So yesterday was my second day in Cairo! :)
I started off the day by meeting up with a friend of Rana's, Sarah, who is from the states but is now living in Egypt. She had some family visiting and so I tagged along with them and we went to see the Citadel.
On the way there, the cab driver was really nice and he said that I had an Egyptian face haha :D Once I got there, I was there a bit earlier than Sarah and her family so I was waiting for them for a few minutes. A lot of schools take field trips to the Citadel so while I was sitting there tons of kids and their teachers walked by. One group walked by and there was a young girl at the end of the group probably like 4 or 5 years old and I waved to her and then she came back and said "Amreeka!!? Amreeka?!!!" hahaa She was beyond excited that I was from the states and she came and shook my hand and said "Hello! Goodbye!" It was super cute and then an older guy came to get her and he also had the same "Amreeka!?" expression and then said "Welcome" :) Seriously, everyone here is super nice. I love it.
Once we got to the Citadel there were two mosques that we saw. First was the Qalum mosque, which was older and had been stripped of the marble in the ceiling and according to the story, returned to Turkey. It was still beautiful though and the glass lamps that went all around the mosque were still intact and gorgeous as ever. We even found a sun dial that had been carved into one of the pillars on the courtyard inside the mosque and that was a really cool find. I wish we had gone into the minaret but I didn't realize there was even one until we were already outside.
After that we went to the Egyptian Military Museum, which in all honesty was really boring haha. I don't really care for the history of artillery and how it was used. There were a few cool things in there but it was unnerving to see war glorified in any country, but nonetheless a nice stop :) The funniest/best part of the whole thing though has to be how while we were walking through the museum there were a lot of teenagers there and in one of the halls, they all stopped us and asked for pictures with us! hahaha It was HILARIOUS. We probably took pictures with like 10 or 15 kids because they were so excited we were from the U.S. lol
Next we went to the Muhammad Ali mosque which was soooo beautiful. Oh. my. goodness. I cannot express how much I loved this mosque. Of course it was swarming with tourists but seriously it was amazing. There was an outdoor courtyard in addition to the musallah (the room where people actually pray) and that was stunning. Then once you come inside there were hundreds of these glass lamps that circled the entire room in layers and everything was done in such an ornate and intricate fashion that I wonder how people could even concentrate on their prayers when they're surrounded by something so beautiful. It was great :) Outside of the mosque, you got a gorgeous view of Cairo and although it was a bit hazy it was still great view.
As we were leaving the Sultan Hassan mosque, it was around Maghrib, and one of the guards escorting us out asked us if we wanted to see this prison that one existed there and of course we went. It was honestly really freaky because the cells were so small and some of them I guess to pay homage to prisoners of times past, had statues of humans in there in prison and if you didn't expect to see one there it was weird to see a face staring back at you haha
Since we spent a lot of time at the cafe during lunch and made a pit stop at the military museum, we didn't get a chance to see the Ibn Tulun mosque or the Sultan Hassan mosque that day, but inshallah I'm going to try and go there Sunday on the 27th. It will be something fun to do for my birthday :)
After we left the Sultan Hassan mosque, we went to a small cafe that was a part of one of the many hotels on the Nile River and that was absolutely beautiful. It wasn't too cool at all as a I expected since we were so close to the water but it was just breathtaking how serene the entire moment there was and with a warm cup of coffee it was fabulous :)
After the cafe, I went home for a bit and then with Sherif we met up with a few other people and hung out a cute little sushi place. We then went and got some shrimp sandwhiches which were pretty good and went to a hangout place called After Eight. Since it was Christmas Eve, they specially brought in a belly dancer who I even danced with a little bit haha so that was loads of fun :)
Since we were out so late last night today I mostly slept :( lol Once I was up though, I helped Rana and Leila decorate for the Christmas party that Rana was throwing at her place. People brought tons of food, we did Secret Santa as well and there was lots of fun dancing to old 90s songs. It was a great night and it was a nice break from all the tourist-y things I had been doing so far. It was also fab to meet more of Rana and Hana's friends who I have heard so so much about. They are all such sweet people, just like almost everyone else in Egypt :D
Tomorrow, we're heading to the Pyramids (!!!) and Khan el-Khalili as well so its going to be great and I'll try to get pictures up by the weekend!! Please also pray that we can get into Gaza. THANKS!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE!!! :)
Much love, always.
-Sana
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