Bob Long  - canada
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Around town ... in Cairo

10/6/2015

10 Comments

 

Last week we had a 6 day break from school because of the Eid-al-Adha or ‘Feast of the Sacrifice’ which is one of the major religious holidays in Islam.   According to Muslim tradition, it celebrates the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to make of his own son Ishmael when he was commanded to show his commitment to Allah. At Allah's direction, the angel Gabriel substituted a lamb for Ishmael after Allah was convinced that Abraham would indeed sacrifice Ishmael to prove his faith.  
 
Although many of our staff members went off to ‘more exotic’ places in Europe, Cynthia and I decided to play it low key and spend time in Cairo exploring some of the local places of interest.  We weren’t disappointed with our decision!
 
The day, Eid Al-Adha is a time when Muslim families spend time together, often buying new clothes, giving gifts to children, celebrating their faith and participating in a large feast.  In preparation for the feast an animal is sacrificed in much the same way that Abraham sacrificed a lamb. One-third of the meat is given to the poor, and the rest goes to the holiday feast.  During this holiday the crazy busy streets of Cairo actually slow right down to an ‘almost standstill’ as people take part in the above activities.
 
Did I mention animals being sacrificed? 
 
Prior to Eid Al-Adha there are flocks of sheep and herds of cattle (to a lesser degree) corralled in squares, on major street corners and along highways around Cairo.  They are usually painted with some words or numbers in Arabic, which I assume is the weight or price or both.  On many occasions we saw animals that had been recently purchased in the back of every type of vehicle imaginable …  not only trucks.  Can you imagine taking an animal home in the back seat of your car?  On the way home from one of our sight seeing adventures we got caught in a traffic jam because the cow in the back of a pickup got wedged under an overpass when the driver tried to cut corners.  I won’t even mention the lamb that was kept in the basement of our apartment for a week or so.  Each time we came into our apartment we could hear the “baa, baa, baa” echoing through the stair well as if we were in a barn in Chilliwack.  This sound stopped once Eid was over …
 
Our local adventures were numerous and extremely interesting.  As with the previous places that we have visited, we were in awe of the fact that we were again walking through not just history, but ancient history.  I remember my brother, Doug once describing a similar feeling during his time in Jerusalem years ago.  
 
Anyway, the list of places that we visited includes:  a walk along the Corniche and lunch at the Grand Cafe overlooking the Nile, a tour of the Cairo Citadel which overlooks Cairo with the Giza Pyramids in the background, a walk through the City of the Dead (Cairo Necropolis) which houses a maze of burial plots and tombs, a drive through Garbage City and visit to the Cave Church, lunch in the beautiful Al Alazar Park, a walk with Mona and William through the Khan el Khalili Market, and finally, an ‘magical’ dinner at the Sequioa at the northern tip of Zamalek Island.  I would have to write a book rather than a blog if I wanted to describe all these ‘Cairo wonders’ so I will add more detail in future blogs.  The really neat thing about living here is that if you really enjoy one of these places of interest you can easily return and spend more time there.  For instance, today Cynthia is returning the Khan el Khalili Market with a few of the teachers from BCCIS to focus on the fabric part of the market.  I certainly hope that they don’t take Visa there!
 
Now for a new ‘participatory blogging strategy’ that just came into my ‘educator brain’ …
 
Which of the above Cairo experiences would you be most interested in learning about in more detail?
 
Use the contact form on my website to let me know!
 
Hopefully I will hear from at least one person.
 
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10 Comments
Bill Joyner
10/6/2015 08:10:20 am

Beautiful pics Bob. Those and your description really make me want to visit. Also helps when we would have an inexpensive place to stay and knowledgeable tour guides!

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Stan
10/6/2015 08:53:57 am

Wow - what an adventure Bob. You and Cynthia are living a dream. take care. stan

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Alice Stein
10/6/2015 09:32:24 am

I love the blog. What a great way to share your experiences. Take care and enjoy your adventure!

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mary cross
10/6/2015 11:03:26 pm

Hi Bob fascinating time there for you and Cynthia. We love hearing about it all and hope to see you there!

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Diane Plotnikoff
10/7/2015 06:03:11 pm

A walk through the Khalili Market would be my choice.....all those sights and sounds! You have become so knowledgeable that you could hire yourself out as a tour guide!

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Janis
10/8/2015 09:34:50 am

I am learning more about the Muslim culture in Vancouver. As of the beginning of September we have a new cornea fellow, she is Muslim from Malaysia. I needed to find a room in the building for her to pray during the day and she had asked me if she could have Eid ul Adha off and explained the holiday to me. You and Cynthia experiencing this first hand. So amazing!!!!

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Shirley Brian Wenn
10/10/2015 08:59:59 pm

Very very interesting. You two are true adventurers.
Take care & have fun.
S&B

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Lisa van den Brink
10/11/2015 06:16:37 pm

I love following along on your blog Bob! I would love to see and hear more about the market!

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Josette and Fritz
10/15/2015 09:13:42 am

If only my feet were well enough,Fritz and I'd love to be guided through Maadi, especially the Copte Aera of Cairo.
Amazing pictures

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Betsy Hockert
10/21/2015 01:37:46 am

I arrived in Maadi mid July with my husband Bob. We went to the market once to pick up a wedding gift and am sure paid too much then got lost trying to leave via a different route. I'd like to go back to explore but want to be armed with info the next time. Any tips you can give me? Prices, scams, vendors with reasonable starting prices? Feel free to email me! Hope to hear from you.

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    Bob Long

    I am a ‘sort of’ retired’ educator who has a passion for learning, outdoor adventure and travel.  This blog is about my experiences travelling and working in Egypt.

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Photo used under Creative Commons from Grigory Gusev