The Egyptian Museum and Coptic Cairo

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Last Saturday I visited the Egyptian Museum, essentially a warehouse for an amazing array of Pharaonic artifacts. On Sunday, I visited Coptic Cairo, a bastion of Christianity in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

Egyptian Museum

The Egyptian Museum is the place to go to see all things Pharaonic -- statues, sarcophagi, daily utensils, and on and on. As one of my guidebooks says, looking at all of this stuff for several hours can bring on a serious case of "Pharaonic Phatigue" and I must admit that after about 5 or 6 hours in there, I was starting to go a bit crazy.

It doesn't help that everything is arranged in classic Cairene fashion -- that is to say, completely disorganized. Many items are not labeled, and some rooms appear to have been filled randomly with whatever was at hand.

Nevertheless, a visit to Cairo is not complete without a visit here. Nowhere else can you see such a collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts. Some of the highlights were Tutankhamen tomb artefacts, mummified animals (crocodiles, snakes, gazelles, etc), and boomerangs. Apparently during Pharaonic times they used boomerangs to hunt birds. I thought boomerangs were a distinctly Australian Aboriginal invention, but apparently not.

I was also able to make some sense of the chaotic layout in the museum thanks to being able to listen in on free commentary from Spanish and French tour guides.... it pays to be able to understand multiple languages!

Coptic Cairo

There is a part of Cairo called "Old Cairo" by the locals, but "Coptic Cairo" by foreigners and tourists. The Copts are one of the Orthodox sects of Christianity, and Christianity has some very deep roots in Egypt. There was a time when most of Egypt was Christian, but eventually Islam took hold to achieve dominance. Nevertheless, the Copts have been able to hang on to their strong traditions throughout the centuries; approximately 10%!o(MISSING)f Egypt is still Christian.

Coptic Cairo is essentially a fortress, a walled-in city for the Christians to retreat to when the going got rough. Filled with churches (and a synagogue), the place is loaded with Biblical importance: this is where the Pharoah's daughter found Moses in the bushes. This is also where the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) stayed when fleeing King Herod.

I received a very nice guided tour by a Copt volunteer in the "Hanging Church," and she explained a lot of the imagery and symbolism used by the Copts in their architecture. This particular church goes back to the 4th century AD (!), and is called the "Hanging Church" because it is suspended about 30 feet above the ground, perched on some old Roman foundations. It was strange to see Egyptians coming into the church, crossing themselves and performing Christian rituals, after seeing only Muslims worshipping elsewhere in Egypt. The Copts seem to keep a fairly low profile.

It was very peaceful, clean, and quiet in the walled compound, in contrast to the surrounding Cairo environs. I think I've found a good place to retreat to when the noise and pollution get to be too much...

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