We started off by seeing Mary’s Tree. This tree allegedly provided Mary and Jesus with shelter when she passed through Egypt. The tree looks pretty decrepit and is really warped. Aside from its age, it also apparently bent itself into this weird shape in order to give them more shelter.
Next we went to the citadel. Within the grounds was the Alabaster Mosque. All of us girls were given nifty green capes to cover ourselves with. We also had to either take our shoes off or put on stylish blue booties over our shoes. I liked how there were carpets laid out covering the whole floor and there were lights hanging that looked like lanterns.
We had a guide showing us around all day whom was amusing but hard to understand and hear at times. It was hilarious because when we were standing outside the citadel his phone rang. His ringtone was Celine Dion’s “Because You Love Me.” We all found this hilarious and started singing along with it.
It was extremely hot; not that it should have been a shock but on day excursion like this you really feel the burden of the hotness. After the citadel we headed to old Cairo where we visited the Coptic Museum. Coptic basically translates to mean Egyptian Christians. You weren’t allowed to have cameras inside which I was disappointed about because I saw some really cool architectural details I wish I could have photographed. The museum basically had a lot of stone carvings and old artifacts. I more enjoyed looking at the building itself. They had these windows that I learned are called Arab-esque style. From the outside they were this wooden box that jutted out and had intricate carving with wholes to let in light. There were small parts that could be opened like a shutter; There was one large one in the center and then two small ones on the side. The larger one was for men and the smaller ones for women because that’s fair! There was also cool carvings in the ceilings and doorways and awesome stained glass windows, none of which I can show you.
After that we walked down the block to see the Hanging Church. I still can’t grasp the concept but apparently there used to be water underneath the Church and it was held up kind of on stilts as if it was hanging over the water. The water has now dried up but there are parts of the floor that have glass inserts so you can see how far down the ground is underneath the Church. This is taken inside the Church.
As we left the Church, we could hear the Calling of the Prayer happening. Five times a day they play a prayer over the loud speakers of all the Mosques so everyone can hear it and pray even if they aren’t at the Mosque. To us it just sounds like weird moaning but I’m sure it means something important. If you are in an area with multiple Mosque, the sounds often blend and it becomes an even more muffled weird sound. As the moaning continued our guide took us through a part of Old Cairo like nothing I have seen yet. We were in this very impoverished neighborhood. The buildings were run down and trash lined the alleys. We saw some chickens on the side of the road as well as a family with a goat, just hanging out. Walking through here felt slightly wrong to me, like we were intruding on them. People were snapping pictures which I felt bad about but as others did I couldn’t help but snap a few as well.
People didn’t seem bothered by us though. There were tons of kids running around that all seemed so happy. A bare-footed little boy was riding his bike and kind of followed us. He kept having to get off and pick it up or because of steps along the way. There were two others playing with balloons. They never asked us for anything; they more just intrigued and wanted to say hi. When we were outside the Museum, a family had asked Megan if they could take a picture with her, I guess just because she looked so different.
After that we went to Diaa’s favorite restaurant to eat some Egyptian cuisine. The place was stunning. Our table was a shiny gold color and had designs covering it. My food was very scrumptious. I had hummus to start with and some fabulous mango juice. Then I had a dish called dolmas which was vegetables stuffed with rice. I really liked the peppers and zucchini but didn’t like the eggplant. Some people tried pigeon!!! And Mauricio got rabbit! He made me try a piece which I was very reluctant to do; something about eating such a cute little hopping creature seems wrong to me. I tried a little though and it wasn’t bad. It was very plain tasting though. I also tired Hibiscus, this super sweet drink made from flowers.
The restaurant was located at the market and for the first time I got to see the cool part of the market. I wish we had had more time to look around. This was where there were more stores rather than street stalls and they were selling all different kinds of crafts and snazzy things. I not having much guidance had ended up in the yucky part of the market twice. Now I feel I need to go back yet again to explore the nice part!
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