Embedded Files
Cairo. Our first visit was to the the Ibn Touloun mosque. The son of a Turkish slave and an official in the Abbasid court, Ibn Touloun was sent to Egypt in 868 AD and became its governor 11 years later. He built a prosperous capital city of which nothing is left except this mosque now located in modern Cairo.
Finely worked geometric patterns decorate this staircase leading the platform from which the imman would lead prayers or address the crowds. This mosque was designed to accommodate the entire male population of the city.
The architecture of this mosque is not Egyptian but rather in the style of Ibn Touloun's homeland, Iraq. The minaret (12th century) is almost unique in Egypt, with its external spiral staircase.
After falling into neglect, the mosque was used as a lunatic asylum in the 19th century before being renovated in the 20th century.
Next we visited the Sultan Hassan mosque, considered to be one of the most remarkable Muslim monuments in the world. Construction began in 1356. The 'mosque' is actually more than this - it is also a madrassa (Koranic school) and a hospital.
This is the 'mirhab', a niche which indicates the direction of Mecca.
This is a reading platform. The (large!) book would be placed in the V while the reader would sit cross-legged on the platform.
Under the arch is a 'liwan', a monumental niche opening onto the central court. Liwans are a characteristic of Muslim architecture. This mosque has four liwans, one for each of the four Sunnite judicial schools.
The minaret reaches 86 m and dominates the Cairo skyline.
A beautiful door and another fine example of the geometric artistry typical of Arab countries.
This is the Mohammed Ali mosque within the city's citadel. It was built between 1824 and 1857 and is inspired by the Hagar Sofia mosque in Istanbul, only this one is a little bigger. Note that the lower part of the mosque is sheathed in alabaster.
Inside the mosque.
Just outside this building is a monumental clock offered to Egypt by French king Louis Philippe as a thank you for the Luxor obelisk which now graces the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The clock stopped working the day after it was installed - it has never worked since.
Two views of Cairo from the citadel. In the photo on the right are some triangular structures in the distance which look vaguely familiar.
In the grounds of the citadel, these children were delighted to be able to pose for Marie, one of our small group.
This young woman was baking bread for the restaurant where we had lunch.
In the afternoon we visited the Cairo Museum. OK, it's not modern and flashy like the Luxor or Aswan museums but there is so much to see!
This is the home of the Tutankhamen collection - here are the beautiful canopic jars that held his internal organs in the tomb. Photography is not allowed so this was taken from another website.
The Cairo Museum is also home to many mummies including Ramses II, shown here, one of the most famous kings of ancient Egypt. As you can see, he still has his hair - not bad for a 3000 year old.
A mummy is a preserved corpse by either natural or artificial means. The word comes from the Persian word; "moumiya" which described the sticky black tar substance used to help preserve the body. Egyptian mummification was a 70 day process that involved removing the internal organs and thoroughly drying the body to avoid any source of decay. The Egyptians believed that an intact body was needed for a successful afterlife.
Mummies have been used for many things over the years. The American writer, Mark Twain tells us that on his trip to Egypt they burned mummies to fuel the steam ships that traveled up and down the Nile. Mummy was also used as a medicine, ground into a powder and used to cure an upset stomach. Artists may have heard of a paint color called mummy brown, the pigment being made of ground mummy powder.
Finally, mummies are beginning to get the respect that they deserve. The royal mummies, although still on display are treated as honored dead. They are guarded, photographs and talking are prohibited in their presence. After all, they are among the greatest rulers to have ever lived.
For a great introduction to mummification, visit the British Museum site.
Follow this link for the latest discoveries on mummification from the National Geographic.
Click here for day 2...
Google Sites
Report abuse