Kimo meets us at the hotel to check on plans for the day, then our guide, Henry, arrives. Henry is the third of ten children, three of whom are physicians, three engineers, three teachers and him. His five brothers all work in Kuwait, because of the money they can earn. We're very pleased with Henry, who is extremely knowledgeable and has a good sense of humor.
We visit the Gayer Anderson Museum, the home of a 19th century British Army officer and great collector of all sorts of things that fill his 17th century home. Worth seeing how he lived. From there we went to the 9th century Ibm Tulun Mosque, holiest sight in Egypt built by the leader who both ruled Egypt and was the religious head. Climbed the minaret for views of Cairo.We strolled briefly through the Arab town of Cairo, from the Bab el-Futuh (North Gate) to the Bab Zuwaila (South Gate), lined with mosques and shops. From there we continued through the Khan el Khalili Bazaar, which was loaded with touristy things and the sort of market we've seen many times elsewhere.
We drove to the only functioning synagogue in Cairo, Shamayim, and, after passing fairly heavy security went through the building, home to some 200 congregants. Very sad to see what's become of a once large and vibrant Jewish community. Apparently, there's an even smaller congregation in Alexandria.
We move on to the fabulous Egyptian Museum, where the two and a half hours we spend is not nearly enough, but as much as we can absorb in a visit. Henry is a fount of information. Highlights of our visit include the Narmer Tablet, some 5000 years old, depicting the exploits of King Narmer, who unified Egypt, the mummy room, with mummies of some eight or ten kings, and the overwhelming collection from the tomb of that minor king, Tutankhamon. It boggles the mind to think of what might have been held in the tombs of more important kings, had they not been stolen and melted down by tomb robbers. The famous mask of Tut, his chair and two of his coffins are just a few of the fabulous treasures we see. We continue for a while to other parts of the museum, but are too tired to continue after about two and a half hours.
We return to our hotel, though, we checked out in the morning and hang out in the lobby, the bar and a restaurant, before being picked up at 8 for our 11:30 flight home. Heavy traffic, but we make it by about 9 and are shepherded expertly through the airpot maze by Kimo. We make it into one of the lounges, where I am writing this blog, which I'll post shortly.
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