After the museum, we went back out to the street while Sahar called our driver. Travel is supposed to be broadening and sometimes at odd moments we realize that we really have become more accustomed to being among people who dress differently and have different customs than we see on the street at home in Combermere or Barry's Bay. Men wearing a gelabaya tunic or women wearing a niquab, hijab or burkha doesn't really make them different from people at home wearing ball caps or toques or T-shirts with slogans. It all becomes commonplace and insignificant after a while.
Soon we were on our way up a big hill to the mosque at the Citadel of Salah Al-Din. Salah Al-Din is a revered figure to the Egyptian people because he drove out the Crusaders. The mosque is huge and quite beautiful. As usual, we were inundated with requests for selfies with people of all ages but especially school children. Even though we're used to this, sometimes it still feels like they must be putting us on. Why do they want pictures with us? However, go with the flow.
During prayers, the main floor of the mosque is reserved for men while the women pray in the huge balcony areas. At home, people might criticize Islam because men and women worship separately. However, our guide Sahar explained that Muslim women like her prefer to worship in a different space in the mosque because when they're kneeling and bending right to the floor, they feel more comfortable doing so without a man behind them. Many agnostic Canadian women might appreciate that. Anyway, it's their custom and it certainly doesn't harm us.
From the mosque, we drove back down to the Nile for lunch on a barge restaurant. The picture just shows the appetizers. The main course was much larger. We've been eating lots of good food on this trip.
After lunch we went to the Jewish quarter in old Cairo. Jews have lived in Egypt for centuries. Although most left for Israel when it was first established, there are still about 40 Jewish families comprising about 1,000 people still living in Cairo. In the area, we visited a synagogue and a Christian church. We also saw the cellar where, according to legend, Jesus, Mary and Joseph hid for 3 months during their 3 year journey through Egypt. The street outside has a big plaque commemorating their travel along it.
Our last stop was at a government shop where Sahar said we could get a fair price for real Egyptian cotton sheets. Along with our small picture on papyrus, that will be our Egyptian souvenir. As we drove back to our hotel, we could see the pyramids in the distance.
Soon we were on our way up a big hill to the mosque at the Citadel of Salah Al-Din. Salah Al-Din is a revered figure to the Egyptian people because he drove out the Crusaders. The mosque is huge and quite beautiful. As usual, we were inundated with requests for selfies with people of all ages but especially school children. Even though we're used to this, sometimes it still feels like they must be putting us on. Why do they want pictures with us? However, go with the flow.
During prayers, the main floor of the mosque is reserved for men while the women pray in the huge balcony areas. At home, people might criticize Islam because men and women worship separately. However, our guide Sahar explained that Muslim women like her prefer to worship in a different space in the mosque because when they're kneeling and bending right to the floor, they feel more comfortable doing so without a man behind them. Many agnostic Canadian women might appreciate that. Anyway, it's their custom and it certainly doesn't harm us.
From the mosque, we drove back down to the Nile for lunch on a barge restaurant. The picture just shows the appetizers. The main course was much larger. We've been eating lots of good food on this trip.
After lunch we went to the Jewish quarter in old Cairo. Jews have lived in Egypt for centuries. Although most left for Israel when it was first established, there are still about 40 Jewish families comprising about 1,000 people still living in Cairo. In the area, we visited a synagogue and a Christian church. We also saw the cellar where, according to legend, Jesus, Mary and Joseph hid for 3 months during their 3 year journey through Egypt. The street outside has a big plaque commemorating their travel along it.
Our last stop was at a government shop where Sahar said we could get a fair price for real Egyptian cotton sheets. Along with our small picture on papyrus, that will be our Egyptian souvenir. As we drove back to our hotel, we could see the pyramids in the distance.
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