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Provided By: Muslim Harji
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Travel Log - From Cairo to
Cape Town
Update #1 - Jan. 11, 2006
Idd Mubarak from Cairo!
Yes… finally we have arrived in Cairo, the land of Pharaohs, Pyramids and
Baksheesh. As we get acclimatized for our Pedal for Hope expedition, we are
using our time to explore this ancient city, and are totally mesmerized by our
surroundings. Two days ago, when we left Montreal, I don't think we would have
been able to visualize this vibrant city that never seems to sleep. We spent a
wonderful day in Amsterdam on our way here, visiting the Anne Frank House museum
and taking a canal tour of the city. Visiting the museum was very interesting,
and gave me a chance to finally see what I had read about in Anne's diary. It
was quite sad to think that this 12-year old girl was cooped up with 7 other
people in this small attic hideaway for nearly two years, never being able to
venture outside or do things that a child would do under normal circumstances.
After the museum, we took a canal tour to see the various other sights.
Amsterdam is a charming city, with beautiful architecture and an enormous system
of canals. While bicycles are the most common form of transportation (they are
everywhere!), the canals are becoming the most common form of housing. There
were hundreds of house boats flanking the canal – the city has such a huge
housing crisis that people have moved into houseboats permanently… talk about a
waterbed!
Cairo has to be one of the most amazing cities, although it can also be quite
overwhelming. Since we have been here, we have visited many of the must-see
attractions – the Cairo Egyptian Museum, the Islamic center of the city, the
Khan el-Khalili market and Al-Ahzar mosque and park. This morning, on a very
auspicious Muslim festival, we were able to take part in prayers in the
Al-Hussein mosque. There were hundreds of people there, and the nama'az prayers
here in Egypt are recited quite differently from the way we recite it in
Montreal, although you can follow the gestures quite easily. Dad and I were
separated into different parts of the mosque – one for ladies and one for gents.
The men's part holds to tomb of Al-Hussein, which I can't describe to you
because I didn't get to see it, but apparently it's quite nice. Although the
mood was upbeat, it was nowhere near as festive as last night, where it seemed
the whole city was out in the streets. There was music and people selling
everything from popcorn to shoes, socks, books, and balloons. People seemed
really happy to be celebrating Eid, and the mood is infectious.
Yesterday, we went to the Egyptian museum. It has to be one of the most
incredible collections of artifacts I've ever seen. There are thousands and
thousands of statues, from King Ramses to Tutankhamun, artifacts, and other
pieces, taken from the pyramids and other dig sites. While many of the artifacts
were defaced or stolen by tomb robbers, the tomb of Tutankhamun was found by
accident, completely intact. Everything that was found buried with him, from the
canoptic jars containing his organs to hundreds of pieces of gold jewellery, is
displayed in this museum. This pharaoh was buried within 4 coffins, each one
fitting inside a bigger one, like a collection of Russian dolls. Every piece is
gold-encrusted, and due to the preservation techniques, are still in beautiful
condition today. Just be looking at how Tutankhamun was buried, you can begin to
imagine the opulence of his life and those of his predecessors.
Another highlight so far was the Al-Ahzar park. As Ismailis, we have always read
about this park in the various Aga Khan Foundation literatures, but to finally
get to see this park was amazing. Once you enter the gates, you realize that
this park is like a haven of tranquility in the middle of a bustling city. All
the outside world is blocked out and you feel calm and rejuvenated. The Park is
indescribably beautiful; there are fountains flowing, beautiful shrubs growing,
and calligraphic touches to every aspect of the park. While on the one hand, I
feel that this is a truly wonderful accomplishment for the Ismaili community, I
feel that on the other hand, there is still a lot that needs to be done. First
off, locating the park was very difficult. Almost every Egyptian we talked to
had no idea about the park, or its location. We happened upon it by chance,
although we were looking for it in a different area, and were lucky that dad's
sharp eyes even noticed it, or we would have just kept driving. As well, even
within the park, the different projects that the AKF is running – the work
project, the restoration project etc. are not publicized. I think that if people
knew more about the reasoning behind this project or the different types of
things that the Aga Khan Foundation does here, it would be ten times more
beneficial…. Just some advertising changes would make a big difference. Al-Ahzar
mosque was also beautiful, with its original minarets still in place. These
minarets are somewhere around 1500 years old! Of course, as with every service
that is offered in this city, the man who led us into the entryway of the mosque
and then disappeared wanted a tip, or baksheesh. In other instances, for helping
me cross the street, a guy wanted money. For opening a door, people want money.
Every step of the way, there is someone there who has their hand open expecting
payment for any small help they offer you.
The most interesting this I have seen here, by far, besides getting asked how
many camels my hand in marriage was worth (haha), was the sacrifice of a cow
as good luck for the opening of a new clothing store. Just imagine this – our
first night in Cairo, we decide to take a quick walk in the evening around in
our area to see the neighborhood, and right in the middle of the sidewalk, there
are men skinning a small cow, while the store owner, an old man, watches on,
smoking a cigarette. The glass windowpanes of the new store are covered in
bloody handprints, a blessing for luck and prosperity. The butcher (I don't
really know what the right term to describe this man would be) hangs the cow
carcass from a tall ladder, to help the cow's blood drain out onto the pavement,
and guts the animal. The science student in me started naming parts – liver,
intestines, several stomachs, etc. Although at first I was completely in shock,
the scene was like a car accident that you just can't turn away from. This
sacrifice of a cow will remain in my head as my welcome to Cairo. It was an
amazing sight, that really highlights how differently interesting the culture is
here. There are so many things that I would love to tell you more about, and if
the internet here was faster, we would send you photos, but constraints being
what they are, you'll just have to wait until the next installment of the Pedal
for Hope journals.
Until next time,
Ayesha and Muslim Harji
“This morning, on a very auspicious Muslim festival, we were able to take part in prayers in the Al-Hussein mosque. There were hundreds of people there, and the nama'az prayers here in Egypt are recited quite differently from the way we recite it in Montreal, although you can follow the gestures quite easily.”
“Dad and I were separated into different parts of the mosque – one for ladies and one for gents. The men's part holds to tomb of Al-Hussein, which I can't describe to you because I didn't get to see it, but apparently it's quite nice”.
“Another highlight so far was the Al-Ahzar park. As Ismailis, we have always read about this park in the various Aga Khan Foundation literatures, but to finally get to see this park was amazing. Once you enter the gates, you realize that this park is like a haven of tranquility in the middle of a bustling city. The entire outside world is blocked out and you feel calm and rejuvenated. The Park is indescribably beautiful; there are fountains flowing, beautiful shrubs growing, and calligraphic touches to every aspect of the park. I feel that this is a truly wonderful accomplishment for the Ismaili community,”
“Al-Ahzar mosque was also beautiful, with its original minarets still in place. These minarets are somewhere around 1500 years old!”
The sacrifice of a cow as good luck for the opening of a new clothing store.
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