Egypt Part 4
The next day, we decided that we would explore the Muslim part of Cairo. In honesty, I don't remember many of the names, (I never really internalized them to begin with), so for this post I will post pictures with anecdotes that enhance the story.
This is the amazing Mosque of Muhammad Ali (no, not the boxer). It was very impressive, both outside and inside.
This is the courtyard area of the Mosque.
This was the inside, which Joel, Jeff and I sat down in and drilled our tour guide on the fundamentals of Islam. He was somewhat reluctant to answer, and he continually told us to ask an Islamic priest if we were really interested. But we learned a lot about how Muslims believed that Judaism and christianity were revelations from God, but Islam was the most "updated version" as Jeff rephrased it, and so now all other Islam was the only way to God. Both Joel and Jeff then asked him some very hard questions about this concept (Joel's "so at what point exactly did Islam become the only way and Christianity stop being effective?" being the hardest). In many ways this conversation confirmed many of the things that I already knew about Islam (such as how it is so centered on works, opposed to grace), but it was very enlightening conversation nonetheless.
Here is a picture from outside the Mosque overlooking Cairo.
This is the north part of Cairo
This was a Mosque in the Northern section, where right outside its walls people slept on the street which were covered in trash, dirt, and apathy.
This is the inside of the Mosque. It was a particular sect of Islam who believed that their leader was going to return to earth at this Mosque.
Another picture of the inside. It had a very beautiful courtyard area with a fountain in the middle. In many ways it felt like we had returned to the times of the Bible, although I guess that is just because this is the way I picture that time.
This is the streets again. We saw very few people who were in the complete garb, so I decided to get a picture; I guess that is somewhat ironic.
Two boys.
I like this picture a lot, because it show the contrast of both Jeff and who Joel, who are both well dressed and are looking around at the squalor that surrounds them.
Often times because I did not what to make a big deal of taking a picture (I felt that would be somewhat insulting) I would hold the camera down at my waste and just snap pictures. This was a major street that ran down this section.
This man was incredibly striking. In many ways he symbolizes the opression of the area.
This is the oldest known pyramid. It was actually the only pyramid that we went into. It was incredibly eerie, mainly because we had to walk down a tunnel that went down at about a 45 degree angel, there was no lights (which when Jeff realized this, he bailed on me and Joel), our tour guide could not go down with us so we had to crawl through a tunnel about 25 feet long with a very scary guy who spoke no English with a tiny flashlight, and because about 40 Italians decided to go down the ramp into the pyramid when there was only room about for 5 people, oh and also he would only led us back out if we tipped him, but neither Joel nor I had any money. I made a dash for it with no lights, but Joel fumbled around in his pockets until he found some Israeli money. It was scary.
These musicians were here to meet us at the resturant. They stopped playing if you didn't give them a tip.
These ladies were very happy to their pictures taken, which I thought was very nice of them until I realized that they wanted a tip, and I had no Egyptian money. Again it was awkward.
That concluded our touring, after which we sent Joel on another 14 hour bus ride back to Israel. Jeff and I got massages. I almost felt bad considering what we had seen that day, but they came with the room....
This was a final shot from the balcony of our hotel room.
This is the amazing Mosque of Muhammad Ali (no, not the boxer). It was very impressive, both outside and inside.
This is the courtyard area of the Mosque.
This was the inside, which Joel, Jeff and I sat down in and drilled our tour guide on the fundamentals of Islam. He was somewhat reluctant to answer, and he continually told us to ask an Islamic priest if we were really interested. But we learned a lot about how Muslims believed that Judaism and christianity were revelations from God, but Islam was the most "updated version" as Jeff rephrased it, and so now all other Islam was the only way to God. Both Joel and Jeff then asked him some very hard questions about this concept (Joel's "so at what point exactly did Islam become the only way and Christianity stop being effective?" being the hardest). In many ways this conversation confirmed many of the things that I already knew about Islam (such as how it is so centered on works, opposed to grace), but it was very enlightening conversation nonetheless.
Here is a picture from outside the Mosque overlooking Cairo.
This is the north part of 
This was a Mosque in the Northern section, where right outside its walls people slept on the street which were covered in trash, dirt, and apathy.
This is the inside of the Mosque. It was a particular sect of Islam who believed that their leader was going to return to earth at this Mosque.
Another picture of the inside. It had a very beautiful courtyard area with a fountain in the middle. In many ways it felt like we had returned to the times of the Bible, although I guess that is just because this is the way I picture that time.
This is the streets again. We saw very few people who were in the complete garb, so I decided to get a picture; I guess that is somewhat ironic.
Two boys.
I like this picture a lot, because it show the contrast of both Jeff and who Joel, who are both well dressed and are looking around at the squalor that surrounds them.
Often times because I did not what to make a big deal of taking a picture (I felt that would be somewhat insulting) I would hold the camera down at my waste and just snap pictures. This was a major street that ran down this section.
This man was incredibly striking. In many ways he symbolizes the opression of the area.
This is the oldest known pyramid. It was actually the only pyramid that we went into. It was incredibly eerie, mainly because we had to walk down a tunnel that went down at about a 45 degree angel, there was no lights (which when Jeff realized this, he bailed on me and Joel), our tour guide could not go down with us so we had to crawl through a tunnel about 25 feet long with a very scary guy who spoke no English with a tiny flashlight, and because about 40 Italians decided to go down the ramp into the pyramid when there was only room about for 5 people, oh and also he would only led us back out if we tipped him, but neither Joel nor I had any money. I made a dash for it with no lights, but Joel fumbled around in his pockets until he found some Israeli money. It was scary.
These musicians were here to meet us at the resturant. They stopped playing if you didn't give them a tip.
These ladies were very happy to their pictures taken, which I thought was very nice of them until I realized that they wanted a tip, and I had no Egyptian money. Again it was awkward.
That concluded our touring, after which we sent Joel on another 14 hour bus ride back to Israel. Jeff and I got massages. I almost felt bad considering what we had seen that day, but they came with the room....This was a final shot from the balcony of our hotel room.
posted by all-things-go at 1:20 PM
2 Comments:
Got some interesting stuff I didn't know... cool... my silly site... rock fireplace
Interesting and genuine...
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