Old Cairo (Al-Qahira)

 Now that teaching is over, we are devoting some time to seeing things here before the clock runs out. On Monday, we went on a boondoggle with Sarah and Mark Mineart, led by Emad. I’d been curious about the church of Saint Simon the Tanner, carved into the living rock of Moqattam, and the centerpiece of the community of the zaballeen, the garbage collectors and recyclers.

Alley in zaballeen city

Zaballeen city from above

Another view of zaballeen city

Garbage is sorted by type

Trucks loaded with garbage go in and out

After winding through the streets of the informal city of the zaballeen, complete with its own post office, members of Parliament, schools, and churches—for they are almost entirely Coptic—Emad brought us to Saint Simon the Tanner.

Saint Simon the Tanner parking area

Emad, Harris, and Sarah in Saint Simon's parking area

The rocky escarpment into which the church is carved is itself carved with scenes from the Bible. From the outside, it was not terribly impressive—I’d read it could  hold 20,000 congregants, and it did not look that big. But when Emad led us into the amphitheater, we all gasped. My photos do it little justice (though here they are). But check out its website, http://samaanchurch.com/en/index.php.

The unprepossessing exterior

Part of the amphitheater of Saint Simon's

Now you can see how they might hold 20,000!

Simon, according to the church guide Maged (and checked online) was a devout Coptic leatherworker at the end of the 10^th century. The Caliph of Cairo enjoyed a good debate, and when debating with the Coptic Pope Abraam, he asked if what was written in Matthew—that if one had faith even the size of a mustard seed, one could move mountains—were true. The Pope assented, and the Caliph demanded proof, or he would put all the Copts to death.

Maged explaining the miracle, illustrated behind him

After days of prayer at the Hanging Church, a vision of Mary told the Pope that a modest saint would provide the miracle. While praying in a large congregation, Simon’s faith was such that Moqattam Mountain lifted up in the presence of the Caliph, and the Coptic population was saved. The Caliph and Pope became good friends.

Harris contemplates carvings  in the amphitheater

The body of the saint was discovered in 1991 along with his clay bowl for carrying water to the sick and poor. Images of Simon carrying water abound; he is depicted with one eye gouged out as his way of dealing with temptation according to one of the more violent commands of the Bible. The reliquary with bones of the saint is nearly covered with prayers, photos, and letters requesting his intervention with Jesus.

Emad in front of reliquary

Detail of reliquary with prayers

There is an ancillary church carved into adjacent rock, holding only 3000 congregants (!), the Chapel of Saint Mark’s. It is the “winter” church since it is roofed—indeed, carved into the rock like the Bat Cave. Scenes from the old and new testaments were carved into its walls.

Saint Mark's, AKA, the Bat Cave

Mark and Harris

Simon's miracle carved into the rock 

Emad the Enabler also led us into temptation at the workshop for Luxor Alabaster, which is in the garbage city. Not only is there a retail section, where we did our bit to help the local economy, but a yard filled with raw stone and a workshop where the stone is turned into exquisite objects, first with a massive band saw. It was possibly the noisiest place I’ve been, dusty with stone chips, clearly not OSHA compliant, but fascinating.

Raw alabaster and onyx

Alabaster detail

Alabaster workshop

Using a band saw on alabaster

After visiting the churches, all of us were peckish, so Emad zipped us over to one of the premier koshery restaurants in Cairo, Abu Hanafy. For under $2 per person, we gorged ourselves on the best koshery any of us had ever eaten, laden with fried onions, garnished with tomatoes and wonderful sauces, and washed down with Diet Pepsi. Sarah and Mark agreed that until Abu Hanafy, they had not understood why people liked koshery so much. Now they know! Koshery in Cairo provokes the same kind of loyalties and arguments that pizza does in New Haven.

Abu Hanafy from the street

Mark about to try a sauce

Koshery. Yum yum!

Next stop was possibly Cairo’s least-visited historic site, excavations of the original Arab city of Cairo, Al-Fustat, founded in 641AD after the Arab conquest of Egypt. It grew to 200,000 people until the 12^th century, when it was burned; by the time of the Mamluks (13^th-16^th centuries), it was a garbage dump. Yet this was the center of power for centuries, known for its glorious gardens, and home to rulers, elites, and thinkers like Maimonides. It formed the core of the city of Cairo.

Fustat excavations

A floor of Fustat partly exposed

Emad and Sarah at Fustat

Column remnants at Fustat

Detail of a Fustat column

The excavations show us glimpses of its glory, carved column capitals, cisterns, mudbrick walls—yet it is just beginning. It asks you to imagine a lot and awaits serious archeological work. It is so little-visited that the guides working there had to scrounge around to find the tickets we needed to enter.

Cairo today was called Al-Qahira around 1087 when the Fatimids ruled. On Thursday, we went on another junket with Tarek Swelim to visit the best sites in Old Cairo, his particular speciality (his Ph.D. is on Islamic art and architecture), beginning with the exquisite Mosque of Ibn Tulun from the 9^th century. Tarek is wring a book on this site, so his knowledge was profound. It’s Cairo’s oldest intact functioning Islamic monunent, built by Ibn Tulun, who was sent from Baghdad to rule the outpost of what was then Fustat. Drawing inspiration from his homeland, his mosque is most notable for its particular details drawn from Iraq, such as the crenulations like paper dolls atop its walls, and particularly its minaret, spiraling up like the much earlier famous minaret of the mosque of Samarra in Iraq.

Exterior, Mosque of Ibn Tulun

Ibn Tulum minaret as Tarek walks

Samarra in Iraq, aerial (internet)

Pilgrims climbing Samarra's minaret (internet)

The mosque is huge, big enough to accommodate all of Fustat for Friday prayers, with long covered sides to hold the faithful. The side with the mihrab indicating the direction of Mecca and the minbar from which the imam preached is the deepest. Its windows are each unique, with different carved screens. The view from the top of the minaret is breathtaking—old and new Cairo spread out below.

Courtyard of Ibn Tulun from the top of the minaret

Cairo old and new, top of minaret

Mel n'Harris, tourists, atop the minaret

Allah's name in ancient Kufic script in relief

No fear of heights here!

One of Ibn Tulun's windows

We then drove to another part of old Cairo to begin a dazzling walk that began with the complex of Sultan Qalaun from 1279, part school and part mausoleum. It is probably the most splendid mausoleum in a city filled with gorgeous ones, with a huge dome, inlaid marble, a space for worship—all in all, breathtaking. It had been under restoration and only opened a couple of years ago. It began the walk between the two palaces made famous by Naguib Mahfouz’s “Cairo Trilogy,” particularly the second book, “Palace Walk.” BTW, because the monuments were so dazzling, I may have mixed up one mosque or mausoleum with another. Apologies in advance; malesh! 

Mel examining the mihrab with a flashlight

It is worth examining

Palace Walk buildings

Palace Walk detail

Another gorgeous building on Palace Walk

Carved detail

Detail of a door

Strolling down Palace Walk, avoiding the sun (it is seriously hot now), we passed buildings with exquisite architectural details.

Just north of Sultan Qalaun’s complex, we walked into the complex of school and mausolem of Sultan Al-Nasir Mohammed, built in 1304 by a Mamluk ruler. Its door was a thumb of the nose at the Crusades, taken from a Gothic church in Acre in 1290, with the name of Allah inscribed at the apex. Ironically, Al-Nasir Mohammed is not buried here but next door in the mausoleum of his father, Qalaun. I guess he could tell that no matter how hard he worked, his dad’s place was more beautiful!

Agog at the masoleum

The complex is mapped out, thankfully

Mausoleum details

Another view

The name of Allah in Kufic inlaid marble

A block down from Al-Nasir Mohammed, we walked into a fascinating complex, another school and mausoleum for Sultan Barquq, a Sufi ruler who took power (my guidebook says “seized” power) in 1382. This was one of my favorite sites. It combined large blocks of porphyry taken from Pharaonic sites, a marble inlaid floor that bent as if it were carpeting an irregular corridor, a splendid mosque with a marble inlad mihrab and neat inlaid marble resembling prayer rugs.

Courtyard of Barquq's mosque

Inlaid marble floor like a carpet

Inlaid marble "prayer rug"

Barquq's mosque's mihrab

Then things got personal. Tarek’s family had long been involved in restoration work of this historic neighborhood. His father in law, the late Doctor Asaad Nadim, had an office on the street that Tarek keeps up. Inside, we gazed at “before and after” photos of buildings on the walk. The office is near an important narrow lane, the Darb Al-Asfar (“darb” means “path”), a medieval street whose buildings sport mashrabiyya screens designed to keep sun out, let air in, and keep any ladies from public view (hey, it was patriarchal then too).

Darb el Asfar

Medieval building on Darb el Asfar

View from Dr. Nazim's office

The house of Beit el-Suhaymi sits on the Darb, and finished our tour. This enormous house museum of about 64 rooms dates from the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and is a warren of beautiful rooms with fountains, tiling, gardens, a hammam, and a lot of giggling schoolgirls. It did not seem possible we could have ended the tour with something as beautiful as that with which we began at Ibn Tulun but Tarek did it again.

Nice tiling in Beit el-Suhaymi's house

Relaxing in Beit el-Suhaymi's house

Another view from Dr. Nadim's

At this point, it was hot, hot, hot, and we repaired to the poolside restaurant at the Four Seasons for shade, lunch, and sheesha. Be sure to try an Egyptian special drink that makes thirst evaporate: lemonade with mint.

Lunch by the pool

I’m going to post this now since there are so many photos. I am working on a see-Cairo bucket list to fill in things we have missed. Last night, we had a lovely dinner with my arts department colleagues at the beautiful Cairo Marriott (a former pasha’s palace). Sarah and Mark are in Spain for a vacation, Harris is finishing up his book, and I am awaiting my students’ work. On Sunday, I will go to campus for a lunch with Jane MacAuliffe, president of Bryn Mawr College. AUC is rife with Mawrters! Next week combines some work, some play, and laying low on the 23^rd and 24^th, which are election days. I expect to get some State Department warnings then. PS: Happy Birthday to Sarah, whose special day was 16 May!

Prettiest car we have seen in Egypt. A Mercedes but anyone know which type and year? Just in: Tom Markus identified this as a 1950 Mercedes 170D; you can buy one for about $200,000!