14 March 2000 (morning, continued)

Muhammad Ali Mosque

Back on the bus, we drive to the Muhammad Ali Mosque, which is located within the Citadel, the massive stone-walled fortress built upon a hill near the limestone cliffs of Tura. (If my guide-book is correct, the hill upon which the Citadel sits is actually a spur detached from the surrounding Moqattam hills by quarrying.) As we drive we get another good view of an Islamic cemetery and further explanation of burial customs. The little house-like crypts on the graves are a specific Egyptian tradition: Arab cemeteries in other parts of the world have simple markers. Modern Egyptian families will take a picnic to the cemetery and spend the day, then break the dishes they used and leave them behind to keep the spirits from hitchhiking home.

Little boys walking arm in arm. A woman with a baby riding on her shoulder. Cloth banners with elaborate designs in red, blue and green in front of the oldest mosque in Cairo. A naked toddler in the doorway of his home, clutching a bundle of twigs. “Cairoland” amusement park.

The Muhammad Ali Mosque is encased in alabaster and is called, no surprise, “the Alabaster Mosque.” Directly across from it is the green-domed Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque, built by the sultan who annexed the Sudan.

We enter the courtyard of the Alabaster Mosque and immediately remove our shoes. Moustafa shows us the correct way to carry them: soles together so the bottoms won’t touch the floor of the mosque when we set them down. We stop at the fountain where the faithful wash before prayers, then go inside and sit on the carpeted floor awhile before wandering around. Muhammad Ali is actually at rest here, in a sarcophagus behind a corner iron grille enclosure.

Cairo skyline from the Citadel

After exploring the mosque we step onto the terrace overlooking Cairo. Clouds from the north are mixing with smog below us but the view is terrific anyway. The buildings of Cairo are an almost uniform brown, but an occasional white or ochre structure stands out. Minarets punctuate the skyline and traffic snakes along the highway. In the distance, high-rise apartments crowd the banks of the Nile.

Goats in a yard as we look down from the Citadel

Al-Rifa’i Mosque as seen from the Citadel

Chattering school kids on a tour of the mosque approach us, wanting to practice their English. They say “hello” and I reply “salaam,” which sends them into gales of laughter.

On our way to the Egyptian Museum we pass an ancient aqueduct along the edge of the City of the Dead. Street level has crept up through the years so that only the top third or so of the arches is still visible, right at sidewalk level. In the caves formed by the arches mounds of flowers are stored under tarps, staying cool. Women sit on the ground in front of the flowers, bundling bunches. A man is washing his taxi next to a pile of rubble on the street.

We drive through part of Garden City – one way traffic here – and pass the American Embassy, which is the largest foreign embassy in Egypt. There are 30,000 United States diplomats living in Egypt, mostly in the Maadi district. We pass the British Embassy too. It has a wrought iron fence and guards at a gate with bars that raise and lower. The American University in Cairo is reportedly right behind the American Embassy but we can’t see it.

We park and eat lunch first. Some of our group opt for the Nile Hilton, which is just down the street, but Chaz and I head for a Shawarma stand cater-corner to the museum. Shawarma is made from chicken, beef, or lamb cooked on a gyros-type spit. They cut off bits of the pre-cooked meat, fry it on a griddle with diced tomatoes, onions, and parsley, and stuff it into pita bread. Delicious!