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Published: November 6th 2007
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On to see Old Cairo. This was a part of Cairo I especially wanted to see. Old Cairo is a walled city in Cairo and was the heart of the original city. There are about 300 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim families who peacefully co-exist here. Their homes are inherited and very hard to come by. We walked through the original city gate, still intact, and through the walkways of the city. We saw the city’s oldest coptic (Christian) church, the Church of St. Sergius, which is reported to be built near the place where Mary and Joseph took shelter on their way to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus. The church is believed to have been built in the 5th century. I was shocked at the treasures in this small old church, unknown to many Westerners. Religious icons on the walls dating from the 900s AD, you could touch them. We also saw the city’s oldest synagogue which is no longer in use (5 synagogues in Cairo and 2 are in use); it is reported to be built on the site where the baby Moses was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter in the rushes. The original synagogue located there was mostly
Mosque
near Old Cairo destroyed and it was rebuilt in the 12th century. A whole library of religious documents with very important medieval historical significance was found recently in this synagogue and spirited away to Cambridge and other universities, and none of the documents remain in Cairo. Our guide was very critical that the documents left Egypt as it is part of their history. Given the history between Egypt and Israel, it is not surprising the Jews removed the documents. No photos allowed in the coptic church or the synagogue.
We also visited one of the city’s very old mosques which allows picture taking, and we were there during the time of the afternoon prayers. All over Egypt at prayer time you will hear the muezzein calling the faithful to prayers. The men then go to the mosque, if they can, to pray. Women do not go to prayers. We often saw men unroll their mats where they were working to pray. Women are not allowed to be in front of the men while they are praying, so we had to walk around them to leave the mosque. Tips for the guys who kept the shoes while we were in the mosque.
Although we did not tour the citadel of Saladin and the alabaster mosque, we drove by on our way back to the hotel. Our guide was disdainful of Muhammed Ali who built the mosque, an Albanian who gained power in 1806, whom she believes too casually gave away pieces of Egypt’s heritage because he was not Egyptian. He gave the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, and the French gave a clock in return which the Egyptians stress has never worked. We stopped at a perfume shop and were persuaded to buy too many essential oils and too high a price. You should buy these items in Aswan and not Cairo. On to the famous Cairo bazaar which I especially wanted to see. The bazaar is a cacophony of sounds, noises, and smells and wonderfully chaotic.
Even better, we walked right through the bazaar into the streets of an older part of Cairo. The buildings were wonderfully old and full of ancient character and Egyptian architecture of centuries past. Our guide wanted to show us some neglected architectural treasures in the neighborhood, and point out some unique features such as the public bath at an apex of streets, and little window seats jutting out the side of the building over the street where women could sit and watch the activity or chat without showing themselves to any men passing by.
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