If You’ve Ever Been Curious About the Inside of a Mosque…..

…..I visited two very large, historical mosques today. I didn’t get back to the hotel until 2:30 am so I slept in and walked over to a former royal residence called Abdeen Palace. It required a 30 minute walk through downtown Cairo and I’m very comfortable here—wandered through the street vendors and alleyways and didn’t get too lost. The palace was closed for many years after the overthrow of the royal family but the current leader, President Mubarak, reopened the beautiful building and grounds as a museum. I went to see the world-class collection of military artillery but also wandered through the section of gifts to the president during his presidency and you wouldn’t believe some of the gold and silver gifts these oil-rich states give each other—dinnerware, crystal, weaponry, jewelry and so much more.

I ate lunch at a street café and then caught the Islamic Cairo tour. I was the only person signed up this afternoon so basically I got a personal tour and my guide was an Egyptian woman who was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. She also gives the Coptic Cairo tours so she had a good knowledge of both religions.

The first mosque, Mosque of Sultan Hussan, as built between 757-1356 AD. Almost all the mosques here are open to the public during the day except at prayer times and on Fridays. It is a massive stone building (it seems all buildings in Egypt are massive stone structures) and after entering through huge and very tall wooden doors, you walk through what feels like a stone tunnel into the main chamber of the mosque. The inside is very large but the overwhelming sensation is that of height—the dome soars far above the tiled floors. For light at the ground level, long chains from the ceiling hold lamps. There are no pictures of course, but geometric designs are everywhere, in the tile, on the walls, and crafted into the ceiling. Passages from the Koran are carved into the marble walls forming a “border.”

In the center of this huge chamber is a circular pavilion where the worshipers wash before praying. It is fundamental requirement that Muslims be clean and this pavilion is a fountain where they wash their faces, eyes, hands and feet before praying. The prayer room is carpet-covered and the niche in the back represents the direction to Mecca. Again, the geometric designs in the tile and marble inlays is intricate and gold trim covers much of the wall. The door to the right opens to a short staircase that leads to a podium much like a church pulpit where the Imam delivers his sermon.

From here we went to the Mosque of Al Rifai—somewhat newer but grander in construction with the same towering dome. Here the dome was supported by large alabaster and marble columns and the niche points the way to Mecca. The green hue is misleading—the interior was not tinted. Again, the doorway on the right leads to the “pulpit” and in this mosque the woodwork was emphasized. On this door the wood was inlaid with ivory and ebony to create the geometric designs. Both mosques had a wooden stand to hold a large copy of the Koran for prayer services. Like everything else, this stand was elaborately decorated.

Some of the side rooms hold the burial crypts of important leaders—one of them, I was surprised to find, was the final resting place of the former Shah of Iran. The mosque trip was interesting and I learned a lot. Monday morning I hope to visit the Citadel and will get to visit the Mohamed Ali Mosque—the largest in Cairo.

From the mosques, I visited the famous Khan al-Khalili—the largest bazaar that dates back to 1382. Historically this has been where the tribes from all the Middle East would collect to trade and barter their goods. Today they meet to take the tourist’s dollars (or Euros). I didn’t spend much time there but just visited to say I’d seen it.

Tomorrow (Sunday) one of my students last week is coming from Alexandria to pick me up and give me a tour of that Mediterranean Sea city founded by Alexander the Great. I look forward to it and this will be a truly personal guided tour. Monday I hope to do the Coptic Cairo tour with the Citadel.

Tuesday I head home….