Day at the Various Houses of Worship

     Two weeks after visiting the pyramids at Giza, I decided to go visit the various churches located right around the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo. I was under the impression that there was a neighborhood with several Coptic Churches, and there were several, but there was also a Greek Orthodox church and accompanying graveyard, a synagogue, and the oldest mosque in Africa all in close walking distance. I went with a friend of mine who had been before and wanted to go again. We walked over to our closest subway station and rode the quick four stop, five minute ride to the churches. As you walk out of the station, you literally walk out to the old walls of the Babylon Fortress with the entrance to the Hanging Church (El Muallaqa in Arabic) about 50 meters away. The Hanging Church's given name is the Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church and, having been built in the 3rd century, is one of the oldest churches in Egypt. As you can see (on the right) it has an almost Spanish colonial look. The church is so named because it was constructed over the gatehouse of the Babylon Fortress with the nave suspended over a deep passage. Throughout the church, there are windows cut out of the floor where you can look down into the passageways some 20-30 feet below. The original ground level was nearly 20 feet lower than the present ground level, and therefore the staircase you now see was much longer limiting the proper sense of height the elevated building would have had upon being built. To reach the church, you was through a small gate complex, a nice courtyard lined with tiled frescos, up the stairs into a small room with pictures of past Coptic popes, yet another courtyard, and then the church proper.

   
      The church itself was fairly small, but the main highlights, not necessarily for me personally, but for tourists and religious visitors are the icons throughout the area, the original marble pulpit, and the beautiful ebony and ivory inlaid alter walls. I personally dig anything that is carved whether that be wood or stone, so I am always fascinated and appreciative of the work, effort, time, and craftsmanship it takes to complete such a project. The fact that such things survive for us to see hundreds and even thousands of years later will probably never cease to amaze me. Above, Clockwise from the top left, are what I imagine was a guard at the church gate, the doors to the church proper, and a look up through some awnings in the inner courtyard, the inlaid woodwork at the alter, and an alter lamp. Below is part of the alter taken from the aisle. Some of the big iconography was right above this.

     Back outside we decided to put off the Coptic museum since it seemed that it would essentially be packed with more of the iconography that we had just seen. We looked at the Babylon Fortress and read that Roman emperors had built a canal from the Red Sea to the fortress around 100AD and that there was a port suitable to dock ships which seems like yet another remarkable feat. I certainly would like to go back and see see more of the fortress. The Romans were very active building, expanding, and redirecting canals to the fort making it a very important strategic city for many centuries. Below (left) is the remnants of the fortress and (right) the Coptic museum past the walls of the fortress.

     For the rest of the day, we walked around the site seeing a number of churches. Immediately to the left of the fortress is the Greek Orthodox church of St. George, the dragon slayer. The church is (mostly) closed for structural repairs, but we did get to go in a small part of it. Inside there were a number of little cellar like rooms that contained icons and countless pictures of St. George killing a dragon. Also, and I don't know if this is particular to the Greek Orthodox, but there were a large number of torture devises prominently displayed. I'm not sure why they need all that, but the Copts did not have them, so maybe it's just a fetish thing. From St. George's, we walked through the church's graveyard that was a complete mess. It is currently being used, there were people buried there within the last six months, but overall, it was falling apart. There were family tombs that were open, crumbling, and otherwise open with caskets askew, partially covered with debris and visible and accessible to anyone who cared to look. It was a very bizarre, but strangle fascinating at the same time. I was left wondering if any of the family ever came to see the condition of their families, and if so, why they didn't do anything to improve their conditions. I'm pretty much a cremation guy, but I'm pretty sure if I saw a family member's grave open and casket disheveled, I'd get on the stick.

      From there, we dropped down into a below ground, but open-air alleyway that led to the other churches. I gained admittance to the Convent of St.George's. This is significant because it is supposed to be closed to the public and only open to people invited by someone. Apparently the recognized that I am a man of the cloth and welcomed me in when I knocked and asked if we could go in. So, we got to see the chapel that not many get to see. Bam! I got some holy oil from a nun, but, I can bless my own oil, so whatever. We visited St. Barbara's and then Abu Sarga. Abu Sarga is the church built over the crypt where the Holy Family stated when they fled palestine when King Herod was doing his child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang routine. I like to think of little baby Jesus was wearing a tuxedo t-shirt despite the fact that Herod was on his baby killing spree. I guess I'd just like to think that's how he'd roll. There were no picture's allowed, and I couldn't get down into the crypt (I thought about playing my pastor card, but decided not to pull rank), so I peaked down there as best I could. I think stone cellar about covers it. And finally we made our way the the Synagogue of Ben Ezra. The jews apparently purchased it from the Copts when they needed money, and they didn't do much redecorating. It was essentially a Coptic church minus the iconography and a few other Coptic things. Otherwise, it retained the same artwork, inlaid wood, and symbols. They did add their own Jewish pieces, but it was an odd mix of both religions.

     Lastly, we left the Coptic church section of the neighborhood and decided to try to find the Amr Ibn al-As Mosque (above), the oldest mosque in Cairo as well as the oldest anywhere in Africa. It turned out to be very simple to find and was a straight shot about four blocks down the road from the churches. The mosque was virtually empty when we got there and we were welcomed in to take a look around. It is a massive, yet fairly simple open air structure, that was no less impressive despite it's simplicity. It was quiet and beautiful with a handful of non-muslim visitors walking around. there were a number of small groups reading or studying and a few men stretched out sleeping. We were approached by a very pleasant young man who was eager to find out where we were from and asked if we had any questions he could answer. He spent about five minutes giving us a brief history of the mosque and showed us the ancient well that the mosque was built around that was right by where we were standing as well as a column that had been inscribed when the mosque was built. He then took his leave after explaining that he would be happy to answer any questions that we had if we decided we had any later on.

     Right after he left, we were approached by a slightly younger, but much more eager teen who was apparently on a mission to maybe get a convert. Not as smooth, affable, or as socially aware as his predecessor, he spent  much too long working on getting us to join him to learn about Islam. He tried to get us to the mosque's library and video center where we could take any books we wanted for free and watch videos about Islam. Because I was definitely not his guy for this, I had extricated myself early in this process, but my friend was a little too nice to just make a clean break, so I had to go back and be very frank with him about wanting to see and experience his beautiful mosque alone and in peace. He apparently took this well and left us to do so. Above you can see the mosque and its central court (complete with boy in red sleeping), and below, pictures of the interior. The figures in green, who I took to calling gnomes, were women visitors who were asked to be covered during their visit and giving green hooded robes.

    Next up: The Saqqara Necropolis.

Giza Pyramids

The pryamids of Khufu(background) and Khafre(foreground).

    I successfully found and moved into my apartment, so I was anxious to get out and about and start seeing the sights. This is big for me because I love history and seeing historical sites. Plus, when I lived in Kuwait, there was virtually nothing to see or do. Certainly nothing on the scale of the things that Egypt has to offer. I have been to the Giza pyramids before, about 32 years ago, and have great memories of them, so I was excited to revisit them again as an adult.

     I decided to go with a three colleagues and we decided to go with local public transportation rather than taxi. It is much cheaper, but takes more time to get to, but we all like to explore the city by using public means and we thought this would add a bit of adventure to the trip as well. We walked to the subway and took the train to the Sadat station - which opens up to Tahrir Sqaure. The subway costs only one Egyptian pound (about 15 cents) and is pretty quick and easy to navigate. The system only has a couple of lines, so in that respect it is unlike London or New York, and so remains simple to use. We changed lines at Tahrir and took another train to a station closest to the pyramids. From there, we decided to try to find the local bus to take us there. We got some help from a local guy (who would of course steer us to some business somewhere at the end of the ride), who was helpful and friendly. Finally we walked the last couple of blocks to the edge of the Giza site. For those of you who don't know, the pyramids sit literally on the edge of the city, so as you drive through the city and get close, you can look up and see them through gaps in the buildings.

     Our man did indeed guide us to a local purveyor of horse and camel tours around and through the pyramids. I would have been happy just to walk around the place, but thought it might be fun to do the ride just once. One woman with us had already done the ride an opted to just walk. The other three of us opted for the camel ride and entrance into only one pyramid - Khafre, the middle of the three and the one with the cap still on top. We got our camels whose names we were told were Moses, Mickey Mouse, and Michael Jackson. I was lucky enough to get MJ, though I was disappointed in him not moon walking.

That's Mike on the left chilling while I was in Khafre, and the two of us right before we went to see the Sphinx.  The ride was ok, but nothing special. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't opt to do it again, but it kind of seemed like I should do it once. Walking is not a problem since everything is really very central around the whole site. If you were old, had a disability, or it was really hot, you may choose to take another mode of transportation, but otherwise, I'd say just walk it. Unless of course you just have to do the camel thing.

     We came in from the south and stopped first at Menkaure, the smallest of the three. This is the one I climbed with my dad when I was 12. It looks small in comparison to the other two, but when you get up to the peak, it is an incredible experience. It was

smaller than I remembered it, but, then again, I was smaller too. Not very many people were there because they tend to flock to the other two, but here is the entrance to Menkaure and some of the casing stones around the base. It looks like this is a modern reconstruction, but the ground around the pyramid is littered with stones that have fallen off or have been removed. This hopefully gives a little idea to the size of the stones and the way that the pyramid would have looked when it was finished. I do remember having to haul myself up the stone blocks when we climbed it, so it was definitely much more than simply climbing stairs.



     From Menkaure, we rode to Khafre, the second biggest pyramid and the one with the cap still intact. We dismounted there and entered the pyramid. The entrance shaft is long (50m), steep, and small (about 4'x4'). You can see on the right that it is long

since I'm about 10 feet in when I took the picture and you can't see the bottom of the shaft. You have to hunch over and only one at a time fits through so you have to wait for the people coming from the opposite direction to clear through before you can go. The passage way was not as spectacular as the one in Khufu, which opens up into a huge, vaulted chamber, but it was interesting to see. I will definitely go back, and will take the time to go into all the pyramids next time. The burial chamber was large, open, and empty, so there is really not much to see. I added the photo below in hopes that the people standing on and around the pyramid could give you some perspective on the size of the blocks used to build it Khafre, and to it's size in general. The top of the frame ends maybe only 1/3 of the way up. The only bad thing about the experience is the number of trinket peddlers outside that swarm you like locusts.

     Lastly, we cut behind Khufu and went to the Sphinx. From the photo on the right, you can see how close the city is to the whole complex. I think people think that it out in the desert since most photos we see are ones that are taken facing west, into the desert, but the whole site is literally across the street from Cairo itself. This is a real problem in terms of pollution and it's effect on the deterioration of the pyramids. In the picture below, you can see the gaunlet of merchants that are out selling their wears in front of the whole place. This is the normal entrance gate is for tourists (we went in through a back gate to the south). From this view, you can see the Sphinx

with the pyramid of Khafre in the back with people walking on a roadway between the two. Khufu would be on the right, and Menkaure would be off to the left. That's about all for the trip, so if you feel like you want to see or know more, you'll just have to come out to visit.

    Next up: The Coptic churches and the mosque of Amr ibn al-As, the oldest mosque in Cairo and Africa. Until then I'll leave to with me knocking the Sphinx out Ali style.

PS, we went back through Sadat station at Tahrir Square late afternoon on the way home on January 25th - the anniversary of the revolution. It was starting to fill up with protestors celebrating the anniversary. No problems, but I wouldn't have wanted to be there later into the evening. I will go back though because Tahrir is where the Egyptian Museum is, and I have to go back there. 

Back on Track

    So it's been a while since I've posted. Too long to be sure. Much has happened since I last posted from Sophia, Bulgaria. I finished my Christmas trip by skiing in Bansko, and then traveling by bus down through Plovdiv and finally through to Istanbul for about five days before having to go back to Kuwait. My stay in Kuwait took a downward turn, but my travels were highlighted by my Spring Break trip to Amsterdam and Barcelona. I was supposed to be teaching at The KAUST school in Saudi Arabia by November, but that job fell through and left me scrambling for something last minute - which is very tough to do. I had a number of possible positions fall through in South Korea, Turkey, and South Africa, but finally got hired by American International School Egypt (AIS). I was hired for two years starting in the 2013-14 school year, but they were able to bring me in early to sub fro the rest of this school year, so here I am. Living in Cairo.

   I arrived here on short notice and the school set me up in a hotel for four days to get acclimated and find an apartment. The apartment hunting was an experience and I saw a number of places that were subpar to say the least. I was lucky enough to have a number of people at the school - one of whom I knew from working in Kuwait, and the rest just friendly and helpful strangers - who were kind enough to step in and offer a hand. I was fortunate to find a place in the Maadi neighborhood, which, I was told, was one of the nicest neighborhoods in Cairo, and one which also has a large expat community. Maadi is indeed nice. The neighborhood is very green with a lot of trees and plants of all kinds. After living in Kuwait, this is a big plus. Cairo is still dirty, with a lot of trash and waste littered everywhere, but I do love having the greenery around to offset that. Maadi also has a lot of markets, grocery stores, shops, and restaurants within easy walking distance, so getting places and finding things is not a problem.

   There is a lot of greenery everywhere you look here like in the picture above. My neighborhood also has many embassies - so far I've seen the Angolan, Ukrainian, South Korean, Swiss, Mexican, and Venezuelan embassies - and some very nice villas. The trees, grass, and bushes are well kept, and though there is a lot of dirt everywhere, you will see people constantly sweeping up garbage. That being said, you also see many scenes like the one on the left. My apartment is right around the corner to the left of the blue car on the left. As far as I can tell, this is where people drop their garbage for collection because this will grow into a healthy sized mound before it suddenly disappears. There are many stray cats and dogs who subsist on these drop sites as well as just the random garbage you will find strewn about. It's a strange mix of green and garbage, but you quickly learn to not notice the latter and appreciate the former.

   The apartment I found turned out to be great. It is a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment on the second floor. Because it has two bedrooms, I have plenty of space available if anyone comes to visit. It has a great balcony that opens up to trees and overlooks a little lawn in front. It came fully (but not exactly nicely) furnished, but I would say it has nicer furniture than most places I saw. I had to buy a new mattress (for which I will be reimbursed), and I will replace the sheets and pots and pans -which are in really bad shape. Other than that, it came with a tv and satellite hookup which has a decent number of English channels. I have a small washing machine, but no dryer, so I have to dry my clothes old-school style by hanging them on a line off a little mini balcony. There is also a decent sized refrigerator and a small, serviceable gas stove. There is no dishwasher. It's great to have a decent size space to live in, and it's hugh upgrade over my place in Kuwait, which was essentially a dorm room where all the teachers lived together. Here we are all separate, but close, so we get the benefit of seeing people when we want without having to constantly share living space. I need to work on getting an internet connection which seems to be an odd process, but until then, I use my phone as a wifi hotspot. It's far from ideal, but it allows me to do some basic things.

   So there you have it for now. Next up will be my trip to see the Sphinx and the pyramids which I saw last weekend. I'll also be off to see as much as I can throughout the city while I can. Until then, I will leave you with this dog who likes to sleep (yes, he is alive) on the roofs of cars in my neighborhood. I'm not sure why he digs the roof, but he does. The car may change, but the he always sleeps in the same spot, regardless of the car there.