Cairo City Tour

Citadel in Cairo - Said to have been built by Saladin
Ali Hassan Mosque
Ceiling in Ali Hassan Mosque
Note the Alabaster stone
Note Pyramids in the distance

16 March 2008

The day started off with a trip to the Cairo Museum. Among the world’s museums, it must rate as one of the best. Its collection is limited to ancient Egypt; in particular, to the contents found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. I was very impressed. Having seen the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, I really didn’t understand how they got all of materials in the tomb, which is quite small. I asked our guide how the tomb avoided being robbed. She indicated that there had been an early attempt at robbery, but the thieves were caught, the material returned to the tomb and the tomb was sealed again. In addition, another tomb was constructed near the tomb of King Tutankhamun and the materials removed from that tomb were thrown on top of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Since he reigned for such a relatively short time, I also suspect that he was just forgotten about.

They have a room with the mummies of several of the more famous pharos including Ramsis II. There are so many artifacts in the museum that it is difficult to know what to look at first. In addition, it was very crowded. You had to wait for one group to move away before you could look at a particular item.

Unfortunately no cameras are permitted in the museum.

Our next stop was at the Ali Hassan Mosque which is located in the citadel of Saladin. It is also called the Alabaster Mosque because the walls are covered with alabaster. Cameras were permitted.

Our next stop was lunch at a marvelous restaurant in one of the market places. We were served pita with humus, tahina, babaganush and yogurt missed with cucumbers as the first course. The second course was mixed grill with mousaka on the side. I don’t know what the desert was, but it was delicious.

We wandered around the market place for a while. It is difficult, because people jump out in front of you trying to sell you something. I am sorry that I forgot to take pictures of the market place. Some of the people bought various items including roasted peanuts like the ones we had in Aswan.

At four o’clock we returned to the hotel. We will be leaving tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM, which means luggage must be outside the room at 5:00 AM. I attempted to take a video of the view from my hotel room and my batteries died. This was really the optimum time for them to go, because I could take two new ones from my suitcase and leave the two that are in my purse.

I haven’t been on the internet since we arrived in Cairo. I was told that I could get internet in my room for about $35 for a 24 hour period. I understand that as I tourist I am here to support the Egyptian economy, but there are limits. I asked if there were any less expensive ways to use the internet, I was told that I could buy a card at the business center for 100 Egyptians pounds which is about $20. Again I feel this is excessive since I only need a maximum of half an hour.

I will never look at public bathrooms in the same way. There is usually a man or woman at the door who gives you toilet paper and expects a tip. They are usually satisfied with 50 piastres, which is worth about 10 cents. Since I didn’t have the 50 piastre notes, I was giving them a one pound note, worth about 20 cents.

I went downstairs for a light dinner, then came up to my room. Since luggage must be out at 5:00 AM, I have my suitcase almost packed. The only thing remaining is my wash.