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Mehmet Ali Pasa Mosque was our first stop in the citadel of Cairo. Mehmet Ali Pasa had rebelled against the Ottomans who had been ruling Egypt since 1516 and he declared that he was the Hidiv of egypt. To celebrate this new power, as a symbol to his grandeur, he ordered this mosque to be built in a Ottoman style. the mosque qas completely faced with sheets of alabaster. The mosque is also called the Alabaster Mosque.
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The view of Cairo from the mosque was revealing how big this city of 20 million people is. In the streets they are still pressing fez though the Egyptians they them selves do not any longer wear fez, the Orientalist Europeans still like to associate fez with Egypt.
In old Cairo , the 2500 years old towers of
the fortress of Babylon still stand as a witness to the convergence of three
monotheistic faiths in Egypt. Many of the churches of the area were built on the
foundation of this fortress which not only provide a defense for the waterway
but also housed the Byzantine garrison that fell to Muslim conqueror Amr bin Al
As when he introduced Islam to the country and even to the continent of
Africa. From the mosque of Amr to the Hanging church and to Ben Ezra synagogue,
the old Cairo is a historic architectural delight with structures spanning eras,
cultures and religions.
The big - M - Metro sign is the only reminder that we are
not in the neighborhood 400 years ago. Unlike many of the churches in old Cairo,
the Hanging church ( El Muallaka) was not built on the fortress foundation.
Instead
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it was built on top of its walls. the church was the historic
seat of the Alexandrian patriarch who migrated to Cairo in the 11th century. the
church was sacked during the rule of Caliph Al Hakim bi Amr-Allah in the late
10th and early 11th centuries. It was closed until 1303 AD when a Byzantine
court delegation arrived in Cairo.
Today the interior of the church is adorned with intricate wood work, icons depicting the Saints , Jesus and the Virgin Mother, Mary.
The icons depicting Jesus on the cross and the image of Jesus embroidered on the curtain hanging on the iconostasis looked quite different from each other. the old icons portrayed Jesus as a dark man. the new interpretation was showing him as either a blond or a red head man.
A small side chapel is the only surviving part of the original structure.
Around
the corner, in a small walled off complex stands a testament to Cairo's all but
vanished Jewish community, the Ben Ezra Synagogue.
In spite of the fact that there is not even one Jewish person living in all of Egypt, there was police all over the site. they actually looked very friendly and they actually did not have much to do.
The synagogue's storeroom was discovered in 1864. ?it contained innumerable documents that shed light on centuries of daily life making it the most complete documentation of any society on earth.
the wooden panels decorating the walls looked exactly like the wooden panels of the church next door. But unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures.
The church saints Sergius and Bacchus, aside being the oldest in the area, is built over a cave where it is believed the Holy Family rested during their flight across Egypt. The church's pillars are adorned with pictures of Saints thought to be the apostles of Christ. the church is one of several Coptic institutions which hold services to commemorate the entry of the Holy Family into Egypt and takes its name from the two saints who were martyred in Syria in 296 AD.
