Cairo

We spent 5 days in the mega-city of Cairo, home to 17 million people. The best part is merely wandering around and observing. It is so dirty and huge and loud and exhausting, but also so stimulating and exciting and beautiful.

A few of the highlights of our time in Cairo:

- We spent an evening with the refugee woman I tutor in atlanta, Selwa, and her neice and nephew. Josh and I have become very close to her and her sons, and she happened to be in Cairo while we were there visiting a bunch of her family that still live there! (They're from sudan but were refugees in cairo for 12 years so they consider it home). They picked us up and took us to Islamic Cairo, which is the ancient islamic quarter of the city. I never would have imagined that I would be visiting a mosque with a woman in a burkha (interestingly, she wears the full burkha (everything but eyes) in Eygpt, but doesn't in Atlanta - she just wears the hijab, or head covering.) Having them as tour guides in this quarter of the city, especially with our visit to Al-Azhar, a mosque and Islamic university that has been functioning since 988 AD, made such a difference in giving us access and insight!

- Ah, the Pyramids of Giza, consisting of 3 pyramids and a large Sphinx - the sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the World. The sheer size and symmetry must be seen to be believed. I was expecting the width but not the height - they were the tallest human-made objects in the world for 4500 years, until the Eiffel Tower was built. Constructed on pharoahs' orders around 2500 BC, they are composed of over 2 million limestone blocks that each way 2.5 tonnes! Now that's a burial.

- We had a fascinating trip out to the slums where the outcasts of Cairo live in the city's garbage dump, responsible for manually sorting through all of the garbage that they live in. The smell and poverty and unsanitary conditions were quite unlike anything either of us have ever seen. And of course, amidst society's outcasts, a thriving Christian community has emerged. A Coptic priest moved into their midst and started ministering to them, and constructed a huge church in a cave in the stone hill where the people live. It was enormous and stunning and somewhat surreal to see in this country. Click here to read more about St. Simon the Tanner Cathedral, or the "cave cathedral", as it as been nicknamed.

- We had one incredible evening getting lost in the narrow streets of the old part of the city: eating amazing falafel and egyptian pastries from street stalls that charged us a quarter; stumbling upon beautiful old mosques and getting one of the worshippers to let us climb to the top of the minaret, with the most breathtaking view of the night-time city lights; having a shai (egyptian tea) at a picturesque ahwa full of old men playing backgammon; and chancing upon a free cultural performance of Sufi dancing - the whirling dervishes. Just one of those amazing travel moments when everything actually works in your favor rather than being a hassle!

- On our last night, we spent several hours over some delicious Egyptian food with a friend of ours, Darren Kennedy. Through the connection of several mutual friends, we met him and his wife Elizabeth during our studies in Edinburgh. They have been missionaries in Cairo through the PCUSA for 8 years. We had a wonderful time catching up with Darren and discussing their family's work and life in Cairo. Click here to read more about the Kennedy's and their work in Cairo.