Alive in the City of the Dead

On Saturday, we took a most unusual field trip to the northern and southern Cities of the Dead, the areas where Cairenes buried their dead in mausoleums for hundreds of years. These areas were also where Mamluk rulers built schools and mosques since there was space (unlike old Cairo). What stood out perhaps more than the often-beautiful architecture and decoration was the location and who lived there. Though called the Cities of the Dead, hundreds of thousands (perhaps more) very poor people live there, sometimes within the mausoleums, more often in slapped-together housing that most would call slums. Here they are called “informal cities.” No building codes rule, streets are really narrow dirt lanes, and in some areas, grimy children run amok. Yet there are post offices, schools, stores, and plenty of people who have lived here for generations, often as guardians of family mausoleums.

Informal city within City of the Dead

Informal housing above a mausoleum

Horse on the street, City of the Dead

Housing and commerce

Very informal housing of mud-brick (with satellite dish)

City of the Dead stelae and domes of tombs

Our first stop was the Southern Cemetery and the Madrasa (Islamic school) of Zayn al-Din Yusuf (13th century). Next came the Mosque and Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi' (19th century). Most of these were built for those who practice Sufism, the most mystical and lyrical of the varieties of Islam. I confess in advance that I have mixed up the names that go with the photos in some cases, but nonetheless they give you a sense of the contrasts of the area.

Sufi dome exterior

Sufi dome interior

Another beautiful dome

Painted and carved walls

In the Northern Cemetery, we viewed the Complex of Barquq, the Complex of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay and the complex of Qaytbey (15th century). The dome of Barsbey was gorgeous, and its inlaid minbar (pulpit) beautiful.

Minbar inlay

Mosques mean removing one's shoes and adding a headscarf

Can't believe this shot came out

Part of a Sufi school and mosque

Detail, carved mirhab niche

The Prophet's name in marble inlay, Kufic (geometric) script

More gorgeous decoration of a mihrab

The Qaytbey (sometimes spelled Qaitbey) is spectacular, completed in 1474; it is huge and houses a school, dorm rooms, a huge courtyard, family tombs topped with domes, and even pieces of granite with faint Pharonic glyphs carved into them, obviously brought from the western bank.

Exterior of the Quaitbey complex

Its twin minarets

Window detail in the school area

Another gorgeous interior

Courtyard of the Qaitbey

Walking amidst the contrasts of medieval splendor and contemporary grinding poverty and garbage sobers the walker. By Egyptian standards, the most average of Americans is filthy rich, and nowhere is it more evident that in the narrow streets of the Cities of the Dead. Harris and I have taken to carrying coins in our pockets to give to beggars, usually very old women.We have a few regulars. The safety net family is supposed to provide obviously leaves some people stranded. Cairo has made us more aware of our good fortune to have grown up in a land of plenty, and changed us: it may be better to give real donations to well-run organizations, but there is no reason not to put a coin in the hand of someone with nothing.

Garbage amidst medieval carved beauty

Yet, as Americans, the first thing we did after returning was scrub the worst off our shoes, and stuff shoes and all our clothing into the washer. Nothing prepares you for the level of muck, sludge, and grime of the informal cities within the Cities of the Dead. Randi Danforth of AUC Press described what she sees every day en route to work: "spectacularly ravaged."

Randi (in a mosque looking quite holy)

All of Cairo is buzzing about signs that popped up all over the city seemingly overnight. In stark white against blue, these billboards say “The President” in English and in Arabic. No one I’ve spoke with knows exactly what these signs intend: is it “your name here”? is it a sop to the increasingly anxious country about its future? Anyway, you can’t miss them. They are everywhere.

The enigmatic sign

I finally got a decent photo of the “X Men” sticker on so many car windows, rounding out the collection of services offered, “Cowboy Up!” and the name of Allah. Harris pointed out this particularly fine window sticker, not only misspelled but very unlikely to exist even if spelled correctly!

What could this mean??

I don't think he is a member of the club

The wind has picked up and locals tell me this is the true khamzin since it is hot and blows sand and dust in from the western desert. It’s worse than earlier because it’s hot. Another screen shot from weatherunderground.com!

Forecast: Sand and hot

Tuesday includes a celebratory dinner at China Winds, Ma’adi’s answer to Hong Kong, with Sarah and Mark Mineart; working through the menu is our goal. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it. We almost never see Mark these days, as he is directing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” for AUC. The rehearsals are brutal and six days a week. It will be good when the play opens in early May.

Sarah in City of the Dead

Another lucky photo

We are packed for the dive portion of spring break, and will pack the Rome and Florence stuff tomorrow. Though we love Cairo, both of us are eager to sleep on sheets dried in a dryer rather than on a line, and I can’t wait to buy some walking shoes that are not sneakers.