2006.05.30_Islamic Cairo in Black and White

A year after the terrorist bombing in the souk that killed 21 people, Khan el-Khalili was once again packed with locals and tourists.

2006.05.30_Islamic Cairo 2

Khan el-Khalili and Islamic Cairo in the afternoon.

2006.05.30_Islamic Cairo 1

Other than checking out bus and train schedule at the stations, I pretty much spent the entire day strolling and photographing in Islamic Cairo.

I can't say that I love the area. It was noisy, chaotic, dirty, smelly, disorganized, crowded, disorienting, confusing. However, at certain moment when I stood under the shade of a minaret during prayers or took refuge at the tranquil teashop near the souk of Khan el-Khalili, I felt being miles away from the hectic activities and imagined myself entering the world of Mahfouz's novels or The English Patient.

2006.05.29_Hanging Church

Probably the most beautiful and famous church in Coptic Cairo, the Hanging Church is also one of the oldest. Although much of what we see today of the church's exterior is from the 19th century, many of the interior elements, including over 100 of Christian icons, actually date back to various periods in history. The church was built above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress, the ancient fortress city in Cairo.

After Coptic Cairo, we spent much of the afternoon at the Egyptian Museum. The museum is huge and filled with treasures from ancient Egypt. The exhibition spaces seem disorganized, though the artifact collection on ancient Egypt, such as the papyrus, stone statues, jewelery, and many funeral items are truly magnificent. The most impressive of all are undoubtedly the collections of royal mummies (famous pharaohs such as Ramses II) and the tomb treasures of King Tutankhamen.

We left the museum at around 17:30. We strolled around a number of gift shops and ended up approaching the riverbank of the Nile. We saw a few felucca captains were cleaning their boats along the dock. We didn't have the interest to hire a felucca. Instead, we headed to Cafe Niche for something to eat. Back at Luna, HC and AK rested a while before hopping onto the taxi heading to the train station. They were off for their journey to Upper Egypt. For me, I would have another day in Cairo before embarking my trip to the Western Desert and Siwa Oasis on my own.

2006.05.29_Coptic Quarter

We took the metro to the Coptic Quarter of Cairo, where most of the Coptic Orthodox churches are located in the Egyptian capital. Egyptian Coptic is an ancient language dated back to the time of Christ. As Islam and the language of Arabic entered Egypt in the 7th century, the significance of the Coptic language declined. Coptic Orthodox Christianity, on the other hand, continues to evolve and exist as the main stream Christianity in Egypt, ever since St. Mark found the Church of Alexandria in the 1st Century. Along with Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, the Church of Alexandria (Coptic Church) is considered to be one of the earliest Christian churches. It is also believed that many practices of early Christians had been preserved by the Coptic Church to the modern times.

We toured the St George Church, a Jewish Temple, and the Church of Abu Serga, where it was claimed that the Holy family had once rested when Joseph, Mary and Christ arrived in Egypt. We also toured the Coptic Cemetery in the area. Every tomb in the Coptic Cemetery is like a small shrine on its own.

2006.05.28_Cairo Chat

Leisure fishing on the Nile

On our way to Cairo, I constantly hold my camera out of the bus window to take snap shots. As a metropolis with a population over 10 million people, traffic is certainly a major problem for Cairo. Indeed, I hardly saw a set of traffic lights in the city. Somehow the drivers on the road have their own way to maintain order. To be honest, we weren't sure where the bus was heading. We get off at Cairo's Opera, simply because we could somehow recognize the area and so could orient ourselves back to Madan Tahir. When we passed by the Nile, we saw a few locals fishing from a bridge. Back at Midar Tahir, we tried to find a pub called Ali Baba. A guy appeared from nowhere came over to "help" us out. He said Ali Baba no longer existed, and led us to his perfume shop. At the end AK and I each bought a tiny bottle of perfume for souvenir.

We walked back to Midar Tahir, trying to search for another pub. Another man approached us trying to give us a hand again. This guy was a swim trainer and a tourist guide (with a button of Canadian flag and a button of South Korean flag at his collar). He showed us a photo of him taken perhaps two decades ago, showing a somewhat masculine looking young man in a swimming suit. He called himself Egypt's Arnold Schwarzenegger. At that moment we were quite interested to speak to the locals. This guy was very talkative, and could speak good English. He looked very friendly, and even grabbed my arm when crossing the street. At last we arrived at a local cafe where local beer was served. Each of us three ordered a bottle, but he didn't order anything. At the cafe, we talked briefly about politics and Islam. He said he had been to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan. To him, it was very unfortunate that Arab countries never bridged the differences in order to become a unified nation. At the moment, some are pro-American while some are extremely anti-American. Talking about differences, our conversation also steered to the conflict between Sunni and Shia Islam in Iraq. After politics, he recited a few Islam stories to us, mainly about legends that involve miracles.

When we finished the drink, he left with us and led us back to our hotel. Upon arrival, he finally asked us for tips, saying that he wouldn't mind to have some tips so that he could go drinking with his friends. We refused to give him any tips. I said we considered him as a nice and welcoming friend in Egypt, not a cheater of tourists. He understandingly accepted my explanation, kissed our cheek and wished us good luck on our remaining journey, and finally left.

2006.05.28_Saqqara

Entrance of a tomb


Wall painting in a tomb


Wall painting in a tomb


Main funeral complex at Saqqara


Stepped pyramid at Saqqara

At Luna Hotel, we hired a taxi for the day. Our intention was to take in a number of attractions in the outskirts of Cairo. Our first stop was Saqqara. Saqqara was a royal necropolis of some of the earliest Egyptian kings and nobles, mainly in the Old Kingdom when the administration and religious centre of the kingdom was in Memphis, the capital city of Lower Egypt. Before we headed to the world famous stepped pyramid of Djoser, a staff led us into one of the many tombs in the site. Inside the tomb, magnificent wall paintings are still preserved. Apart from reliefs that depict the royal members and divinities, I was particularly interested in the paintings that illustrate spiritual possessions and ceremonial feasts.

Outside the tomb, we reached the main funeral complex of Djoser's stepped pyramid. The complex was crowded with various tourist groups, each was led by a tour guide holding an umbrella and speaking with a microphone. We winded through the tourist groups while we passed through the funeral complex to reach the famous stepped pyramid. Out of all the mastabas and tombs in Saqqara, Djoser's stepped pyramid is certainly the most famous of all. The massive monument of cascade stone masonry, dated back to 27th century BC, is known as the earliest Egyptian pyramid in the world.