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Published: March 5th 2009
People Watching at El Fishawi
Strawberry juice for the last time at El Fishawi's Coffeehouse at the Khan el Khalili!Cairo Revisited!
January 5, 2009 We returned to Cairo after touring Upper Egypt for 10 days. We flew into Cairo after spending the night in Abu Simbel and stopping over in Aswan en route to Cairo. After flying Egypt Air across Egypt, we were impressed with the aircraft, flight crews and airports. In fact, all our domestic Egypt Air flights departed and arrived on time!
We checked into the Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza for the last 4 nights in Egypt and spent the afternoon taking it easy since we had two full days of being guided around Coptic and Islamic Cairo to look forward to. Our last day in Egypt would be spent souvenir shopping, touring modern Cairo and packing our bags for our trip home!
Coptic Cairo
January 6, 2009 We toured Coptic Cairo on January 6th since Coptic churches would be closed for religious celebrations of Coptic Christmas on January 7th. Since all the sites of Coptic Cairo are within walking distance, our driver dropped us off outside the security barriers that block the main road into Coptic Cairo. With lots of military and police personnel milling about, it was probably one the
Roman Fortress of Babylon
Oldest structure in Coptic Cairo. sites in Egypt where our sense of vulnerability was heightened given the religious significance of the time of year and the ongoing hostilities in the Gaza strip occurring at the time of our visit.
Our tour guide, Rasha el Ashmawy, started our tour of Old Cairo at the Roman-built Babylon Fortress. The Copts' oldest churches and the Coptic Museum are actually built into or on the walls of the Fort of Babylon or within the enclosure of the fortress and connected by narrow cobbled alleyways running between high stone walls. The Fort of Babylon was an ancient fortress situated on the Eastern bank of the Nile, near the commencement of Trajan's Canal joining the Nile to the Red Sea. Not only are the remains of the fort Cairo's oldest original structure, but Cairo owes its existence to this fort.
Next, we toured the Hanging Church, which is the most famous and oldest Coptic Christian church in Egypt. There has been a church on this site since the 3rd century A.D. The Hanging Church is named for its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress; its nave is suspended over a water gate which can be seen through a
Staircase to Hanging Church
Preparations for Coptic Christmas in Coptic Cairo underway at the oldest Coptic church in Old Cairo.
window in the floor! The entry way and the interior of the chapel are beautifully decorated with tile, stone and wood work. The ceiling is constructed in the form of Noah's Arc and the 13 pillared marble pulpit is beautifully designed.
St. Sergius and St Barbara Churches, where Jesus, Mary & Joseph are thought to have been sheltered when fleeing King Herod, are found down the cobbled alleyways past a very old and imposing door. St Barbara Church was holding a religious service, so we only visited St Sergius. Unfortunately, visitors are not permitted entry into the cave under the church were Mary and Jesus are thought to have been sheltered. The church is not as impressive as the Hanging Church, but its religious significance is felt as you enter this historic building.
Next, we visited the Synagogue of Ben Ezra that marks the place where the Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses in the reeds. It was restored under the guidance of a Canadian architect! Although there are no traces of the "original" synagogue, this modern synagogue's existence is symbolic of the prevalence of Jews in Cairo when they were exiled to Egypt in the period prior to Egypt
Amazing Architecture
Beautiful decor and door to Hanging Church becoming an Islamic state.
We toured the Coptic Museum that contains the world's largest collection of Coptic artifacts and artwork, approximately 15,000 objects. Displays consist of a rich mixture of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman influenced artifacts. The objects are grouped by medium, such as stonework, woodwork, metalwork, textiles and manuscripts. This impressive museum traces the history of Christianity in Egypt from its beginnings to the present day and is a worthwhile stop when visiting Old Cairo.
Before leaving Coptic Cairo, we visited the modern Church of St. George, which is an impressive Greek Orthodox Church with a beautifully decorated interior.
The Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-As, which was the first mosque built in Egypt and on the continent of Africa, was built on the site of the tent of the commander of the conquering army, General Amr ibn al-Asin in AD 642. Due to extensive reconstruction over the centuries, nothing of the original building remains, but the rebuilt Mosque is a prominent landmark; however, we just stopped for a quick photo on our way to lunch at Al Azhar Park.
As we walked around lovely maintained gardens to the Citadel View Restaurant located in
Noah Arc Ceiling
Beautiful interior of Hanging Church
Al Azhar Park, we were befriended by a group of young girls who wanted to practice their English and to take photographs. After Junior Canuck chatted with the girls, we gladly gave them the last of our Canadian flag pins to their delight. The Citadel View Restaurant has seating indoors and on a spectacular multi-tiered terrace that offers views of the gardens and the city of Cairo. We enjoyed the view, delicious Egyptian specialties and conversation about Egyptian life with Rasha.
We returned to the hotel before going for a short walk around the garden district and looking for free hotspots with no success. Visiting Hard Rock Cafes has become a bit of a Travelling Canuck tradition (UK, Canada, US , Korea, Germany, and Spain). So we headed to the Hard Rock for dinner, which is conveniently located across the street from our hotel at the Grand Hyatt. The HRC offered great food, great service and free wireless Internet. Unfortunately, we could not register for the free Internet access because of our laptop problems. The restaurant staff was great! They let us use the computer in the DJ booth to post a few blogs. Next stop, HRC boutique to
Pulpit at Hanging Church
13 marble pillars on the pulpit representing Christ, his 12 disciples, and one black pillar representing Judas. buy Junior Canuck a cool t-shirt before going back to the hotel.
Islamic Cairo
January 7, 2009 On our second to last day in Cairo, we spent the day and night in Islamic Cairo touring mosques, markets and enjoying an evening of Sufi music and dance. We started our tour of Islamic Cairo by driving by the massive City of the Dead where believers of the Islamic faith were buried for centuries. While there are no longer burials, ancestors live among their families' tombs.
We did a marathon mosque tour visiting the Beit El Sehemi/Beit el-Suhaymi, El-Sultan Hassan, El-Refaai, and Al Azhar Mosques. Learning about Islam and visiting these mosques was enlightening! Our guide even arranged a mosque attendant to demonstrate the acoustics by calling a prayer, which we found to be quite moving. We really admired the woodwork and stonework, and were impressed with the size of the mosques and the Royal Tombs at the Al Azhar mosque.
We then visited the Ibn Tulun Mosque and Gayer-Anderson Museum. The Ibn Tulun Mosque was designed by an Iranian architect so it is different than the other mosques we visited. It's extensive use of wood and presence
Church of St Sergius
Basement housed Mary and baby Jesus when they escaped to Egypt. of gutters for rain that just doesn't fall in Cairo made the visit to this mosque unique! We climbed the stairs of the tower to get a bird's eye view of this immense mosque and enjoyed the views of Islamic Cairo.
We then toured the Gayer Anderson Museum which is adjacent to the Ibn Tulun Mosque. Although off the beaten path, we highly recommend visiting the Gayer Anderson Museum which offers an interesting look at the furniture, collectibles and artwork that adorned the homes of the British/European upper class in Cairo during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the rooms are decorated in different themes ranging from English, Oriental, Turkish and Arabic. There is even a secret closet where the women of the household would occupy overlooking the parties held in the main salon attended only by male quests. It was there we found Junior Canuck hiding out to our surprise!
We returned to the Khan el Khalili bazaar for a second visit with our guide, Rasha where we lunched on sweet fiteers, an Egyptian pancake. We loved them so much we returned for dinner later that evening! You can never have too much of a
Coptic Museum
Beautiful museum featuring Coptic art and artifacts. good thing!
After lunch, we had a walking tour of the Khan el Khalili and viewed the old Fatimid gates of Cairo: Bab el Futuh and Bab en Nasr and Bab Zewella. The El Muizz Li-Din Allah Street is an interesting market street that you pass through to get to El Khayameya Street. Street vendors sell roasted corn and yams as Cairenes go about their daily lives amongst a crush of people. We enjoyed our visit to El Khayameya Street, home to the Tentmaker's workshops. Although Mama Canuck bargained hard for some beautifully made and designed wall hangings, the price wasn't right, so we gave them a pass! The tentmaker's workshops and stalls were very colorful and worth a visit.
We then headed back to the Khan el Khalili and stopped off at El Fishawi's Coffeehouse to do some people watching while we sipped our strawberry juice and coffee. We then got into the van and were driven to another gate to explore the Khan el Khalili from a different direction after bidding Rasha goodbye.
After dining on sweet fiteers, we headed off to the Sufi Dancing Show staged at a beautifully restored fonduk just a couple
St George Greek Orthodox Church
Lighting candles in the ornate Greek Orthodox Church in Old Cairo. of blocks away from the main square of the bazaar. Although the show starts at 8pm, it was wise to get there early since the show is free and, therefore, very popular. By getting there just before 7pm, we got great seats far enough from the stage to enjoy a lovely evening of music and dance. Don't miss seeing the Sufi Show if you are in Cairo on a Wednesday or Saturday night!
Modern Cairo
January 8, 2009 Cairo is a city that never sleeps with traffic that is overflowing, horns honking incessantly, and Egyptians out in the streets all day and night. Although donkeys with carts were banned from the city centre, they can be seen on the outskirts of the downtown core and women still balance sacks on their heads. Although there are over 2 million cars and high rise buildings, you have a sense when you enter the gates of Islamic Cairo or walk around Coptic Cairo that you have stepped back in time.
Our last day in Cairo and Egypt was spent taking it easy walking around some of the modern districts of Cairo. We did a bit of souvenir shopping and walking
around the Garden District, Midan Tahrir and Zamelek district getting a feel of modern Cairo. After browsing in some of Zamelek's antique stores, we walked around the Marriott Hotel and had a bite to eat in the Marriott Garden Cafe, a pricey outdoor terrace off the gardens - it's a lovely, relaxing refuge from hectic Cairo.
When we returned to the Garden City district, we walked to the Midan Tahrir. The traffic at Midan Tahrir is unbelievable - it felt like we were in a vortex of cars with no means of escape. Fortunately, we spotted a metro station which provided an underground pass to the other side of the square. From there, we decided to walk to the Egyptian Museum and visit the museum for a couple of hours before heading back to the hotel along the banks of the Nile. We packed our suitcases before enjoying an amazing Lebanese buffet dinner at Zitouni's and hitting our pillows since our wake-up call for 1am, January 9th was a mere hours away!
Staying at Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza
The Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza is a beautiful modern hotel with spacious and luxurious public spaces
Al Azhar Gardens
Enjoyed delicious lunch at Citadel View Restaurant and restaurants. Although the restaurant service and food quality were exceptional; surprisingly, the restaurants were very quiet in the new year. We ate Italian at Bella and Lebanese at Zitouni.
Because it is a downtown hotel, the dress code was far dressier than the other hotels we stayed in. A very exclusive store called Beyman's offers designer clothing while enjoying a "Holt Renfrew" shopping experience. The location of this hotel in the Garden City district is very central and surrounded by Embassy and Consular mansions. So naturally, there is a lot of security in and around the hotel, which comes in handy when you want to cross the street, which is no small feat! Its central location with only a 15 minute walk to the Egyptian Museum off the Midan Tahrir makes this hotel ideally located.
Our four night stay was wonderful as we had been travelling across Egypt for over 3 weeks. FS beds, bedding, towels and toiletries can not be beat! While the service is excellent as to be expected at a FS hotel, we did not experience all the personal touches that impressed us at the other Four Seasons Hotels in Egypt, in particular FSH
Quick Friends
After offering to take our photo, we shared our Canadian flag pins, which were greeted with smiles and thanks. Alexandria at San Stefano. We also stayed at the Four Seasons Cairo at First Residence for three nights over Christmas, so check out our TA reviews. Based on our experience, we would recommend the Nile Plaza as our first choice based on location and dining experience.
On the Home Stretch
January 9, 2009 Our driver, Hassan, picked us up at the hotel at 2am to get us to Cairo Airport for our 5am flight. Driving to the airport in the middle of the night means traffic is relatively light, so it only takes about one half hour. Despite light traffic, it was a bit of a harrowing experience since drivers at that time of night drive even faster than during the day since there are fewer cards to get in the way! So we just held on and kept our fingers crossed!
It was a fitting end to our Egyptian experience when we arrived at Cairo Airport and found ourselves once again at the mercy of airport staff. After generously tipping the porter who carted our bags to the security gate for Lufthansa passengers, he reappeared within minutes with an older Egyptian who waved us over. Reluctantly,
City of Minarets
Cairo's skyline is punctuated with minarets. we left the long line that wasn't moving and followed our bags as they were being carted to a deserted security gate. It was there we were asked for more money to expedite our clearance through security. It was almost 2am and we were dazed so we were happy not to stand in a line that just wasn't moving. We offered 20 more Egyptian pounds; however, it was only after handing over another 50 Egyptian pounds, which was flashed at the security official on the other side of the security barrier, were we promptly cleared through security and escorted to the Lufthansa check-in. Once again, generous tips greased the way. While bribing security officials was not our intent, we safely escaped the situation and never looked back! When in Egypt, American Express Cards don't get you to the front of the line, but Egyptian Pounds do!
Unfortunately, we were hoping our flight would be departing from the new International Terminal, which was supposed to be in operation; instead, we were stuck in the old International Departures Terminal at Cairo Airport for a couple of hours. To our surprise, there was free wireless Internet. So Mama Canuck blogged, Junior Canuck
Nuns at Mosque
Hope that different faiths can live in harmony! phoned Vancouver long distance to eat up our remaining airtime on our Egyptian cell phone and Papa Canuck listened to his iPod. Before long, we boarded our flight and sadly had to say goodbye to Egypt.
Our 4 hour direct flight from Cairo to Frankfurt was followed by a 4 hour stopover. After enjoying lounging in Lufthansa's Business Class Lounge and enjoying a full breakfast, we boarded the last leg - a 10.5 hour return flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver. As usual, Mama Canuck slept on the plane while Junior Canuck and Papa Canuck watched movies and listened to music. It was just another long day of traveling for the Travelling Canucks on the home stretch!
We landed at Vancouver International Airport around 2pm on Friday, January 9th and that's when we realized what we had missed -one of the coldest winters on record with record snowfalls! Travelling Canucks could not have picked a better time to escape to Egypt! If only we could have stayed longer!!
As our taxi slid down our icy hill, we were shocked to see a broken tree branch a couple of feet from our car parked on the street! Still stunned by the snow damage to our trees and hedge, the taxi driver ceremoniously dropped our luggage in the middle of the street and drove off leaving Mama Canuck slipping, sliding and hoping that no cars were coming down the hill!
Welcome to reality - we were back home and, in just two days, we were back to work and school! Goodbye Egypt, Hello Home!
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Wendy
non-member comment
Great trip to Cairo
I really enjoyed seeing your photos of Cairo, and am glad that you included the Egyptian Pancakes, that is the place I love to eat too ! Glad that you all had such a great time. Wendy (CairoWendy on Trip Advisor)