THE MOSQUES AND CHURCHES IN CAIRO, EGIPT, APRIL 2017

Cairo has long been a center of the religion’s political and cultural life and is titled “the City of the Thousand Minarets” for the predominance of Islamic Architecture.
      The most representative mosque in Cairo, visited by all tourists is the 19 century Alabaster Mosque of Mohamad Ali, which is on the top of Citadel of Aladdin and commands a dominant position on Cairo’s skyline, like is Saint Sofia/Hadja Sofia   museum in Istanbul. The cupola of the building is very similar to Saint Sofia and has also only 2 minarets. It is not so big, like Sant Sofia and the Mosque in Abu Dhabi, and not so rich like Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul. In sit is the sarcophagi of the builder – Sultan Mohamed Ali. Closed to it is the 14 century Mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad. Looking down from the Citadel you can’t miss the beautiful Mosque of Sultan Hasan. To enter the Mohamed Ali Mosque, you have to pass through huge fenced court yard, giving more places for some thousand believers. On the one site of the fence is small minaret with outside spiral stairs.
       Old Cairo contains the remains of the ansient Roman fortress of Babylon.  The area is also known as Coptic Cairo, as it holds all Cristian churches including the 3rd century St. Virgin Mary’s Hanging church, the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George and St.  Sarguis Church, Bild over the spot (cave), where the Holy Family is believed to have rested after their journey to Egypt. We visited the beautiful Ben Ezra Synagogue (the only place forbidden to take photos or videos), located on the spot, where baby Moses was found. All photos we succeed to take to, around and in the Mohamed Ali Mosque and all the churches are shown un this album.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

CAYRO, NILE AND EGIPT, APRIL 2017

        We both  with Margy   have had   in mind to visit Egypt last 10 years, but every time we postponed by some reasons. Manly, we were afraid…But this time we decided to go in every case - in the beginning of April 2017 for 10 days. Our daughter bought us airplane tickets like gift for my Birth Day. We celebrated my round 80-th BD on the British Airways plane to London with champagne and scotch… From London, we went to Abu-Dhabi, from there back to Cairo. We were met on the Airport by Egyptian Nile Tours   and delivered to our hotel “The Pyramids” by private car with driver and English speaking guide in Cairo Mr. Sobhy Ibrahim. On the way, they drove to the old Coptic city of Cairo and the Citadel of Aladdin, where we saw all the city form the top of the hill. We saw the oldest ruins of The Fortress of Babylon and visited The Mohammed Ali Mosque, The Dramatic Hanging Church and the oldest St. Sargius Church over the cave, place  where the Holly Family are believed to have rested, after their journey to Egypt. We stopped in the old Bazar to buy two   masks of famous Tutankhamun and Nefertiti and some small souvenirs and 3-4         printed with old scenes papyruses.  We crossed 2-3 times Nile, drove around the Tower of Cairo. Next day we visited the Great  Pyramids and The Spinks (closed to our hotel) and spent all afternoon in the Egyptian Museum. After flying to Aswan on 3-rd day by local small plane we spent 5 days on the Cruise Ship - floating hotel on Nile We  saw The Unfinished Obelisk, droved by car to Abu Simbel Temple (on the Border with Sudan) through the South Sahara Desert 250 km. and back, visited the two Aswan Damps and the Lake of Nasar.   Floating to Luxor, on the way we visited the Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu. The most interesting for us was Luxor - “The Touristic Capitol of the World”. There we visited The Temples of Karnak and Luxor, The Valleys of the Kings and the Quins, The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut and The Colossi of Memnon. All the time from the Air Ports of Aswan to Luxor we were accompanied by our second guide Mr. Ragab  Alazab. He lived with us on the Ship-Hotel. Last   evening  he invited us to see his wife and  the 6 month daughter in his luxury apartment in Luxor, coved by white marble. After flying back to Cairo, we were met on the Airport by our first guide Mr. Sobhy and drove   to the oldest Coptic   Cave Church around Cairo. After the service of Palm   Sunday we look inside   and around it and took palm leaves from the church like souvenirs. We slept the last night in one hotel closed to the Airport and next morning we took the shuttle to the Airport for the flight back to London-Seattle. It was the most interesting and cheapest excursion over sea we did last 12 years after our second retirement in USA. We used horse carriage like taxi, rode camels between Pyramids, floated on Nile by sail-boat to the Nubian Village around Aswan. Our co-excursiants were mainly Chines people, locals rich couples and some families from Japan and Canada. Our two guides were very educated and polite Egyptologist, speaking excellent English. The tips (bakshish) were asked and given everywhere… Thank you VIATOR (A TripAdvisor Company) for organizing this excellent excursion, which returned us back in the  time of Pharaohs - 5,000 years ago. In this album are shown only some photos from the old city of Cairo  and the Citadel