Islamic Cairo

So this weekend I decided to explore something I knew nothing about, Islamic Cairo, but first, a brief word on my Fourth of July.

But that beer’s Egyptian: Or how I discovered the ex-pat community in Cairo

I’ve been hanging out recently with a young woman named Katie. Katie is from Lancaster Pennsylvania and is a student at Yale. Just a couple of months ago she finished up a semester here at the American University in Cairo studying Arabic and Political Science and is now staying on to help out on our little project. She has an apartment a couple of blocks from my hotel. So she invited me over to a party on the Fourth of July. Katie and her roommate served hot dogs and hamburgers as well as pasta salad and Egyptian beer. Most of the people at the party were Americans but Katie’s roommate’s boyfriend, who is Egyptian, came over with some friends. Because it was a weeknight most people stayed only about an hour or so. I stayed later and hung out with Katie, her roommate and the roommate’s boyfriend. I had a great time.

The Wrath of the Khan: Or how I learned to haggle

On Friday I went to the Khan el Khalili. The Khan was originally a market built in the 14th century. Now it is both a market for Egyptians and also a market for tourists, mostly the latter. The stores here are simple one room buildings with a front door out onto the narrow winding streets. It was here that I bought the gifts for family, friends and myself. I wandered around the Khan for about two hours. The shopkeepers were quite persistent about getting you into their store. Some of the young storekeepers actually say “how can I take your money today?” I learned quickly how to haggle with them. The first thing I bought was something for my sister. I walked into a shop and asked how much the object I wanted was. The shopkeeper told me it was 100 pounds. I said that was too much and offered him 50 and he said that was not enough, to which he came back with 80. I looked at the item and said “la shokran” (no thank you) and walked out of the shop. The young shopkeeper stuck his head out the door and shouted “60” at me I kept walking and finally he called “ok 50” to which I turned around and paid him the fifty pounds and left with the object I had intended to buy for Lizzie. After several hours of shopping I went on a walk out to the medieval walls and gateway of Cairo. On the way I passed several medieval mosques which were richly decorated. Because it was Friday, the day of prayer, I was unable to enter any of them. The gates that I saw dated to around the 1000 and were still quite impressive. After this I went back to the hotel and then went out to dinner with Katie to a restaurant called the Greek Club.

The Highs and Lows of Islamic Cairo: Or what the world looks like from the top of a Minaret

I spent Saturday exploring Southern Islamic Cairo. I started at the mosque of Ibn Tulun which is the oldest standing masque in Cairo (supposedly). Built in the ninth century the mosque is ornate yet simple in its overall design. It’s a large rectangular courtyard with a 13th century fountain in the center. There is a large spiral minaret at one end. I climbed this minaret from which I could see much of Medieval Cairo. I then went to the Gayer-Anderson house which is attached to the mosque. This was the home of a British family during the early twentieth century. The Gayer-Anderson house was not originally built for the the Gayer-Anderson family, instead it was two homes for rich Egyptians before the Gayer-Andersons converted it into a single home. Part of the movie the “Spy who Loved Me” was shot here. The building is an interesting mix of Islamic and Western styles.
I then decided to head up to the Citadel, one of the highest spots in Cairo. Here’s where this particular day went poorly. I got lost trying to get to the citadel and was approached by a young man who asked if he could help me. When I told him where I was going he said that the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, the mosque at the top of the Citadel, was closed that day because an important religious figure from Saudi Arabia had come there to pray. He then suggested that I see the “Blue Mosque” which I had read about in my tour book. That sounded good, so he led me off to the “Blue Mosque.” By the time we got there it was probably 100 out and I had not eaten or drunken anything that day. The man then told me that it was 100 pounds to see this famous mosque and another 100 pounds to go up into the minaret. Although this was $40 it didn’t seem all that strange to me at the time. He explained to me that all the money went to orphans. So I put the money into the little donation box. It was a rather unimpressive mosque. When I came down from the minaret the man was gone and I had no idea where I was. I headed back in the direction I believed the citadel was. On my way I passed the REAL blue mosque which had a large sign outside which said “Free to Visit.”
I was now very, very hot and tired. I only had 20 pounds in my wallet which just enough for a taxi. I eventually found my way back to the Citadel. I then wandered the long way around the giant hill. When I got to the gate I found an ATM machine which was, unfortunately, out of order, more bad luck. I eventually decided to buy a bottle of water because I felt that I was about to be sick. I paid 5 pounds for the water and then went into the Muhammad Ali mosque, which was not closed! The view from the top of the Citadel was amazing. From here I could see all of Cairo, the pyramids of Giza, as well as Saqqara and Dhashur. I then went to get a taxi. The driver wanted 30 pounds but I talked him down to the 15 I had left (showing him my empty wallet helped I think). I had the taxi take me to the Hilton where I was able to hit up the cash machine and then go to lunch.
That night all the volunteers were invited to Dr. Janice’s apartment for a party to celebrate the registrars signing their contract with the Supreme Council of Antiquities. I was amazed, though, when I walked in she greeted me by name. We had a wonderful night at her apartment with her husband and son. I got to tell me story and everyone laughed and we joked about it.

Not Again: Or why I hope bad luck doesn’t really come in threes

Today (Sunday) when I came back from work I realized that I didn’t know where the necklace I had bought for my mother was. I tore my hotel room apart looking for the necklace but was never able to find it. I’m not sure if I lost it somewhere or if someone else decided they needed it more than I did. I told the front desk clerk and he was very upset and said he’d talk to the cleaning crew. Talking on the phone with my mom she told me to go back to the market place and buy a replacement necklace if I was so upset about it. When I got there I discovered that the necklace was a lot more than I remembered, so let’s just say that in those two days I have been separated from over $100, but I’m not particularly upset about the money, but I think I’ve lost a little faith in humanity. I'm still pretty upset (writing this the next day) but I'll get over it, hopefully I've learned my lesson about trusting people.
UPDATE AS OF JULY 10th: THE NECKLACE WAS FOUND BY THE HOTEL STAFF AND IS NOW SAFELY IN MY POSSESSION