Islamic – Coptic Cairo

Ha! This time we beat the early morning call to prayer as the alarm went off at 3:15 a.m. Such craziness was necessary to catch the 5:20 a.m. flight back to Cairo. I guess someone’s logic was we would beat the traffic by arriving so early. Not!

Another history lesson for us all today as we toured a variety of mosques and churches (and a synagogue for good measure – not in use and was originally a church). Coptic Christianity emerged as the dominant faith as the Romans changed their religious ways in the 4th century AD. Coptic simply means Egyptian so a Coptic Christian is a Christian from Egypt. Today, numerous Coptic Christian churches exist around the world to serve the Egyptian diaspora. Numerous historical churches remain in a section of Cairo providing a glimpse into the architecture and decor of that time. The conquest of Egypt by the Muslims in the mid 7th century brought the rapid building of mosques which acted as schools (madras) as well as places to worship. As in Pharaonic times, it was a case of build bigger and taller than ones predecessor. There are now approximately 10,000 mosques in Cairo alone. Fortunately we only toured three.

Side by side mosques with the mid morning smog, dust and haze over Cairo.

Shoes off, ladies heads covered, we admired huge domed ceilings, stained glass windows, carvings, tombs and wall paint that provided an impressive vista.

The churches by comparison were modest and ‘traditional’ in layout and decor. One was actually built on top of the columns of a Roman temple which can be seen through glass inserts in the floor. Neat.

We squeezed in a 45 minute exploration of the city’s main bazaar but by 4 pm the group’s energy reserves were done. Back into the traffic one last time (save a late night trip to the airport) to grab some rest at the hotel. The Bennett/Blanda/Benneter gang is on a flight out at 1:45 a.m. I mean, who schedules this stuff?

We’ve said so long to the others with some loose plans to cross paths in the future as new travel adventures emerge. For now it’s time to reflect on this trip back in time like no other.