September 28, 2019 - Cairo to Aswan

First - an apology!  Not only was there no wifi on the train; but there was almost no sleep.  And the next night wasn't much better since we had to be out of our room by 3:10 a.m.!!  PLaying catch-up now, so bear with me!  Here's some text, with photos to follow!!

Yep, another early morning and another feeding fest at the hotel’s buffet.  We have our bags all packed and just need to go upstairs long enough to wash our hands and gather everything, so we can come back downstairs and check out.  We’re in plenty of time to meet Ahmed and Mahmoud by 7:30.

We’ve got a full day ahead before we must say adieu to this intrepid duo.  Today’s monuments will all be on the Cairo side of the Nile, unlike yesterday’s which were all in Giza. Our first stop is the Citadel of Saladin, which was begun in 1176 as a defense against the Crusaders.  He died before its completion, and it was finished by his son.  It became the seat of government and eventually also included the famous Mosque of Mohammed Ali, also called The Alabaster Mosque.  It is patterned after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and contains Mohammed Ali’s tomb.

The word on the tree is "Allah"

We also visited the Sultan Hassan Mosque, which is also a madrasa, or school.  Initially it was just a religious school;  but later its scope widened to include civil and social courses.  Mahmoud stops the van and hops out.  He comes back with a tray containing four glasses of sugarcane juice!  Boy is that sweet and delicious!  At least I think so!  And what a sweet gesture!  

We took a vote and decided we needed to the the Khan El Khalili Bazaar,  Instead of being indoors, like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, this is a bunch of tiny shops occupying several large blocks, and arranged roughly by category.  Not all the shops are open because it is Saturday.  Their weekend is Friday and Saturday, with the work and school weeks beginning on Sunday.  Still we are able to gawk at all the merchandise and practice our skills at avoiding interaction.

Ahmed has a favorite stand at which he likes to buy coconut juice.  He asks if we would like some and Juan and I are into it!  Marilyn prefers strawberry and Ginger opts for mango.  I can’t speak for the others, but the cold coconut juice (milk?) was delicious!  As we’re leaving the bazaar Ahmed points out Tahrir Square, where the Arab Spring demonstrations began.  It is often the site of demonstrations and there is always a police presence so that violence does not erupt.  Ahmed has told us moderate Muslims, like himself, consider the Muslim Brotherhood to be terrorists.

During one of our discussions Ahmed points out that we have only seen Old Cairo, not the new bustling metropolis of high-rises and expensive stores.  Many of the buildings we’re looking at are four hundred years old;  of course they don’t look so great!

We’re on to our last stops in Coptic Cairo.  The word coptic originally meant Egyptian;  but now refers to Egyptian Christians.  Before the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, (and after the pharaohs)  Egypt was Christian.

We visit the Hanging Church, so named because it was build, or hanging, over a fortress.  It is also called the staircase church for the twenty-nine steps leading to its front door.  There are one hundred and forty icons in the church and the roof is supported by twelve pillars for the twelve apostles.  One of them is black, for Judas.  The roof was designed to resemble Noah’s Ark.  It is the oldest active Coptic Christian church in Cairo.  From it you can see the largest Coptic Christian church, St. Sergius and St. Bacchus Church.

The Hanging Church or the Staircase Church

Part of Tahrir Square

Our grand finale will be the Egyptian Museum, housing the great treasures of Egyptian antiquity. There is a huge new museum under construction;  but it won’t be open until next year. Ahmed knows which exhibits are the most important for us to see.  Otherwise we could spend a month reading all the cards and trying to remember what we’ve learned.  The museum isn’t very crowded and it is easy to maneuver around and hear everything Ahmed has to share.  He is so knowledgeable about his culture!!  We’ve learned that if a statue is standing with his left foot forward and has a beard that hangs straight down, it was carved while the subject was still alive.  If he is in the mummy position and has a curved beard, he was already dead,  We know that the white crown symbolizes the southern kingdom and the red crown is for the north.  Kings of the unified kingdoms wear the double crown.  We see so many wonders!  I’m particularly impressed by how beautiful Queen Nefertiti really was!  And we are all astounded to learn that the builder of the Great Pyramid, the largest of them all, is only represented by one statue.  It is the only one ever found and it is only a few inches tall!  We opt out of the Hall of Mummies and are content to see the mummies of a husband and wife and all their nesting sarcophagi. The final room, and the only one in which no photos may be taken, displays some of the incredible treasures of King Tutenkhaman, including the fabled golden mask which weighs twelve kilos of pure gold!  Ahmed has pointed out that the boy king only reigned for nine years and accomplished nothing.  His only claim to fame was that his tomb was never plundered.  He asked us to imagine what unbelievable treasures must have been in the tombs of the great rulers, like Khufu or Ramses II!

The Scribe . Notice how his wig is pulled away from his ears so he can take dictation.

The god Horus is protecting him, and also strengthening the weakest part of the statue!

We’re saturated with information and ready for lunch.  Ahmed has selected the ideal restaurant.  He tells us that when he comes here, it feels like being home.  We’ve preordered our entries and they include duck, pigeon, and a beef dish with vegetables and turns out to be very like beef stew.  It’s my choice and it’s delicious!  The problem is that the entrees were preceded by rich and flavorful soups (lentil, pasta, and cream) and that amazing Turkish bread with dishes of tahini, babaganush, a garlic concoction, and a fourth one that I can’t name but really enjoyed!  No one is able to finish their entree, although Juan comes close.  And Ahmed has also ordered a side dish with aubergine, tomatoes, and chopped meat for us all to sample.  AND a green soup that can be drunk or poured on rice, of used to dunk bread into!  We’re so stuffed it isn’t even funny.  And now he’s ordered dessert for us all!  Everyone demurs until we taste the two treats on our plates!  We may have to sleep for a week!!

Mahmoud and Ahmed take us to the Four Seasons where we can hang out for a few hours until it’s time to go to the train station.  There’s a little napping and a little computing and some exploring to find a WC.  Oh! I forgot to mention that during lunch my glasses fell apart!  Luckily I learned my lesson in Thailand and I have an extra pair with me!

A new guide from Memphis picks us up with a new car and driver!  Not to worry, though, Mahmoud has made sure that our luggage all got transferred to the new vehicle and our new driver is every bit as skillful.  The real treat is that the new guide is as charming and funny and competent as Ahmed!  Nadir has everything under control!

We get to the train station and learn that Egyptian trains can be as much as an hour late!  We needn’t have worried about the traffic!  A Puerto Rican wife and his wife spot us and come over to chat.  And it appears that Nadir has attracted an acolyte!  Twelve-year old Omar wants to be a guide and peppers his brand-new friend with questions.  Nadir juggles all the conversations in three different languages with grace and aplomb.  We all learn a few words in Arabic, sign, and English and it’s just a delight to be involved!

Omar and Nadir

Everyone discusses the way Egyptians drive!  Even Nadir says he won’t drive in Cairo;  "the lines on the road are just for decoration"!!

Finally our train screams into the station and we are ushered into the right car and, eventually, the right couchette.  It’s as tiny as I remember but the cabin steward shows us how to set up our dinner trays and presently serves our meal of chicken, rice, vegetables, roll, tahini and chocolate cake.  There is no beverage, so it’s good we brought water!  When our trays have been removed, our helpful steward turns the bottom seats into a bed for Marilyn and sets up the ladder so I can climb into the upper bunk. 

There’s a storage compartment for the pillows, and when they are removed, there’s lots of room for backpacks, day packs and whatever!  It’s going to be fine as long as I don’t have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  The door is a bearcat to open and if I’m locked in a small, black space, things will not go well!  I’m not drinking another drop until morning!!  Since there’s no wifi on the train, I’ll post this tomorrow night.