Cairo Encore

We returned to Cairo by overnight train . On the way to the Egyptian Museum we passed the Cairo Tower. It is a free standing concrete TV tower with partially open lattice-work design intended to evoke a lotus plant. No pictures from the Egyptian Museum as photography is not allowed.Next stop was the Hanging Church. Here is a random photo as we were walking there.

The Hanging Church is considered the oldest church in the area of Al-Fustat (Old Cairo).

It is known as Al-Muallaka (the hanging) because it was built on the ruins of two old towers that remained from an old fortress called the Fortress of Babylon. It was dedicated to The Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana. It was probably built during the patriarchate of Isaac (690-92), though an earlier church building may have existed elsewhere dating as early as the 3rd or 4th century.


Views inside the Hanging Church.


Courtyard area just outside the Church.
Next stop is the Muhammad Ali Mosque. The Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha or Alabaster Mosque is a mosque situated in the Citadel of Cairo in Egypt and commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848.
Our guide SemSem.
Alabaster covered courtyard.
Brass clock tower, which was presented to Muhammad Ali by King Louis Philippe of France in 1845. The clock was reciprocated with the obelisk of Luxor now standing in Place de la Concorde in Paris.
Interior of the mosque.

The marble tomb of Muhammad Ali inside the mosque.

View of Cairo from the Citadel, within which the mosque sits.
At the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. I'm not really into shopping so just walked around a bit while the rest of the group set off to haggle.
As we drove past this area, our guide pointed it out as the densest population spot in Cairo.
Last night in Egypt.

Into Egypt

After spending a few weeks in and around London, I decided to take some excursions and book a few tours. The first stop is Egypt! I did not realize how hot it would be until after I had already booked. But since summer is the low season, at least the tourist crowds would be at a minimum.

Due to air flight availability and a pre-tour meeting, I wound up arriving in Cairo one day early. Getting through the airport was relatively easy, and I was able to purchase the required visa right there. I was a little surprised to find out how large Cairo is - the metropolitan area contains around 18 million people!

A few other people also arrived early - two of them, Amy and Fiona, on the same flight as me. They both work in London but are from New Zealand and Australia, respectively. As there were many Aussi's and Kiwi's in my tour group, I found out later it is pretty common for Aussi's and Kiwi's to come over and work a few years in London. It is really a blast to hang out with them on the tour!

Here Fiona (left) and Amy (right) take a peek from our hotel roof at the Great Pyramid, Pyramid of Khafre, and Pyramid of Menkaure in the distance.

At the hotel, we are able to enjoy the largest pool in Cairo - something we kept hearing over and over from the staff! ;-)

I made sure to apply lots of sunscreen.
And what would a five star hotel be without the can of Raid spray . . .
That evening we drove to a Nile River boat for dinner and entertainment. On the freeway we traveled, there were never very many cars. Also, one would see people just walking along. I couldn't imagine people just walking around on the 5 freeway in LA.

There was a belly dancer after dinner.And also a performance by a whirling dervish. The whirling dance that is proverbially associated with dervishes, is the practice of the Mevlevi Order in Turkey, and is just one of the physical methods used to try to reach religious ecstasy.