Islamic Cairo/Coptic Cairo

Yesterday evening I went out for a bit (its light out until around 8pm) with one of the other hostel guests (another American). The weather in the evening is so nice -- it cools down quite a bit and there's a lovely breeze. We went down to the Nile, which is huge. After eating falafel bought on the street and walking around for a bit, we went to a rooftop cafe. The view probably wasn't guidebook-beautiful but I loved it. You can't see the river but you can see all the surrounding buildings. A lot of the buildings are pretty dilapidated and there's laundry hanging out to dry. I just felt really right in the city...its hard to explain. I like urban settings. The sun went down when we were at the cafe, and the calls to prayer rang out...it was just perfect.

Cairo actually seems pretty safe for a capital city...I feel like I get hassled less here than say, DC or NYC. Maybe even parts of San Francisco. But I definitely feel like when men speak to me, its like they're speaking to a silly little girl. They are nice but not respectful. I don't mean that they're really inappropriate or rude, but that they don't respect that I might also be an intelligent human being with something relevant to say. It was really nice hanging out with Justin (the other American here...he's a Ph.D student at Chapel Hill in NC and is really lovely. And speaks Arabic, which is convenient for me) because he's the only person I've met here that doesn't speak to me like I'm an idiot.

Today I went to the Citadel to see 2 mosques and a Museum. The mosque of Mohammed Ali is very large and Ornate. After removing my shoes and having to put on a very unattractive green robe-thingy, I was able to go inside. I sat down for a while and just soaked it in. Outside there's a great view of Cairo, through the smog, of course. The calls to prayer sounded amazing from up there, you could hear them coming from all parts of the city below and just resonating everywhere. Even in 90 degree weather, I get goosebumps when I hear it. I talked for a few minutes to some Egyptian students, who wanted to ask me about views of Islam in my country and about George W. It was interesting but a pretty typical conversation: no, not everyone thinks that all Muslims are terrorists, and no, I don't like Bush, either...etc. etc.

After that I went to Coptic Cairo and wandered around. I went into the Coptic Museum and into a few churches. In one, I lit candles for friends and family that have passed away...including all grandparents, Uncle Bob, Petra and Kathy Sesok. The museum was interesting. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the Muslim sights here more because its newer to me. I've been in a lot of Christian churches...but I don't think I'd ever been inside a mosque before today.

I had dinner at a pretty nice restaurant (my meal costed about $6 U.S.). I love the food here. The falafel is incredible. I had the Egyptian version of dolma, which are called something completely different. They're a lot smaller and thinner and way more flavorful. There's more grape leaf than filling, and it somehow works. Definitely the best I've ever had. And I ordered mango juice, which was more like mango puree and it was AMAZING. I feel like I could drink it all day. Incredible.

I took a lot of pictures, but I plan to upload everything tomorrow night, I think. Tomorrow I'm off the the Pyramids in Giza, so I know I'll definitely take a ton of pictures. I'm really enjoying Cairo so far. This city is chaotic, but its so vibrant and interesting. I'll have to come back to get the things I'll miss, because there's no way I'll see everything and I honestly don't have the energy to do the Tour Nazi thing for 4 days. I'm actually pretty worn out from Ghana. I'm going to read and go to bed early. I'm getting up early to go to Giza and see some wonders of the ancient world. xoxo