaghetti, tomato sauce. Richard gets the classic molokheya-Egypt's national dish-a green type of soup I think which is served with chicken and rice. Pita and dipping sauces. Cost without tip 123.20 LE. The food was yummy and filling. A perfect way to end our time in Egypt. A short walk as we can see the lit up Marriott sign and we're back at our hotel. Time to pack. The new cartouche had been delivered and it was perfect. I called Shaggy to let him know I was happy. Time for a relaxing bubble bath.
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Richard
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Menu
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| Koshari |
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| Molokheya with chicken and rice |
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| Follow the hotel sign get back |
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