Islamic Cairo

In the morning we met with a professor whose doctoral dissertation at Harvard was about the first mosque we visited. That mosque dates back to the 9th century and is centered in an area of Cairo that is well known in Egyptian folk lore. The mosque is built on bedrock which not only has helped preserve the mosque throughout numerous earthquakes, it also emphasizes the well thought plan the 9th century architect had when building it. When I walked inside the first thing I was struck with was the intensity of the light shining through the windows. The light hit the other side of the wall at such an angle that the words of the Koran that were inscribed onto the wall were highlighted. This too was not a mistake but a well thought out plan as was the fact that no matter where you started standing if you moved so as to have two windows in the center of your eyesight when you look left and right you will be guided directly to where the prayers occurred. Also this mosque didn't have any pillars which actually means that the sultan who built it did not want to damage any churches or synagogues by taking their pillars which I think is a thoughtful gesture. Sadly though because the mosque did not look like the other mosques around it never caught on as THE place to worship.

The next mosque we went to was the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan. This mosque served also as a school and the professor had us sit down in one of the "classrooms" as he talked about the architecture and history of the mosque. The mosque dated back to the 12th century and was built by the Sultan Hassan who was 13 when he ascended the throne. In a room adjacent to the main courtyard is a crypt where the Sultan wanted to be buried. Unfortunately for him he was a bit of an ego maniac and not well liked so his death was not an accident and his body was most definitely not put into the crypt. While we were at the mosque we met the Iman of the mosque who took us into the crypt and sang us the call to prayer. The acoustics in the room were awesome and the Iman's tenor voice rang through the room giving me chills. Even without understanding the words I could tell that he was singing with conviction and with all of his heart. It was one of the most special moments on the trip.

After a lunch of hummus and falafel we were let loose in a local bazaar. This bazaar went on for at least 10 blocks in every direction and as much as it's said to be local it is very much a touristy place, but very fun nonetheless. My roommate and I started walking through and we were getting a lot of attention. First off she's 6' and blond haired so she stuck out. Furthermore she kept on saying out loud how much she liked something and then we would get bombarded with shopkeepers who wanted to bargain with her. I finally just blurted out to her that she had to keep her likes and dislikes to herself so we could keep walking. Thankfully, she's got a sense of humor. My first purchase of the day was a hookah which was one thing I was determined to by while in Egypt. After that I really wanted to buy some scarves. I found a shopkeeper whose scarves I liked and he had me go into his store. Cathy was a little further up ahead of me so I yelled her name, got her attention, then went into the store. The shopkeeper started showing me different scarves and showing me how fire proof they were by holding a lighter to them but I was distracted because Cathy still hadn't come into the store. The guy is starting to bargain and I tell him that I can't bargain until I find my friend. Just then she walks past the door so I yell out "Cathy" and the shopkeeper who is trying to be helpful so that I will be his stuff starts yelling too, except he's saying "Cabby." Eventually she hears us and comes in and I bargain and I have a blast doing it. Seriously though I am really good at bargaining, it brings out the competitive nature in me and I seem to get good deals. So we left the bazaar with a hookah, 3 scarves, and a new nickname for Cathy.

After the bazaar a bunch of us walked down to the Nile river and hopped on a boat for a little night time cruise. That's right. I took a party boat down the Nile. Would you expect anything less?