When it came time to enter the Mosque courtyard, our guide first arranged our scarves, however, at the door, it seemed my arms were not covered enough and this was more important, so we rearranged.
Also, we had to take our shoes off or use small shoe covers (not unlike booties used for clean rooms), which were selling for 5 Egyptian pounds (< $1). Nelia and I both elected to take our shoes off and stepped across the threshold, where there is a wide open courtyard, with a washing station at the center (for washing before prayers).
We stepped over the second threshold of alabaster, into a large room for praying. Inside, in one corner, is the tomb of Muhammed Ali Pasha. There is a lot of stained glass and some large chandeliers above, but mainly, the whole room is large, open, carpeted space. Our guide told us the carpet is from the 18th century.
Outside, we got some gorgeous views:
Our next stop was the hanging church. As we approached the Christian side of town, I noticed more women without some form of headscarves.
Our guide told us the fables of the famous Bible characters who were supposed to have visited the spaces beneath the hanging Church: Mary and baby Jesus, Moses, etc. Also, there were pictures of all the famous celebrities and politicians who had come for a visit. A church has been active on the site since the 3rd century AD. Our guide pointed out the detail in the very old icons of various saints and the apostles, and the mother of pearl that was inlaid in a lot of the decor.
Around the corner (and through the woods) we visited a very old temple, which we were not allowed to take pictures in. It is no longer in use, but contained a large tomb at the center, and was a fairly small space.
We went to the papyrus shop next, where a man showed us the process (briefly) of making papyrus paper, and explained to us the unique qualities (mainly that you can crinkle it into a ball and it will retain its shape and smoothness) and how to tell a fake from genuine papyrus paper at other markets (mainly it will crack). He then tried to sell us papyrus paintings. However, they were really expensive and making a deal here was harder, as they are the one place the government sanctions as certifying it is real papyrus.
The perfume shop was next, and quite beautiful, decorated with perfume bottles against mirrored shelves all around, cut into the stone behind the cushioned benches where one can only suppose showing and selling happened. We sat at one such arrangement in the back, where the perfume shop owner showed us his list of perfumes, explained what they were for, and that they were all pressed, essential oils and very strong. He proved it by placing exactly one drop of the mint oil in a glass of hot water and allowing us to smell it. The odor was so strong we both pulled away quickly when we went to smell it. I tried to convince him to allow me to mix oils (this seemed obvious to me, since so many individual scents were listed, that we could mix our own unique scent we might like) but he would not allow mixing between groups. He explained they would not mix well.
We finally stopped to eat at a restaurant on a boat, where everything was delicious again and our guide even got us some ice cream, which, possibly partly due to the heat, was the best ice cream we ever ate.
Our last stop late in the afternoon was the famous markets. Our guide warned us not to tell anyone we were Americans, as they would ask for higher prices. Better to say we were Canadian or British. We chose Canadian since we were from near there anyways. Vendors called out to us, begging to ‘give them a chance,’ etc. They tried anything to get our attention. Our guide helped us tremendously in bargaining. She refused to take no for an answer, and usually bargained for roughly half the asking price until she got that and got us a free gift thrown in, too.
It was a fun afternoon of shopping and laughing. At the end, we reluctantly hugged our guide goodbye and Wa-el drove us back to the hotel. We had to pack, shower, and get ready as we would be leaving at 6:30 AM for the airport to finally go home.
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