The
Gilded Serpent presents... June 24,
2004 marked the third day of my adventure in In the orientation
letter before leaving the With about 40 of us on the tour, it was necessary to have two tour guides, so they could break us into groups of 20 each. This worked out very well - it was easier to have only 20 of us clustering around a single individual rather than an army. Our guides' names were Amani and Azza, both women. We all boarded the bus in front of the Victoria Hotel, the guides introduced themselves, and we were off. Just to show you how intensive this trip has been, I'm writing this only 7 days after we went on the city tour, and I can't remember which we visited first - the Cairo Museum or the Citadel! Yikes, at this rate my brain will be mush by the time I get home! The Baladi Neighborhood Although
these pictures show men wearing gallabiyas (ankle-length
robes), men with white-collar jobs do wear dress slacks,
dress shirts, and ties. I didn't see any local men
at all wearing blue jeans or shorts. It seems to be the
two extremes: either suits (usually minus the suit jacket,
which makes a Most of the men in gallabiyas also wore turbans to protect their heads from the beating sun. The men's gallabiyas came mostly in neutral colors: white, beige, or brown, although I did see some in pale blue or green. The turbans were usually white or beige, though again I saw some other colors. The Cairo Museum Our guide began by leading us to a table that was used for the mummification process and described how the process was done. She took us to the exhibit of the artifacts from King Tutankhamen's tomb and described the most significant ones. We visited a darkened room that showed off ancient jewelry. Some of us lingered an extra time in there just to enjoy the air conditioning. Our guide also led us to the exhibit of King Akhenaten, husband of the beautiful Nefertiti and the Pharaoh who attempted to move all of Egypt to monotheism. Those of
us who were willing to pay an extra fee were allowed to enter
a special room which contained the mummy exhibit. Most of
the mummies in this room were either Pharaohs or their queens,
and I recognized many of their names from the reading I have
done about ancient
The
Citadel Also at the
site is Mohammed Ali Mosque, built by Mohammed Ali whom most
historians credit as the father of modern Because the
Citadel strides the highest point in Cairo, it offers a breathtaking
view of the city and the pyramids beyond. Unfortunately, it
also shows just how gritty the air is. People with respiratory
problems such as asthma typically find Cairo challenging. The
population of the metropolitan area is approximately 18 million,
and the millions of cars are not regulated by the types of
emission control laws that exist in the The Ben Ezra Synagogue
and the Hanging Church The Ben Ezra synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Cairo. Legend says it dates back to the time of Moses.
Researchers using the Rosetta Stone to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics determined that the modern-day language used for readings in the Coptic church today is still the language of the Pharaohs, only now it is written in Greek. That discovery has allowed linguists to determine how the language of the hieroglyphics should be pronounced. Dinner next-- Have
a comment? Send
us a letter! Ready
for more? Last
years report- 9-22-01 Raqia
Hassan's Dance Festival (Ahlan Wa Sahlan 2000) By Latifa |
lot
of sense in the hot weather), or baladi garb. 
Near
it, the Hanging Church (shown in this photo) is an ancient
Coptic Christian church. It is called the Hanging Church because
it sits on a more ancient foundation. This photo shows a grouping
of pillars inside the sanctuary which represent Jesus and his
12 apostles. According to oral history, the Coptic 
