Meeting Mustafa

It was wonderful to finally meet Mustafa. He and I co-facilitated our Soliya group last semester and had many long chats. He had arranged for us to join this walking tour, led by an Egyptian tourist agency that creates weekend adventures for Cairenes. They call themselves Holiday Tours, and next weekend they are hiking Mt. Catherine, Egypt's highest peak, to get in shape for a multi-national trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro in the fall. We were the only foreigners on this walking tour, and everyone was under 30. It was so fun. They were all so friendly, and one woman said she was impressed that we Americans joined the tour with Egyptians, rather than being in a tourist bubble. Well, that is exactly why we came to Cairo at this time. I have my friendships with young Cairenes from Soliya, and I wanted to come see them and experience their city their way.

Jim and I love the Hotel Longchamps in Zamalek. It has joined the list of our favorites. The rooms are spacious and peacefully contemporary. The bathroom is very nice. It is on several floors of a non-descript building, beginning at the 5th floor. The elevator is creaky, and the lobby of the building on the street isn't too promising. But, arriving in the vestibule of the 5th floor, there are spacious public rooms, a very attractive dining room and two big terraces on both sides of the building. It is quiet and comfortable, and intimate. The director of the hotel is a German Egyptian woman, and this place is run with German fastidiousness. A lovely breakfast is part of the deal. The young adults on the walking tour were also impressed that we were staying here rather than at the Marriott or some other big chain -- which would feel to us like we were on a business trip.

We met Mustafa at the oldest mosque in Africa, Mosque of Amr ibn al-Aas. It has been reconstructed, but remains grandly simple. A huge hypostyle space is hung with modest blown glass lamps (as opposed to huge chandeliers that are often found in mosques). I was suitably color coordinated with my headscarf. When we went back in later with the group, the non-covered women (including me) had to wear big green "monk's" robes with hoods. There was a funeral ceremony in one part of the mosque, with a coffin on display. Mustafa's friend Ahmed told me that the body goes directly into the ground without the coffin, the idea being similar to returning dust to dust. Our Egyptologist guide, Katherine, is Coptic Christian. A good number of the young women, but not all, were covered, wearing the hijab. To wear the hijab is a personal choice,and it seems that all are relaxed about one's choice. At 1pm many, but not all, of the Muslim members of the group walked back to the mosque to Friday services. We ate lunch and they rejoined us an hour later. In this small area of Old Cairo, there are several Christian churches of note, a synagogue and the mosque. It is lovely to see it all together. The Greek church of St. George has an intriguing cemetery. Jim and Ahmed had to come retrieve me, my camera and I were roaming deep into the streets of mausolea, some of which I am sure will show up in paintings -- maybe juxtaposed with those from La Recoleta in Buenos Aires.

As Matthew Broderick said in Biloxi Blues, it is "hot, Africa hot" here, mid 90s, going to 100 in the next few days. On 30 June we leave for Luxor, which is supposed to be about 110 degrees when we are there. I'm just ignoring how hot I am, and trying to stay in the shadows, as they refer to shade.

It was a perfect first day, but isn't over yet. They consider 5pm just half day. Mustafa and Ahmed are meeting us again at about 9:30 tonight. I should probably grab a nap. The pace of today is as brutal as my schedule in Beirut. I need to go on vacation, and slow down!