Our first stop, the museum, was a real highlight of the day. This museum was opened in 1902 and as you might imagine, it is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world-120,000 items to be exact! The building shows its age but wears it well. A new museum is being built near Giza thereby combining the two attractions in the same geographic area. Our guide, Mimi, intentionally had us arrive at the museum well before it opened so we could get tickets be first in line to enter. She gave us explicit instructions upon entry to follow her at running speed through the museum up to the second floor to the popular Tutankhamen exhibit.
Imagine 25 adults and children running through an empty museum passing by statues and tombs….it was like a scene from a movie! Once at the Tutankhamen exhibit, we had the place to ourselves, which was Mimi's intent. Normally, crowds of people, crammed together like sardines, wait to just get in to see the incredible treasures of the famous Pharaoh but being the first to arrive we had plenty of elbow room and could look at all his amazing treasures leisurely. No cameras are allowed into the museum so we had to commit what we saw to memory. The exhibit contains a total of 2,099 objects from the Pharaoh’s tomb so that was quite a bit to absorb!!
Mimi was very knowledgeable and gave us a lot of behind the scenes information about the Tutankhamen as well as other exhibits in the museum. We would have loved to have spent days there, but it was time for lunch and we were hungry! We were taken to a big restaurant beside the Nile for a leisurely lunch with our group. The kids had their own table…
After lunch, we made an obligatory stop at a bijouterie. Apparently, all these tours do the same drill. Some people aren’t comfortable buying things on their own at the souks and look forward to having the opportunity to shop without pressure somewhere with fixed prices like the bijouterie. We just thought it was another way they try to make money off the tourists. We preferred to wait until later to do our shopping at the souks. Now, we're off to Old Cairo.
Driving through the streets, fresh baked bread carts, like the one this boy is tending, were common...
Our visit to Old Cairo was fascinating. This old part of the city contains remains of an ancient fortress. Our first stop was to visit the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (Abu Serga). This 4th century church is considered to be the oldest of Cairo's Christian churches. It is dedicated to two early martyrs and traditionally believed to have been built on the spot where the Holy Family, Joseph, Mary and the infant Christ, rested at the end of their journey into Egypt. Inside the church, we looked down the shaft of a staircase which lead to the spot where Mary, Joseph and Jesus are believed to have stayed. They may have lived here while Joseph worked at the fortress.
Before Egypt became an Islamic state, it was a mostly Christian country with an ancient Christian heritage. Not only was it was a land where Jesus and his family were known to have traveled, but also where early Apostles came to spread his word, particularly at first in Alexandria. Today, Christians make up only about 10-15% of the population. We visited another important Coptic church, Al Moallaqa. This church dates back to the 4th century and is supported by two towers in the Roman fortress. Because of this, it is also known as the “Hanging Church”.
Our guide also took us to one of the first synagogues in Cairo which was located right near the Coptic church. It was built in the year 882 on the remains of the basilica of a Coptic church that had been sold to Jews. It became known as the Synagogue of Elijah the Prophet and also as the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
We then drove to another part of the city, up on a hill, to the Citadel and Mohammed Ali Mosque.
During the 12th century, walls were built around the old Islamic cities of Cairo and around the Citadel. This complex stands on a hill commanding views of practically the whole of Cairo. Stone from the Giza pyramids was used to build the Citadel’s fortifications...
The best known monument in the Citadel is the 19th c. alabaster-lined Mohammed Ali Mosque...
The design of the mosque imitates that of the Ottoman mosques in Istanbul, with a large, square ground plan, central dome, four half-domes and two tall minarets. It was impressive!
This is the only mosque in Cairo which allows entry to non muslims. We removed our shoes upon entering the complex and were permitted to wander around the interior with our guide...
The view of Cairo from the mosque would have been more spectacular without the pollution...
It was dark by the time we arrived at the souks, which were filled with people and quite lively! For those not familiar with the term, a souk is the term used to designate a commercial quarter or the market in general in any Arabized or Muslim city. this was just one of several in Cairo...
Nick, Nicholas and I spent nearly an hour in this tourist shop(we had to wait for a bus) which funny enough was called Golden Gate Bazaar! This father and his three sons own and operate this and a few other tourist shops. The two sons were tending the store while we were there and they were most happy to speak with us about their lives in Cairo, in Egypt in general, their thoughts on the government, living conditions, education, employment, etc. They didn't have much nice to say about any of it and both young men hope to leave Egypt for 'greener pastures' asap. In the meantime, they've got winning smiles to help them sell their wares.
When we returned to the hotel, there was a bit of time to relax and go to the spa before dinner. We had a lovely, Indian-inspired meal with our friends and then were entertained by a large, Egyptian wedding reception taking place in the hotel. They made a lot of happy noise!!!
Tomorrow’s itinerary….. back to France! This trip will never be forgotten!!
