The Nile in the misty morning,
the hotel changed their flowers to white,
police and military on every corner, Dalia our Egyptologist said there's a saying, "half of Egyptians are policemen and the other half are in the military."
Tahrir Square (they are called squares but are all really circles), we went through here a bunch, it's really the only way to get anywhere. Our destination is the Museum which sits right at the square. We could not take our cameras with us so I have no pictures of the museum. It is really in the old style of museums, that's the first thing you notice when you walk through the door. Upstairs are cases with like things all lined up, case after case with little cards that have old style type on them saying what the items are. We went to the Gold Room to see King Tut's treasures. The kids looked at everything very carefully pointing out all the detail and trying to figure out what each animal was being depicted. We were even late meeting Dalia, actually the kids were always the last ones out of each area because they wanted to look at everything so carefully. Next we went to look at all the furniture pieces. It's incredible to think the age of these pieces are 4,000 years old. Erica saw a jewelry piece with two women with blue skin and says, "they look like Avitars." The pieces are so elaborate with the tiniest detail, huge flexible gold colars inlaid with colored pieces, gorgeous bracelets, and rings. The jewelry is wrapped in the linens of the mummies. We saw gold chariots, alabaster cups, King Tut's underwear, clothing, baskets, and everything else a pharaoh used during his life time. We also saw sketches and doodles done by the workers and builders of the tombs. These are important because they showed how the scenes on the tombs were made. First a grid was laid out then someone drew an outline in red then the final artist came and laid the outline in black. After that the rock carvers would come. Then the painters would come and color. There is a room with papyrus, huge long scrolls, I had no idea they wrote horizontally and not just vertically. Downstairs are all the large item: loads of false doors-which the kids recognized right away, huge pillars, walls from tombs, tons of hieroglyphics that Dalia has been reading to us-one mentioned Moses, huge wooden coffins...we learned if the falcon is higher than the head of the pharaoh it means protector, the phoenix represented control of the common people. The triangle is the Delta, also the delta of the Nile.
Lunch was Egyptian food, what is interesting is they call it "oriental" associating themselves with the Middle East on the continent of Asia rather than being African.
Talaat Harb Square, Dalia took us for a walk here to get some traditional Egyptian sweets, she wanted to sweeten us up before she told us the bus was leaving at 2:30 am to catch our flight south the next morning.
Tiles on the sweet shop,
Statue of Ibrahim Pasha by the National Military Museum,
heading up to the Citadel,
City of the Dead, cemetery where people live among the tombs because they are homeless. families also live in their family tombs because they can't afford a house.
The Citadel,
The Citadel is a medieval Islamic fortification built by Salah al-Din (Saladin) in 1176. The Citadel remained the heart of the Egyptian government until the 19th century when Khedive Ismail moved to the new Abdin Palace in 1860. Water was brought to the Citadel through a series of aqueducts after being drawn from a well.
The Mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha built between 1828 and 1848. This Ottoman Mosque was built for Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali's oldest son who died in 1816. It also represents Muhammad Ali's efforts to erase symbols of the Mamluk dynasty he replaced. When the Ottoman ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha took control from the Mamluks in 1805 he altered or destroyed many structures such as Mamluk palaces.
wash basin,
inside,
done ceiling,
View of the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan on the left. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture and was built in 1356. The building materials were taken from the pyramid casing stones from Giza. The mosque is on the Egyptian 100 pound note. On the right is the Al Rifai' Mosque built by the Pasha dynasty in 1869. In front is the Mosque Al Mahmudiya of the Ottoman period built in 1567.
Views of Cairo from the Citadel which sits east of the city.
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun is the oldest unchanged mosque in the city and is the largest. It dates to 876. It was the center of administration for the Tulunid dynasty, the Tulunid palace sat next to the mosque but was razed in the 10th century.
The Citadel,
The City of the Dead or Cairo Necropolis, locally it is called el'arafa (the cemetery). It is a dense grid of tombs and mausoleums where people live and work. The poorest live in the City of the Dead Slum and Manshiyat naser which is known as Garbage City. This area dates back to 642, the time of the Arab conquest. The Arab commander 'Amr ibn al-'As established his family's graveyard here. The other tribes buried their dead within their living quarters then. The following Arab dynasties built cemeteries. Pilgrimages were encouraged to ancestral tombs and people would stay over night. People also traveled to visit the dead in search of blessings, it was not unusual to stay. With modern earth quakes and economics people have been forces to dwell in ancestral tombs or live among the dead.
We went and saw how papyrus was made. It is a flexible and strong paper as well as cloth. The flowers are believed to represent the rays of the sun,
the shape is a triangle, representing the pyramids and delta,
it is cut in strips,
the water is rolled out,
it is then sticky, layers are over lapped, pressed
and there is paper. Papyrus was very important to the ancient Egyptians and began about 4000 bc. The plant grows along the banks of the Nile. It was also used for boats, rope, baskets, and cloth. It was the main source of paper until the Arabs developed pulp paper.
Children's Cancer Center.
Dalia,
part of the aqueduct,
VERY full mini bus-three grown men in the front seat alone,
the aqueduct that took water to the Citadel,
right by the zoo, the Nahdet Misr Statue-a more modern sculpture,
I sat in front of this building-the Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, in traffic I grew to like and so I took a picture
there are little villas tucked in everywhere but I could find what they were historically,
ceiling of our hotel,
sun set,
We headed to the air port at 2:30 am. We went by the Baron Palace on the way. A wealthy Belgian came to Cairo, he established areas of commerce and built the new town of Heliopolis, designed as a city of luxury and leisure, in the desert. He built the Heliopolis hotel (which was the presidential palace of Hosni Mubarak). In 1911, Baron Empain built the Baron Palace or Palace Hindou. It looks like a drissle sand castle we used to build on the beach as kids.
The Nile in the misty morning,
the hotel changed their flowers to white,
police and military on every corner, Dalia our Egyptologist said there's a saying, "half of Egyptians are policemen and the other half are in the military."
Tahrir Square (they are called squares but are all really circles), we went through here a bunch, it's really the only way to get anywhere. Our destination is the Museum which sits right at the square. We could not take our cameras with us so I have no pictures of the museum. It is really in the old style of museums, that's the first thing you notice when you walk through the door. Upstairs are cases with like things all lined up, case after case with little cards that have old style type on them saying what the items are. We went to the Gold Room to see King Tut's treasures. The kids looked at everything very carefully pointing out all the detail and trying to figure out what each animal was being depicted. We were even late meeting Dalia, actually the kids were always the last ones out of each area because they wanted to look at everything so carefully. Next we went to look at all the furniture pieces. It's incredible to think the age of these pieces are 4,000 years old. Erica saw a jewelry piece with two women with blue skin and says, "they look like Avitars." The pieces are so elaborate with the tiniest detail, huge flexible gold colars inlaid with colored pieces, gorgeous bracelets, and rings. The jewelry is wrapped in the linens of the mummies. We saw gold chariots, alabaster cups, King Tut's underwear, clothing, baskets, and everything else a pharaoh used during his life time. We also saw sketches and doodles done by the workers and builders of the tombs. These are important because they showed how the scenes on the tombs were made. First a grid was laid out then someone drew an outline in red then the final artist came and laid the outline in black. After that the rock carvers would come. Then the painters would come and color. There is a room with papyrus, huge long scrolls, I had no idea they wrote horizontally and not just vertically. Downstairs are all the large item: loads of false doors-which the kids recognized right away, huge pillars, walls from tombs, tons of hieroglyphics that Dalia has been reading to us-one mentioned Moses, huge wooden coffins...we learned if the falcon is higher than the head of the pharaoh it means protector, the phoenix represented control of the common people. The triangle is the Delta, also the delta of the Nile.
Lunch was Egyptian food, what is interesting is they call it "oriental" associating themselves with the Middle East on the continent of Asia rather than being African.
Talaat Harb Square, Dalia took us for a walk here to get some traditional Egyptian sweets, she wanted to sweeten us up before she told us the bus was leaving at 2:30 am to catch our flight south the next morning.
Tiles on the sweet shop,
Statue of Ibrahim Pasha by the National Military Museum,
heading up to the Citadel,
City of the Dead, cemetery where people live among the tombs because they are homeless. families also live in their family tombs because they can't afford a house.
The Citadel,
The Citadel is a medieval Islamic fortification built by Salah al-Din (Saladin) in 1176. The Citadel remained the heart of the Egyptian government until the 19th century when Khedive Ismail moved to the new Abdin Palace in 1860. Water was brought to the Citadel through a series of aqueducts after being drawn from a well.
The Mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha built between 1828 and 1848. This Ottoman Mosque was built for Tusun Pasha, Muhammad Ali's oldest son who died in 1816. It also represents Muhammad Ali's efforts to erase symbols of the Mamluk dynasty he replaced. When the Ottoman ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha took control from the Mamluks in 1805 he altered or destroyed many structures such as Mamluk palaces.
wash basin,
inside,
done ceiling,
View of the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan on the left. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture and was built in 1356. The building materials were taken from the pyramid casing stones from Giza. The mosque is on the Egyptian 100 pound note. On the right is the Al Rifai' Mosque built by the Pasha dynasty in 1869. In front is the Mosque Al Mahmudiya of the Ottoman period built in 1567.
Views of Cairo from the Citadel which sits east of the city.
The Mosque of Ibn Tulun is the oldest unchanged mosque in the city and is the largest. It dates to 876. It was the center of administration for the Tulunid dynasty, the Tulunid palace sat next to the mosque but was razed in the 10th century.
The Citadel,
The City of the Dead or Cairo Necropolis, locally it is called el'arafa (the cemetery). It is a dense grid of tombs and mausoleums where people live and work. The poorest live in the City of the Dead Slum and Manshiyat naser which is known as Garbage City. This area dates back to 642, the time of the Arab conquest. The Arab commander 'Amr ibn al-'As established his family's graveyard here. The other tribes buried their dead within their living quarters then. The following Arab dynasties built cemeteries. Pilgrimages were encouraged to ancestral tombs and people would stay over night. People also traveled to visit the dead in search of blessings, it was not unusual to stay. With modern earth quakes and economics people have been forces to dwell in ancestral tombs or live among the dead.
We went and saw how papyrus was made. It is a flexible and strong paper as well as cloth. The flowers are believed to represent the rays of the sun,
the shape is a triangle, representing the pyramids and delta,
it is cut in strips,
the water is rolled out,
it is then sticky, layers are over lapped, pressed
and there is paper. Papyrus was very important to the ancient Egyptians and began about 4000 bc. The plant grows along the banks of the Nile. It was also used for boats, rope, baskets, and cloth. It was the main source of paper until the Arabs developed pulp paper. 
Children's Cancer Center.
Dalia,
part of the aqueduct, 
VERY full mini bus-three grown men in the front seat alone,
the aqueduct that took water to the Citadel,
right by the zoo, the Nahdet Misr Statue-a more modern sculpture,
I sat in front of this building-the Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, in traffic I grew to like and so I took a picture
there are little villas tucked in everywhere but I could find what they were historically,
ceiling of our hotel,
sun set,
We headed to the air port at 2:30 am. We went by the Baron Palace on the way. A wealthy Belgian came to Cairo, he established areas of commerce and built the new town of Heliopolis, designed as a city of luxury and leisure, in the desert. He built the Heliopolis hotel (which was the presidential palace of Hosni Mubarak). In 1911, Baron Empain built the Baron Palace or Palace Hindou. It looks like a drissle sand castle we used to build on the beach as kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment