We set out on foot from the dorm. The plan was to walk across the 26th of July Bridge (named after the day Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, sparking the Suez Crisis/Tripartite Aggression/Sinai War) and once across, walk under the bridge, through the little markets, which would take us to Khan al-Khalili.
[Again, larger images of the pictures can be viewed by clicking on them]
Walking across the bridge:
Dirty Nile shore:
Of course, plans never go according to- plan. We were going through the market that we had walked by the night before, thinking it would be continuous until Khan al-Khalili- it may actually be, but it ended for us. At that point we decided to take a cab. We actually held a conversation in Arabic with the cab driver! My Arabic professors would be so proud. The driver purposely spoke slow and was very animated in his gestures- I think I once overheard someone say only 20% of communication is verbal, so his hand movements were helpful. The gist of the conversation, once the driver found out we were American, was him complaining about former-President Bush and sounding hesitantly hopeful about President Obama- a common theme I have noticed.
We reached our destination and the cab driver’s tone suddenly changed. He wanted more money than what we had agreed on. He began talking faster, too, so I could not understand what he was saying. After I said no, I was able to figure out through the 80% of nonverbal communication that he was upset. I could not figure out how to get out of the car, either (I was in the front-passenger seat). It was bad. A soldier/guard came over because the cab could potentially hold up traffic. He opened the door for me and then sort of mediated. After a few seconds of trying to explain the situation I just walked away and met up with the rest of the gang. I assume the soldier told the man to drive away.
Rather than going immediately into the market, we decided to look around at the two large mosques in the area, al-Azhar and al-Hussein. I believe non-Muslims are permitted in these mosques, but we did not try that day. I may be returning to these mosques sometime this semester with my Architecture of Cairo class.
Traffic!
We first walked around the neighborhood next to al-Azhar. It was the kind of area one stereotypically thinks of Cairo- narrow streets of sand and brick, sand-colored buildings, arches, strands of lights going back and forth from the buildings. You know, the kind of place you are mesmerized by and forget to take pictures of (sorry). If/when I return, I will be sure to take pictures! I will also hold off on the history lesson of al-Azhar (oldest university in the world!) for that time, too.
al-Azhar Mosque (I did not get any great shots of it- hopefully I will when I return):
The al-Hussein mosque is right next to Khan al-Khalili (al-Azhar is across the street) and you know what that means:
Tourists!!!
al-Hussein Mosque:
I don't remember what this was (some mosque?), but I can see why I took a picture of it:
I think we were going to take a look inside of it (the mosque), but as we approached the market/mosque, we wanted to get out of that area, fast. I just made that reasoning up. I honestly don’t know why we didn’t go inside the mosque- I don’t recall the idea even crossing my mind. We did, however, bolt out of the main market area. We just picked a direction and walked, not knowing what we would find...
al-Hussein Mosque:
I don't remember what this was (some mosque?), but I can see why I took a picture of it:
After several blocks, the faces of tourists disappeared and so did the markets. We were just walking around in a very-Cairo part of Cairo. There were low quality speakers blasting the call to prayer, open-air meat markets (the kind that would make one want to be a vegetarian), old men sitting in chairs smoking, and, of course, cats. It was another one of those places where you are just so mesmerized that you forget to take pictures (sorry, again).
I did take this one, it was on the edge of our path:
After a long stretch of this, a large castle-like gate appeared out of nowhere! It was mystifying- mainly due to its randomness.
Quranic verse:
Just to underscore the randomness, this was the view across the street:
After wondering around, we found a sign that told us that it was ‘Bab al-Futuh’, a gate from the Old City of Cairo- completed in 1087. I am fairly certain I will be going to this as a part of that architecture class, so I will again hold off on a history lesson.
Look at the detail!
We consulted our travel books and found out that ‘Islamic Cairo’ was inside the walls. We went in. Right away, a large mosque came into view. Some non-Arabs went in, so we thought we would, too. Some mosque mannerisms: shoes off, girls cover hair, tip the guy that takes your shoes.
This was the al-Hakim Mosque. The minarets are supposed to be the most fascinating of the mosque’s structure- they are the oldest still-standing in Cairo and they are supposed to be reminiscent of a pharaoh’s temple (citation: Wikipedia). From my architecture class, I can say that this is a hypostyle mosque (a common design in the early mosques).
The attention to detail was striking.
We spent quite a bit of time in the mosque- it was quiet, clean, and relaxing. Once we left, we continued through Islamic Cairo.
This is probably my favorite picture I have taken since being in Egypt:
There is going to be a random assortment of mosques and buildings that were on our way back (you should definitely click on them to see them bigger). They are probably of historical significance:
The path we took eventually brought us back to Khan al-Khalili. Ugh. It was packed. Darren managed to witness a funny aspect of the market. As previously detailed, the merchants will greet you in whatever language they think you speak. There was a tourist wearing an Australian hat (the kind Dr. Alan Grant wears in Jurassic Park; google ‘Australian hat’ if you don’t know what I mean) and an Arab merchant said, with an Australian accent, “Good day, mate!”
This picture does not make it look busy, at all. In fact, this picture makes it look like a decent place:
This one does better:
The girls bought some scarves and then we fought our way through the crowds and took a cab back to Zamalek. That night, I began to feel the beginning stages of what I think became food poisoning. It was a rough week (especially the bumpy, 1+ hour bus rides), but I am feeling much better now and am trying to catch things up to speed with the blog.
I have my first field trip for the architecture class today (it is currently 1 am, the field trip is later in the day). We are going to the mosque of Ibn Tulun and the Nilometer. A lesson, with pictures, will ensue.
No comments:
Post a Comment