Markets, mosques, and madrasas

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Last weekend I visited "Islamic Cairo," a slight misnomer, as this area of Cairo isn't more "Islamic" than other parts, but it is the old historical district, packed with markets, mosques, and madrasas.

How bazaar

The most popular area with the tourists by far in Islamic Cairo is the Khan al-Khalili market. Part genuine marketplace and part tourist trap, anything you could ever want to buy is located here. Besides the usual stuffed camels, alabaster pyramids, and sheeshas (water pipes), there are spices, precious metals, fabrics, and so on. Like most souqs (markets), each area is devoted to a particular craft or trade, except for the main thoroughfares, which are shamelessly decked out for the tourists.

Truth be told, the souq in Fez, Morocco seemed more genuine to me. On the other hand, the hassle in Khan al-Khalili is much less than in Fez. As long as you take along a sense of humor and a willingness to bargain hard, it's a quite enjoyable place. The merchants in Khan al-Khalili have years of experience in separating tourists from their money, and you'll meet some of the greatest natural schmoozers on earth there. (Notwithstanding "How can I take your money from you?" which was a clumsy, though honest, sales pitch from one of them).

As for "sights," I took the time here to search out Midaq Alley, a small alley that served as the backdrop for Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz's famous story of the same name. I'd be curious to know what he would think of the place now... I also went in to Al-Azhar Mosque, the center of Sunni Islam in Egypt. Stepping into the courtyard, it suddenly became eerily quiet -- the mosque walls did a very good job of blocking the noise of Cairo's streets. I also stopped in at the last fez (tarboosh in Egypt) maker in Cairo. A dying craft, tarbooshes never seem to be anywhere except on the heads of tourists or in souvenir shops.

The Citadel

The other big "sight" in Islamic Cairo is the Citadel, a huge fortress perched atop a hill that dominates the Cairo skyline. The largest mosque in the complex, the Mohammed Ali Mosque, is a sprawling building with definite Turkish influences, in contrast to most of the other mosques in the area. It was almost "overdecorated"; I prefer places of worship that have sparser surroundings. From the terrace, all of Cairo spreads out before you, disappearing into the horizon and haze. Supposedly on a clear day in Cairo (hah!) you can see the pyramids from here -- I couldn't see them.

Besides a plethora of other mosques in the Citadel, there are a collection of museums, from the ordinary (Military Museum) to the bizarre (Horse Carriage Museum). The Police Museum has a section on assassinations (both attempted and "successful") that mentions attempts on Nasser and other figures, but strangely, there is no mention of what is probably the most famous assassination in Egypt in recent times -- Sadat.

The groups of schoolgirls and boys were in full effect in the Citadel, shouting greetings of "Hello!! What's your name?" I managed to confuse one schoolgirl:

Her (in English): What's your name?
Me (in Arabic): Chris. What's your name?
Her (pausing a bit, looking amazed, then shouting to her friends): He's an Arab!
Me (in Arabic): No I'm not, but I speak Arabic.

This only confused her more. Any tourist who comes to Egypt really should learn at least a few basic phrases in Arabic -- you will instantly amaze the locals.

This coming weekend I will head off to Alexandria for a few days, in sha' Allah...

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Comments

[che]

hmmm....
did you say water pipe? ;)

[Mike M]

Way to use your Arabic skills!