Day 11: Cairo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Day 11 was our tour of Islamic Cairo. We traveled around and saw a few mosques. The first mosque was the Mohamed Ali Mosque. This was in the citadel. Mohamed Ali is important to Egyptian history. He is often given credit for "Egyptianizing" Egypt. As we drove up to the mosque, we could see the large silver domes at the top. They were so bright in the sun. It is also called the Alabaster mosque because it was built from alabaster. At some point in history that place was gleaming white and silver in the sun. That was undoubtedly an amazing sight to see. I can only imagine how beautiful it was. The inside of the mosque was just as amazing as the outside. There were light fixtures and chandeliers hanging everywhere. The ceiling was also a very beautiful green. While our guide spoke with us, she told us that the women pray at the back so that they aren't a distraction. We were also able to view Mohamed Ali's tomb, shich was inside the mosque. Outside, there was a goof view of the entire city and you could even see the pyramids in the background.

Once we left this mosque, we wen to the El Sultan Hassan and El Rafaei mosques. They were right next to each other and were very similar because the newer one was built to model the older one. There was an artist making a music video outside, which was interesting to watch. Inside the mosques were elaborate tombs for the royalty that were buried there.

Afterwards, we visited a perfume factory. They let us smell a lot of the oils that they make from natural products. I bought a bottle. From here we went to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar. It wasn't as hectic as I thought it would be. I purchased most of my souveniers there. Later that night, we had a lecture from a Coptic Orthodox priest from Nashville. He gave a really good history of Christianity. I learned a lot from this lecture.