I woke up really happy during my first day in Egypt. I got up in an exhausted manner and saw the sun beams trying to fight its way into my room through the white shutters. The incredibly bright light that shines over Cairo takes over every inch of space.Light here is different. I realised it from that very moment. I looked outside the window and the desert hiding behind the buildings of 6th of October City seemed to be so far away, that for a moment I forgot I was IN the desert.
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| View from the balcony of the Lescure home, 6th of October City |
My hosts in Egypt, the Lescure family, live just outside Cairo in the 6th of October City, which is about 32 km from downtown Cairo. The name of this new settlement in the desert commemorates the commencement of the Yom Kippur War or October War of 1973, fought by the coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria against Israel. Here in 6th of October its hot desert climate, but it isn't a deterrent for development: this is one of Egypt's largest industrial zones, including an airport for the transport of products and materials. Hosting a total of 14 Universities, 7 hospitals and smaller clinics, 7 Mega Malls (of which 4 are still under construction), Egypt's Smart Village (a technology park and regional hub for many companies) and numerous businesses, 6th of October City, together with New Cairo (which is also a new settlement on the other side of the city, just behind the intl. airport), are two of the fastest developing areas of Cairo.
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| Mall of Arabia, 6th of October City. |
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| A view of the Foodcourt of the Mall of Arabia. Pictures taken with my phone, since I left my camera at home on my first night out. A short visit to the mall was quite helpful actually: it was the best strategy to avoid jet-lag! |
After breakfast, we discussed what we would do. My uncle Ulises took a week off from work to show me around, and I still can't believe how incredibly kind that was.
The plans for my first day in Egypt were a visit to the Saladin Citadel and Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, but before all this took place, we stopped by his office in Zamalek, where I also exchanged money in one of the many foreign exchange offices of this neighbourhood.
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| A random house at the corner of one street in Zamalek. |
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| A busy morning in Zamalek |
To my surprise and amazement, the money exchange rate in Egypt for US dollars is always the same: for 1 dollar you get 7 Egyptian pounds. Ulises told me the government regulates the exchange rates. It's the first time I see something like this in a country, usually the rates change and you get less or more money depending on how lucky you are or the current economic situation.
Having done that, we were ready for a day out. As we walked Zamalek, one of the most affluent Cairo districts, located on Gezira island (Cairo's largest Nile island), we dodged cars in the crazy morning traffic which is part of everyday life in this metropolis. Zamalek is full of small cafés, shops, restaurants and street vendors whose products (mostly vegetables and fruits) are displayed on the sidewalks. Occasionally you see other kind of vendors who sell seeds and according to the explanation I received and the people I saw, are chewed throughout the day.
Zamalek is a world to itself. From the architecture, to the atmosphere and the hectic, you get the feeling you're at the very centre of the city. The buildings with their distinctive beige color, the palmtrees rarely rocked by an occasional breeze and the views of the amazing Nile make Zamalek a popular place among tourists who choose this district as their haven while in Cairo. It is also the part of town where almost all embassies are located. I think it has a charm to it, it really does.
During our early morning stroll through Zamalek, I saw the Nile as we approached the impressive Gezira Palace, now Cairo Marriott Hotel. One of the Egyptian royal palces, Gezira Palace was built by order of Sultan Ismail Pasha (grandson of Mohamed Ali) for entertaining the visiting international dignitaries during the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During World War I, this place served as a hospital for the wounded of the Gallipoli Campaign, which took place in the Ottoman Empire, modern-day Turkey.
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| Royal Gardens of Gezira Palace, Cairo Marriott Hotel |
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| Ismail Pasha was the Khedive (A title that equals that of a viceroy) of Egypt and Sudan. His philosphy was pro-European and he invested a lot in industrial and economic development. |
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| Details in one of the rooms of the Gezira Palace. Prussian architect Carl von Diebitsch was in charge of the decoration of the palace, while Julius Franz, german architect, was responsible for the construction of the Palace. |
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| Entrance to the Gezira Palace from the Royal Gardens |
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| Lauren, my uncle Ulises's wife and I at the Cairo Marriott hotel. The palace's rooms were restored in the 70'. |
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| My uncle Ulises and his wife Lauren at the Cairo Marriott Hotel. |
Driving around Cairo should not be underestimated. After visiting the Gezira Palace, we headed towards the Citadel of Saladin and to get there you have to drive across Downtown Cairo. This was the first time I saw Tahrir Square, the place that still makes the headlines of newspapers worldwide as the centre of protests in the Egyptian capital.
During my graduation year, I watched the images of the massive protests that took place in the Arab world, under the movement we now refer to as Arab Spring. These images of people demanding a change of the ruling elite in countries which were governed for decades by the same presidents (dictators, rulers, call it what you want) were, to my eyes, a proof of how strong people are when moved by a goal in common, by a sense of belonging somewhere and acting together to take a stand.
The situation in these countries has probably not changed so much after the revolutions and there are still ongoing protests and discontent, but what's really important is that people in this part of the world are awake and react to the problems that concern them as a society.
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| One of Cairo's busiest thoroughfares: Tahrir Square |
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| Crossing streets in Egypt is quite dangerous, traffic is crazy. My respect goes out to this woman with her daughter crossing the street near Tahrir Square! |
As we got closer to the Citadel, my eyes focused on the silver-colored domes of the huge Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque that sits on top of Mokattam hill.
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| The Saladin Citadel and Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque |
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| The ottoman-style Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque |
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| The Citadel was named after Ayyubid ruler Saladin, who fortified it to protect it from the attack of Crusaders. His dynasty of Kurdish origin ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th century. |
In order to understand the architecture inside the Citadel, one must first take in consideration that several dynasties and an empire ruled here. Related to the construction of the Citadel, first we have the Ayyubids, whose ruler Saladin defeated the Fatimid Caliphate and started a dynasty with Egypt as the center. He built a wall that protected both Cairo and Fustat (the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, nowadays a part of what is commonly known as 'Old Cairo') and the Citadel was the center of this wall. After the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluk Sultanate was established and it lasted until the Ottoman Conquest of Egypt in 1517. The Mamluk contributions to the Citadel included an improvement to the water supply by Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad and the reconstruction of a Mosque that now carries his name. The Ottomans took a chance of their own in remodeling and adding monuments to this site. The most notable of them is the Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque, which also shows his efforts to erase the symbols of Mamluks, the dynasty he replaced.
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| Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque |
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| Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque inside the Saladin Citadel |
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| Mohamed Ali Pasha was an ottoman sultan who ruled over Egypt and Sudan. He established a dynasty that lasted until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. |
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| As a woman,to enter the Mosque you have to cover your hair and everyone has to take their shoes off. For 15 Egyptian pounds you can rent this cloak and put it on while you're inside |
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| Interior of the Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque |
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| Tomb of Mohamed Ali Pasha. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Egypt due to the reforms in the economic, cultural and military spheres that he established. |
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| Interior of the Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque |
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| Mohamed Ali Pasha Mosque |
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| View of the Mokattam Hills from the Citadel |
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| The view of Cairo from the Citadel is breathtaking: behind us the Mosque of Sultan Hassan |
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| With clear skies, you can see the Pyramids from the Citadel. Look at the left side, can you see the silhouettes? |
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| The minarets of Sultan Hassan Mosque pop out behind the fortified walls of the Citadel |
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| After the visit to the Citadel we ate ice to cool off. As we ate our ice, I witnessed one of the five ritual prayers (salat) that Muslims do every day, as a part of one of the Five Pillars of Islam |
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| Prostration (sajadat) is the position in which muslims pray in order to praise, glorify and humble themselves in front of Allah. They pray whenever they hear the call to prayer. So, it is common to see people praying everywhere, it can be at the mall, inside a Mosque or out in the streets: when they hear the call, they pray. |
In my next post, I'll continue writing about my first day in Egypt and my first time at the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar, which was just amazing!
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Until my next post, Inshallah!
About the Author
Traveller and writer, 21-years-old. Born in Panama City, German-Panamanian. Journalist. Very fond of every expression of art. I love to learn languages. Constantly living adventures!
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