We flew on EgyptAir from Luxor to Cairo early this a.m. Once in downtown Cairo, we immediately started a walking tour of "Coptic Cairo," the ancient part of the city that was Christian, but now historical areas and museums. We went underground to an old fortress that was used by the Romans--complete with thick fortress doors and reinforced with metal sheeting. We saw the "hanging church" which was built so part of it hangs over the old Roman fortress. We also went to the Coptic Museum which was very Byzantine and held collections from the beginning of A.D.--paintings, old Coptic tombstones which blended Egyptian gods with the shell-shaped tombstones, Coptic Pope's clothing over the centuries, etc.
Switching religions, we visited the oldest synagogue in Egypt. The "Ben Ezra,". There are only 200 Jews in the entire Country of Egypt. Around 600 A.D., Egypt was Christian until it was conquered by the Muslims. Everyone who converted was free from taxes, so most everyone converted.
The people here are very nice and friendly, although it's a male-dominated society. They say that men and women are equal, but Men can dress however they'd like, but most women keep their head "veiled." Married women usually wear black "veils" and single girls can wear colored veils. Boys play all day, and girls help their mothers with cooking, washing, etc. This is also a cash-driven society. If you ask for directions, you have to pay "baksheesh," a tip. If you use a public bathroom, you have to pay the attendant. All of our bus drivers were tipped, and even the security guy on the bus is tipped daily. Egyptian men will jump into your picture and then demand to be paid--luckily, we didn't fall for that one. Police at each historical site will try to show you "secret places" in exchange for baksheesh. If you ask anyone to take your photo, they"d expect payment--but we knew about that one before we came here, so everyone just asks their tour mates to take their photos.
On Sat. Night we went to dinner at a family's home in Giza. We were greeted by a retired couple, their adult daughter, and her two young daughters. (The adult daughter lives in her own home with her husband and two daughters.) We got to ask them questions about Egyptian life and their Muslim faith. According to the adult daughter, Amyra, girls will usually start veiling themselves at the age of 14-15. After they go to college, it's an individual choice on whether or not to be veiled. Amyra's oldest daughter is 9 yrs old, and Amyra (the girls' mom) decided to veil herself just 6 yrs.ago. Amyra's wedding photo looked just like ours--white dress with no veil. The kids have the same 12 yrs of school before going to university. One major difference is the school/work week. Muslims' holy day is on Friday, so their weekend is Friday and Sat. At 9:00 p.m. Amyra and her two young daughters left to go to their own home in order to get the girls ready for school on Sun. A.M.
On Sunday we'll visit the oldest mosque in Egypt--The Mohammad Ali .
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Location:Cairo
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