Friday, December-31-10 9 PM
Another leisurely day in almost-paradise. We had a late breakfast in the hotel restaurant this morning, almost missing the 10AM cut-off. Another woman came even later than us. I had noticed her yesterday sitting with her husband who carried about two heavy tomes on Cairo written in English. I was curious so as we left I spoke to her, asking her from whence they came. Just outside of Boston. Us? Toronto! She will be visiting in April to play with Tafelmusic. It was a pleasant connection. We hope to have a chance to talk further with them. She plays the piccolo; her husband is a musician as well as an editor. One of the privileges of travelling in truly foreign parts is the permission it gives one to strike up random conversations with almost any stranger one comes upon. I chatted this afternoon with a young lad from St Catherine’s in the Coptic Museum. A few days ago, ditto with a gentleman from Texas in the souk. Egyptian people, well really I ought to say, Egyptian men, are very free about striking up conversations with us as well. Women will smile, however. It’s all quite friendly.
My watch fell apart after a fall on the floor a few days ago and refused to work thereafter so I purchased a new one at the Khan Al Kallili yesterday. The owner of the shop tried hard to sell me an expensive watch though I explained that I just needed a cheap one to see me through to Toronto where I will get my watch repaired. Finally we agreed that I would take his least expensive watch for about 20 EL. I was about to pay him when it stopped ticking. We went through the same process again, settling on a better model for 120 EL. He agreed to that price after climbing down somewhat if I would also give him a kiss on each check. I told him that that was out of the question as it would anger my husband. Mark was standing there so little more could be said on the subject. I told him as we left that if my new watch ceased working that I would return. He swore to me that if this happened, he would not only return my money but that he would give me two free watches. The watch worked fine until last night when it stopped altogether. We planned to visit him this morning to see if he would be as good as his word but refrained as today is Friday, the Islamic Sabbath and many shops are closed. But tomorrow he will hear from me.
Instead we took the subway to the Coptic area of Cairo. This part of the city is further south of the current centre than the Islamic part and is closer to the Nile. Until about the 9th century Egypt was predominately Christian, that is Coptic Christian, a flavour distinctly its own, not a recognized part of Roman or Byzantine Christianity. Only in the period of the 12th to the 14th centuries did the country gradually become its current 90% Muslim. This enclave of churches and convents now named ”Coptic Cairo” is what remains of a previously thriving religious culture. The real centres of Coptic Christianity now lie in its monasteries such as the one we visited on our return from Alexandria nearly two weeks ago.
The entire area of Coptic Cairo is carefully guarded by police and military, an observance perhaps tightened after some violence against Copts a few weeks ago. To visit the Coptic Museum we went through the usual bag and body screening; cameras were not allowed and had to be left in the entrance check-in. The entrance was into a large, open enclosure which includes ruins from the ancient Fort of Babylon, constructed, I believe by the Romans. A large courtyard opposite it leads to the museum itself. The museum is constructed like a palatial home with a spacious central court surrounded by wings about 2 ½ to 3 floors in height. Progress through the museum involves following a path which winds about the building, up staircases and around other apartments. Throughout are panels in English and Arabic which give an overview of each of the major areas of display: wall paintings from ruined monasteries; textiles, harvested from mummified bodies in the 19th century; artefacts in wood, bronze, silver and other metals; and ancient manuscripts. Under the rubric of manuscript were letters written from one friend to another, sending personal information and written with charcoal on a piece of limestone or on a fragment of broken pottery. The translations of these letters were given in cards beside each, showing the prosaic nature of their contents. We saw some medieval books hand copied and decorated in Coptic script which is rather like the Greek. A Psalter preserved in a special enclosure was made in the 6th century. Elaborately carved wooden doors had been rescued from convents or monasteries from the 9th century. Altogether it was an amazing collection, beautifully preserved and presented.
Leaving the museum, we left the immediate enclosure of the Coptic area and not far away found a rather interesting restaurant. We lunched there next to a party of about 10 people speaking French, our only companions in the open courtyard. My beef burger sandwich was four medium-sized pieces of grilled minced beef placed within a pita and accompanied by some al dente vegetables. Most tasty. Mark’s lunch was a creamy lentil soup and “fish fingers,” not as it sounds a kind of fast food, but individually seasoned and breaded pieces of a fish fillet.
Afterward we went back to the Coptic area to catch the Metro but were attracted by groups of people emerging from a staircase going below the street level. Walking down we discovered a whole other section of the Coptic area which otherwise we would have missed. Here along very narrow streets, one with the original paving stones, are several churches and convents from as early as the 4th century in one case. St George seems to have been a major saint for the Copts though he appears here not in medieval armour as in the English versions, but in the garb of Roman times. There is a church and a convent dedicated to him in this grouping, both of which are still operating. It was interesting to see how commerce was carried on even in this tightly religious area. The narrow streets were lined with recessed shops; the walls opposite were hung with old photos of Cairo and with papyrus scrolls painted with icons or with Pharonic themes.
We went back briefly to the Zamalek area on the island in the Nile to get today’s International Herald Tribune and some pastries before returning to our own little hotel room haven close to the ever-flowing Nile. Here we have spent the transition from 2010 to 2011, reading, writing and having a picnic supper. I hope that your New Years is as pleasant. Take care. Brenda.
Another little thing: in the lobby and the elevator of our hotel are signs that read: 24 hour room service, available from mid-day to midnight. I love it.
Saturday, January-01-11 11AM
It’s late morning here and you folks are just sleeping off your New Year’s frolics. We were about to set out to accost my watch fellow when we discovered that our camera was missing. It was very likely left behind in the taxi from Zamalek yesterday. We turned our room upside down to be certain but to no avail. Mark looked up camera stores in the handy Yellow Pages directory in the room – all in English. A Kodak – i.e., camera store lies just two shops over from the hotel. An unassuming and very sharp young lady showed us all of their wares, explaining the virtues and prices of each. We opted for a fairly inexpensive one to just get through to Toronto where Mark will probably get another more suited to the types of photos he needs for his work. All this to explain that I do not have access to yesterday’s pictures taken at the Fort of Babylon and the Coptic area of Cairo. Hopefully there will be more photos available for my next post. Again, have a happy and health 2011. Brenda.
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