Cairo

Friday, October 19, 2012

Because a demonstration was expected after midday prayers today we had extra security. In addition to the Uzi-toting, plain-clothes, tourist policemen who accompanied us on the bus, we were also followed around town by a carload of white-uniformed tourist police. We’ve never been protected by such a large security force.

After a buffet breakfast overlooking the Nile, we boarded the bus and headed for the Hanging Church, which is called the Suspended Church in Arabic. This 9th-century church is built over the gatehouse of the old Roman Fortress, so it is said to be hanging or suspended because the Roman gatehouse creates a large empty space beneath. Thick sections of transparent glass flooring on the right side of the sanctuary offer proof.

A small portion of the church dates to the 3rd century.

The church has an 11th century marble pulpit in the middle of the sanctuary, considered to be the oldest pulpit in Egypt. The pulpit is supported by 13 stone columns, symbolic of Jesus and his disciples. One of the columns is made of black stone, representing Judas. The screen in front of the sanctuary is made of dark-stained cedar with ivory inlays in the shape of the Coptic cross. The icons above the screen represent Jesus in the center; Mary, archangel Gabriel, and Peter in the right; and John the Baptist, Paul, and archangel Michael in the left. Like many Coptic sanctuaries, this sanctuary is actually three in one, with the left sanctuary dedicated to St. George, the right sanctuary dedicated to John the Baptist, and the center sanctuary dedicated to Mary.

Coptic Christians are very proud of the time that the holy family spent in Egypt, as described in Matthew. They have traced that path that Joseph, Mary and Jesus are believed to have followed in Egypt and the places that they stayed. A beautiful modern mosaic depicts the three of them traveling along the Nile, with the pyramids of Giza visible in the distance.

When we arrived a service was in progress. We were able to enter the sanctuary and listen to the sermon for a while, before leaving for our next destination. Heba, our guide, explained that the schedule of services had changed because of the death recently of Pope Shenouda III, and the imminent selection of a new pope. Heba said that we would return after the service, and in the meantime go to the Mosque of Ibn Tulum. On the way we stopped at the Mosque of ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Aas, the oldest mosque in Africa, originally built in 642, for a photo op. The mosque has been renovated, restored and expanded many times since 642.

Fodor’s gives the orange star, its highest recommendation, to the Ibn Tulum Mosque. In 879 Ahmad Ibn Tulum wished to accommodate his entire army during Friday prayers, so he built a huge mosque. The mosque is no longer used, except as a tourist attraction, so it is still in much the same form as it was in 879. Atop the walls that surround the mosque is a crenellation that looks a lot like people standing side-by-side. I doubt that was the intent, since representations of people are against the teachings of Islam. Once inside the inner walls of the mosque, we encountered two men who tied coverings on our shoes so that we could walk around the mosque without taking our shoes off, as is normally required in a mosque.

The Ibn Tulum Mosques covers more than six acres. Covered colonnades surround the enormous inner courtyard. A niche on the east wall of the interior indicates the direction of Mecca – if the faithful were facing the niche they knew they were facing Mecca and could pray in that direction. The minaret is the only one of its kind in Egypt, with the stairs spiraling around the outside, rather than the inside.

Our next activity was a stroll through the Khan al-Khalili bazaar, another of Fodor’s gold star attractions. We walked down El Moez street as the call to prayer echoed throughout the city. The narrow streets and small shops crowded with souvenirs made it clear that we were not in Minnesota. Abby found an head of Anubis, the Egyptian god of death and mummification, to take home with us. As we took pictures of a man selling tamarind-flavored drinks from a cooler strapped to his side, another Egyptian in a white crocheted skull cap stopped to harangue him for pandering to tourists. He replied, also in Arabic, that he had a deal with us and that he would be paid just as if he were selling us drinks. The nosy passer-by moved on, at which point Heba gave us a translation of the discussion.

We then returned to the Hanging Church for a more complete tour now that the unexpected Friday-morning service had ended. With the service over, we could roam about more freely and photograph some of the beautiful stained glass. Outside the church, along the wall next to the above-ground subway station, Abby found a modern copy of the ancient Egyptian relief of two people holding hands. She asked me to take a picture of it, since we like to hold hands.

We walked past the Convent of St. George, where a pair of old sconces containing Coptic crosses flank the entrance. Providing illumination in the front of the sconces are a pair of modern compact fluorescent light bulbs – a fun juxtaposition of old and new. Our destination was the Church of St. Sergius, which originally dates to the 5th century, although it has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since then. The church is famous for being built over a crypt where the holy family stayed during their flight into Egypt from King Herod. The crypt is affected by rising groundwater, which is attributed to the high dam in Aswan, so we were not able to enter it.

Our late lunch took place in a restaurant in El Azhar Park. In the distance was the Mohamed Ali mosque, built to resemble the great mosques of Istanbul. This being the first day of the Islamic weekend, people dressed as children’s characters were entertaining young and old at the restaurant. I was privileged to shake hands with Sponge Bob after lunch.

For the remainder of the afternoon, Abby and I got caught up on Facebook, email and blogging. We had dinner on “Le Deck,” a floating restaurant on the Nile that was part of our hotel. Our table was immediately adjacent to the river. I had lamb shank while Abby had stuffed grape leaves. Our waiter told us that we were eating like Egyptians.