Islamic Cairo and the Citadel.

Our last day in Cairo. We spent some time in Islamic Cairo and The Citadel. 

But we started with a view of the bravest man in Cairo:

 Yes, that is a fellow riding a bike. I can't believe it.

But then we wandered over to old Cairo. Called Islamic Cairo because of the number of mosques. Many decommissioned.

This one was NOT decommissioned. The Al-Azhar Mosque. I had to take off my shoes, and Doreen had to go into a different entrance.

 Nice minarets

 And plenty of them

 They didn't have any problem with me taking photos:

Even of the reliquary (though I don't think they are called that in Islam) where they have the head of Mohammad's grandson.

After that, we stopped in a very famous coffee shop, El Fishawy. It was opened in 1771, and it was a good place to stop.

 Gamel, our guide

 The coffee was Arab Style, or Turkish if you prefer. As black as night, as hot as the devil, as sweet as a kiss.

That is 3/4" or sediment in the bottom of the glass. You don't drink that part.

Stuffed crocodile on the wall.

The Hall of Mirrors.

 I think this says "El Fishawy"

 As we were leaving, we saw this guy wearing a fez, and it was wearing a tiny fez!!! This seems to be a theme on this trip.

A decommissioned mosque

It is like a labyrinth in the streets, but when you go inside, it is like a church

Including stained glass

 And outdoor spaces

This is a great story about Shajar al-Durr. While it says below that her husband was defending Egypt against the crusaders, that is not true. It was her defending Egypt. He was sick in bed. She then went on to rule Egypt (alone!) for a while until she was forced to marry. None of her supporters like that husband, so they killed him. Then she was forced to marry again, but that man had another wife, and the first wife was jealous, and had Shajar al_Durr beaten to death with slipper. Everyone was so sad they created a dessert and named it after her. Om-Ali (sometime Umm-Ali). It means the mother of Ali.

 That is her tomb

 and again

 More old mosques

 Doreen with a re-used column for scale

And some of the floors were like Italian Cathedral floors

The doors were amazing

 Great spaces

And ceilings. Remember that Islam prohibits the use of representational art, so you get a lot of detailed work like this:

The ceiling of a bath house!

Not all the rulers wanted re-used pillers.

This is a huge cistern. Like the one in Istanbul, or the one in Houston!

Old Cairo street scene. Puppets on the balconies!

Another old famous coffee shop,  the Cafe Lord. If you look closely, you can see Santa Clause on the wall.

 This is a tomb, right on the city wall. The  Discipline Tomb. The guy who is buried here said Cairo had no discipline and was leaving the city. He dies just as he got to the city gate. He never made it out, and he was buried here (inside the gate)

One of the city gates

 and from the outside

The Mohammad Ali Mosque

 It was big

 There is Mohammad Ali's tomb

 a close up

Here we are inside. You can see those guys praying in the background! Our guide took the photo.

Us with Mohammad Ali himself!

Another Fuul and Felafel place for lunch

That we ate with this view:

An old elevator. I wouldn't care to get into it, but it worked!

The Egyptian Museum one last time

Watching the sunset on the corniche.

A great day.

Goodnight, Cairo.