5. On and On

The ancient city of On, the hometown of Joseph's wife, was near our hotel. Everyone was happy we had a short tour of the city this afternoon. It's now 6:30 pm in Cairo. Dinner is at 7. Here is what we did:

Background

Definitions

Egypt, or MISR, means "sanctuary", "the great nation" and "the great culture"

It's comprised of two areas:

- Kemet, or KMT, is the black lands (soil) around the Nile

- DESHRET, means red land or desert

The Nile is known as "the great river of Egypt." The reality is nine countries share its water.

Goshen, the Nile's delta, had seven tributaries. Only two remain today. Five are silted in.
Cairo means "victory"

Egyptian historical eras

1. Before 1 AD: Ancient history includes the Pharoahs

2. 1 AD - 399: Old history is Greek & Ottoman (Alexander the Great, Ptolomey, Cleopatra)

3. 400 - 1908: Modern history

4. 1908 - Now: Recent history

Muslims are comprised of 2 groups

1. Sunni - Must obey God. Try to understand and obey the prophets. May disagree with current leadership. Leaders may be of any nationality.

2. Shi'a - Must obey God. Treat prophets and leaders as if they were God. Leaders must be direct descendants of Hossein, Mohammed's son.

Islamic periods (based on where the capital is located)

1. Medina - Mohammed is buried here. Islam spreads south to Mecca & the Persian Gulf.

2. Damascus - They said our culture can't exist if our people can't read and write. Translated many Greek texts. Islam spreads north to the Austrian border, west into Andulusia (southern Spain) and east to the former Soviet states. Algebra & Arabic numerals were developed here.

3. Baghdad - Think Ali Baba and the forty thieves and you're pretty close.

4. Cairo - The army takes over and the economy suffers.
5. Istanbul - The Ottoman Empire lasted from 1517 to the end of WWI.

Mohammad Ali
Born in Northern Greece. Stationed in Nubia. The French army led by Napoleon came to Egypt. The British chased out the French. The Ottomans cancelled education because it's easier to rule ignorant people. Mohammad Ali confiscated the land of rich Egyptians, They were told to go to school in Europ , come back and build a school and you will get your land back. He sent his son to the south to find the source of the Nile. In the process he established Sudan and Cartun (sp?). King Faruch, his last descendant, is buried under Luxor alabaster within the Al-Nasir Mosque. Faruch was known for gifting obelisks (needles).

En route to the Mosque

We drove by

- The Al-Azhar University, which is the foremost institution for the study of Sunni theology and sharia, or Islamic, law.

- The city of the dead. Once it was a cemetery. Now it is home to 10,000 people. Egypt's population is growing by 1 million people every 10 months.

Saladin Citadel of Cairo
Sultan Salah al-Din (1137/38 – March 4, 1193) was a Sunni Muslim hero and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Palestine). As leader of Islamic forces during the Crusades, his greatest victory was at the Battle of Hattin on July 4, 1187. When Saladin wasn’t able to defeat King Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) during the Third Crusade, he lost most of the newly acquired territory in the Holy Lands. By treaty he was allowed to retain control of Jerusalem.

Ancient Road. This fort protects the road that is the sole access to the Nile from the east. Abraham & Joseph/Mary/Jesus would have traveled on this road in order to reach Egypt. The fort is an older structure than the mosque within it. 

The Citadel was the seat of Egyptian government from 1184 until the 1860's

A ferocious lion stands watch

Al-Nasir Mohammad Mosque. Sultan Nasir sponsored the construction of this mosque. Although he had some physical issues (lame, cataract in one eye), he was smart, energetic and deft at international politics. Nasir was inaugurated as sultan three times. The first time was when he was 9 years old, but he was soon shuttled off by his tutor until he reached maturity. Eventually his power was restored. After construction was completed (~1318), the sultan used this mosque for his daily prayers. More funds were collected than were needed for the construction. With the excess, additional land and stores were purchased to support the mosque.

The mosque is crowned by one big dome and four smaller domes. The apse points to Mecca so the faithful know which direction to face during prayer. The limestone walls of the mosque were stolen from the Great Pyramids. The ten red granite columns are also recycled.
 
When entering the mosque, everyone must take off their shoes. If you are female and your arms aren't covered, a lady swoops in and drapes a long green shawl over you.  We also saw the tomb of King Faruch who was the last ruling descendant of the "original" Mohammad Ali. Gathered together on a rug, we had our Egyptian/Islam lesson.

The stately Al-Nasir Mohammad Mosque

Shoeless and seated on a carpet from 1936, we listened to Osman's history lesson

Old Coptic Cairo

Babylon Fortress. Romans used skinny red bricks in their buildings. For strategic reasons, Trajan had this fortress built near the Nile. In the intervening years, the Nile has changed course so that the river now runs 400 yards to the north. Within the fortress are the Coptic Museum, a convent and several churches, including the Hanging Church and the Church of St. George.

Beautiful patterns from red and white brick.

Hanging (Suspended) Church

The Hanging Church is the second oldest church building (the initial structure was built in the 4th Century AD). Its support is in the rafters, not in its foundation. This active Coptic (Egyptian Orthodox) church building has 110 icons. Most of the icons are decorated with gold leaf. The pulpit was constructed in the 11th Century. Each of the pulpit's thirteen pillars is unique. They represent Jesus and the twelve apostles. The gray pillar stands for Thomas and the black one for Judas.

Barrel vaulted roof

Walking Through The Old Town. I took pictures of textures (walls, carvings, etc). One time I was taking a carving shot and the seller barked "no photos!" I said "I wasn't taking it of your carpet but the wall" He looked at me like I was a nut but then said "OK." Noemie & I wanted to explore the old Jewish neighborhood. There were great lights playing against the walls, but, at least for today, it was not to be.

Frances and Peggy stroll through Old Town. Mike & Elizabeth bring up the rear.

Ben Ezra Synagogue. Local tradition says that this synagogue was built on the place where the Egyptian princess found baby Moses. No photos, no video are allowed within it. An open scroll was standing up on the pulpit. A small golden menorah was on another table. The first story has benches lining the circumference of room so the men could discuss the Torah back and forth. Women are confined to the 2nd level. In the 19th century, a hidden storage cabinet was discovered behind a wall on second floor. The cabinet contained 300,000 fragments of sacred and secular manuscripts written on vellum, paper, papyrus and cloth. Why are there so many fragments? One thought is that once the name of the Lord is written on a piece of paper an Orthodox Jew won't throw the piece of paper away.

I think the second window from the left is the location of the hidden room.

Anwar el-Sadat’s Tomb & The Viewing Platform (site of his assassination)

Sadat's tomb is covered by a statue that simulates a pyramid. There are black and gold cannons. Six sentry are posted there. Two look like Pharoahs. Two are in "Arabian Nights" uniforms. The final two are in current military uniform and stand at perfect attention. They won't look to the right or the left. The first four guards were happy to smile and have their photo taken.

Across the street stands the platform where Anwar el-Sadat, his entourage and foreign dignitaries were seated to watch a victory parade on October 6, 1981. The parade was the eighth anniversary of Operation Badr (the crossing of the Suez Canal), which sparked the Yom Kippur (Six Day) War.

Anwar Sadat's Tomb

The pyramid is inscribed.

Guard at attention.

Back In On

Dinner was delicious. The "hot food" was plentiful although I hated passing by things I enjoyed in Israel last year. The desserts were worthy of a sampler plate.