Today we visited a few things that most tourists don’t have the opportunity to see.
We started our day in Coptic Cairo. The Coptics are one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East. During the 4th to 6th centuries Christianity was the majority religion in Egypt until the Muslim conquest. Today Coptic Christians account for an estimated 9-18% of the Egyptian population.
Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church is one of the oldest churches in Egypt. It is called the Hanging Church because it is built above a gatehouse of a Babylon Fortress. The colored light on the wall is from light shining through the stained glass windows. We saw this type of stucco stained glass window created at the art center that we visited on Day 3.
The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is possibly the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. The tall structure in the background is the minaret where they call everyone to prayer, while the structure in the front encloses the fountain where everyone washers before prayer. We had a guard follow us around while we were at this mosque for our own protection because we are Americans.
The Gayer-Anderson Museum is located adjacent to the mosque. The museum takes its name from Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, who resided in the house between 1935 and 1942 with special permission from the Egyptian Government. It is noted for being one of the best preserved examples of 17th century domestic architecture left in Cairo, and also for Gayer-Anderson's vast collection of furniture, carpets, curio, and other objects.
We had lunch at Al-Azhar Park. You can see the Mohamed Ali Mosque that we visited on Day 3 in a distance.
We returned to the same restaurant that we ate at on Day 3, but this time we had Ftir or Egyptian deep dish pizza. Between lunches and dinners, we are experiencing quite the Egyptian cuisine.
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