Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo/City of the Dead

Religion has possibly been the biggest theme of this whole trip. Before coming on the trip, the aspect of religion in the places I was going to visit never even crossed my mind. From Buddhism in Burma, Hinduism in India, and Islam in Egypt, I have been exposed to and learned a lot about the major religions around the world.

In California, religion is something that people just do on Sundays and is very separate from the rest of their lives. Religion is hardly ever talked about, and people cringe when religion is brought up in conversation. This is completely opposite in many of the countries I have traveled to. In Egypt, India, and Burma, people wear their religion on their sleeve. Even taxi drivers would ask us right up front what religion we believe in. The call to prayer plays five times a day all over Egypt. In Cairo, many men have scars on their foreheads from years of carpet burn while praying. The level to which people live their lives for their religion is so different from what I am used to, and is one of the most amazing things I have discovered about people on the other side of the world. The devotion to religion in these countries has left a big impression on me.

In Cairo we visited the Coptic area. Copts are a sect of Christians who were the majority in Egypt before the arrival of Islam. Currently about six percent of Egypt is Coptic Christian. We visited the Monastery and Church of St. George. While we were there, some Egyptians wanted to have their picture taken with us. They were Coptic and they all had a cross tattoo on the inside of their right wrist. This was the same tattoo that our driver Tony had inside his right wrist. Being a minority in Egypt, we figured that they were really excited to see some white protestant Christian looking people visiting their Church. When we were in the basement of this church looking at old artifacts, the call to prayer came on. When the call to prayer plays, it comes from all directions and really lights up the city. Standing in the basement of this amazing church and hearing the call to prayer echo through the halls, I could feel the tension between these Christians and the Islamic world they live in. This was the first time that I have seen Christianity as a small minority. Although the whole Coptic area is blocked off and guarded by military, it is still pretty amazing that Christians can live here as peacefully as they do.

Next we went to Islamic Cairo, which is a fascinating section of the city that is home to more than 800 Islamic monuments. Minarets dot the skyline in every direction. We first went to the Citadel which was home to Egypt’s rulers for over 700 years. It also contains Mosque of Mohammed Ali within its walls. We had an amazing view of Cairo from up there, and could see out to the pyramids. While we were there, we met two Egyptian girls named Emy and Asmaa. It turned out that they were from Alexandria, where we were going the next day, and we made plans to meet up with them in the afternoon.

The City of the Dead is a very conservative area of Islamic Cairo that is home to many Islamic cemeteries. This area is very poor and many people live among the cemeteries. This is definitely the most intimidating place in Cairo, and it feels like stepping back into time, into a completely different world. We went into a 700 year old mosque, and were able to climb to the top of one of the minarets. It took us a long time to make our way up the dark spiral staircases, but the view at the top was amazing. This place has not changed for many centuries, and looking from the top, it really does feel like a ‘City of the Dead.’