Citadel - Take 2 - from Rob's eyeview

an old crypt with headstones of marmaluke leaders within the oldest mosque at the citadel

enjoying the architecture - caught off guard ;)
I enjoy all the photos Rob took too! And thought you may as well! With a headcovering on, it's impossible for me to take photos - because the wrap also covers my arms. You may notice that most of the women do not have their heads covered, it is because at this mosque only your arms must be covered, not your head. But, since I want to show respect for the Islamic community, I followed the general rule with the other strict Islamic women and kept my head covered.

Each mosque has a "missile" or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5...attached to it. These are called minerets (spell?) I don't care about the spelling, just the idea of it. The top is like a crow's nest on a ship's tallest mast. The purpose is for the speaker himself (in Christianity we would say pastor) for this person to have ability to make the prayers and words heard. He would stay up top and sing/yell it out for all to hear. I found out on this trip, that in Egypt, most all of it is recorded, it is not live what we hear ONLY inside the mosques themselves on special days and of course Friday's at noon (which is 1:00 our time, but prayer times don't miss that hour, so it's still called Friday at noon).

It is my understanding that Egypt is on the only fully Islamic country to allow recordings in such a manner within the Middle East. Possibly in other places in Africa and Europe, it can be recorded, but I don't know for sure...remember, Egypt is not considered part of Africa, so don't be confused by what I'm saying ;)

The crescent moon - which you and I already learned is the symbol of the new month so they can break the fast (breakfast) but what I learned while at the Citadel and seeing the mosques there (mostly noticeable within the Mohamed Ali mosque due to size) is that the crescent moon itself...shows the way to Mecca (which is where all Muslims are to face when they pray). The C on it's back is like a spyscope, you look thru the C and it points to Mecca, you still have to know which direction to look thru it of course - ha!

sidetracked - the rare and soothing sound of a lawnmower is in the neighborhood...oh look, it's Waleed! I am curious how he gets it here from Giza on a motorcycle!

Back on track with the homestyle hum for music.....

Here's some more photos!!

my very strong personal opinion, is that the above broken since delivery centuries ago clock, is one of the ugliest French things I've seen in the city! Perhaps on a French building it would be lovely, but on a Turkish style mosque - gag me!

Often we see bushes trimmed to say "Allah" or one of His other names like Mercy, Grace, etc....Love seeing reminders of our Great God's Majesty like that around the city!!! Here, we actually call God "Allah" because to the Egyptians the word God, no matter where you capitalize, how you use it, etc...is just that...a 'word.' I actually like having a word specially just for THE HOLY GOD....in American, God has become a past time comfort word everytime people feel strongly about something :(

Mohamed Ali mosque below - now can you imagine that someone put a French clocktower on the back side? bleck!

Also - an ancient air conditioner. This is meant to trap the breeze and it flows into the building. This happens to be Mohamed Ali's castle when he reigned. It goes into the bedroom for him and his first wife (the woman he had an affair with that was originally his daughter-in-law, married to his 'adopted' son)


Rob put together a VERY cool panoramic shot from the wall! This cannon on the left, goes off during Ramadan to signal when to break the fast (breakfast) and when to begin the fast. I have heard this will be very interesting because what happens is, more than 50% of the Egyptians simply become nightowls so they can eat all night and sleep all day when they can't eat or take water....hmmmmm???
Wonder how, as a Christian, I try to skate around things God demands of me by finding a loop hole that makes me more comfortable? You??


Hala and I on the steps of the palace which has become a military museum, I enjoyed VERY much learning more about Sadat himself, hearing what Egyptians think of the US and it's military tactics both now and in history and seeing most of the paintings done either by Koreans or Egyptians!

I also thought this stairwell and the velvet green curtains reminded me of Gone with the Wind, talked to Hala about my mom and our funny sense of humor because of it! Hala is looking forward to guiding my parents and us on repeat tours (some new to Rob).

"knock on wood" - ever wonder how old this saying is? Well the Arabic language has such a saying...if you ever say something nice about someone or something, you should say a specific thing about God's protection..lest you bring bad "luck" due to saying it - rolling my eyes. But interesting it's that ancient of a belief!

insha' Allah - this is a saying MOST Egyptians use - the original use of it was so that if you said you'd be able to do something, you'd say God willing, so that He would allow it, like it was a quick prayer...but culturally it is used widely now as slang to give an excuse for being late, etc....guess every continent, tribe, tongue and nation finds a way to blame God. makes me giggle, not sure if that's the right response or not...but it tickles my funny bone as Grandma Jinny in NH would say!






a little out of order, below is in Mohamed Ali mosque again - above is the palace still tho - exquisite!!




Personal notes - yes, my foot and ankle continue to heal. I went swimming last night and was sorta like a rowboat with one oar (felt like a Pirates who don't do anything movie scene, Teri!). My right arm just had to do a lot more work than my left to compensate - ha!

Joshua is really enjoying his soccer camp this week and it'll go next week as well then I'm done with my Arabic (for awhile) and Jasmine's done with school (for awhile) and we'll all just hang together (so looking forward to this!!!)

Joshua is understanding most of my Arabic, he can't speak it, but my teacher actually told me the listening comes first....I really think he must've never been around kids because they sure learn how to say NO before they "learn" NO! ha ha ha ha!!

Jasmine just got some ballerina dress up clothes from our friends friends here....they all left for the US, never to return to Egypt. They have not lived in the US....for....9 yrs?? They were in Hong Kong maybe 5 yrs then somewhere else in the Middle East - they said Egypt has been too difficult, so they are going to the US to restart and see where God leads next. They are teachers. It was hard to let them go..................

breathing in and out..

anyway, Jasmine changes clothes about 3 times/day now twirling and strutting thru the apartment - quite entertaining! Tho I already have fears for her future! ha! Tanya's with me, she saw it!

Rob's work continues to go well. He continues to have the hardest adjustment out of all 4 of us. Please keep praying, truthfully, he has more bad days than good ones....he is the first to admit it.

Best personal note for last

MY MOM ONLY HAS 7 MORE RADIATION TREATMENTS LEFT!

BIG PARTY NEXT WEEK, ANYONE?! YEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!

PRAISE THE LORD!!!! HE HAS SEEN FIT TO LET ME KEEP HER! xoxoxoxoxo

Thanks for viewing, reading, encouraging, laughing together, praying, crying and just generally thanks for being in our lives!!

The Citadel - mid 1100, the year of our Lord

Saturday, the four of us took in a tour of the Citadel. It is situated on what is known as Mokattam. This was the center of power until the mid 1700's. The reason this location was chosen, is that the original developer chopped up pieces of lamb and sent them to different locations around the area.....and sent people to inspect the meat. The meat placed on Mokattam's Hill by far out lasted the others.
There is always a wind there (typically fresh even on the days us low-landers get it stale and hot) as well as it is consistently 5-8 degrees (celcius) cooler than anywhere lower.

The Citadel is known by the Egyptians as el-kh-Allah.

You will see from photos that this tour of recent history(for the US it'd be pretty old, but not for Egypt) has been altered due to fire damage, an earthquake in 1992 (I heard they get earthquakes from ranging from 6-8 in intensity every 20-40 yrs??)

Amazing clear, breezey cool day (90 F) up there Saturday. We saw all the way to Giza - the 3 largest pyramids lined up so delicately as if beckoning us to forget the modern day noise and bustle and simple reflect....

anyway, this first photo is from the hill, beside the police museum which we did not technically enter - it has photos displayed of large crime sprees, etc, the guide doesn't think anyone needs to view this as a group - WHEW! You can see 2 large mosques centered together there.

The one on the left is of Mamluke construction - mamluke means slave. When there was a slave class, they eventually became powerful...and that's the story of Mohammad Ali's Feast - where he fed all the most powerful, had them exit through one of the narrow corridors then his men with their red top hats (Turkish history of that red hat we see Egyptians wear in movies, not worn currently), and all but one man was assasinated. The other lived 2 weeks before being found and assassinated.

This specific mosque I'm speaking about was visted recently by US President Obama. I'm sure you heard it on the news, now you can sorta view the area, uniqueness of the mosque he chose, etc.



According to our guide, Hala, Mohammed Ali is given credit for current Egyptian history, etc, for beginning the set up of individual country, reign by its own people, etc, EVEN THO he himself was Albanian (via Turkey). The interesting thing is how caucasion his features were, very French if you ask me...and most of the women he had as wives looked very French to me. Large skinny nose, fair features (hair, blue eyes, skin). I heard tell that his favorite wives, however, were more Middle Eastern looking. Mohammed Ali - the dead prophet of the Islamic religion - is said to be the ONLY prophet sent by Allah, he is also buried - with body still there and still dead, underneath the Mohammed Ali mosque.

Some Islamic people pilgimage to this mosque to pray at the gravesites seen here and at Mohammed's tomb. While the quran apparently does not support this belief, Hala says it does not keep people from praying for Mohammed and other leaders to interceed for them. According to Hala, the quran is the direct line to Allah, the only God. But of course, we all know within Christianity there are those who believe they need other people besides the Holy God to intercede for them. I'm just giving a little historical information here ;) Some of you enjoy it as much as I do!



the family in front of the Mohammad Ali mosque

jasmine had just...well...burped in my face and it made me laugh

below is Joshua next to grave stones for some marmaluke men

M.A. mosque is just one of the interesting historical places visited with the city to itself...The Citadel. You will see a green-dome mosque which is called just that. M.A. mosque is made of ALABASTER! INSIDE...AND OUT! so is his tomb which you'll see in here with a red book centered in front of it.













a ceiling below

el-gom3a fi-es sa'arra

Friday in Saqqara......

Saqqara is mostly an active excavation site. The day was so clear, thanks be to God for this, we saw the Giza pyramids on the drive both directions as well as we could see Dashour from Bent, as we saw Bent from Dashour last week!

first photo is of the drive, I was all goo-goo over the oodles of sheep being herded out to pasture....so at one point the driver stopped and Joshua took this photo out of the back of the tour van today.

outside Imhotep temple - it is mostly rebuilt at this point, which is obvious in some photos - he was the first person to use the limestone when he realized how easily the red mud bricks were tearing down, etc - this is why most pyramids look like ant hills on steroids - well the limestone ones have stood the test of time!







the kids with the Step Pyramid
this pyramid is actually "solid" with no inner corridors! all corridors are entrance from outside (and originally hidden) the pyramid itself. All entrances were on the N side because that is how their spirit left to reach eternity. (well not really of course....)
Joshua excavated quite deep and found a giant chunk of limestone!

the temple looking area is actually what remains of a 'changing house' for the Pharoahs/Kings (depending on the era what you want to call them) would change their clothes to go into contests to prove their "manhood" - even King Tut was here once!


walls just crumbling from ruin (and kids climbing)

Joshua is standing inside a "royal home" on the "throne platform" there were 2 stairwells, 2 thrones. One for the upper kingdom and one for the lower kingdom (do not forget the upper is SOUTH and the lower is where we're at in the North, the cone head thing is the upper kingdom).

Hala and I by the pharoah's statue with his wife and next to Ptah (the most important god of that reign)






the feet are the pharoah's his wife and 2 children. The rest was written other places to have been inlaid with stones, so they were obviously stolen, the surrounding inlay is just to help protect the "feet"



we went into 2 tombs. one within a pyramid where you see us 3 pointing - it's a piece of the ceiling inlaid with stars painted with plants - reds, yellows, blues.

the other was a more simple tomb for a very wealthy scribe.




lastly was Imhotep Museum which is where they've displayed MANY findings in sa'arra which is The City of the Dead. You English speakers call it Saqarra or Saqqara or Sakkara or..you get the idea ;)