Step up your game, Western churches.
Back in Egypt now… the morning of our final day we headed to the citadel that sits up above the city. The Cairo Citadel was built between 1176 and 1183 to protect against those wild Crusaders. The highlight of the structure is the elegant Mohammed Ali (Alabaster) Mosque. The mosque was built in the Ottoman style and is quite different from the mosques we have in Abu Dhabi. Not that I’m now an Islamic architecture connoisseur or anything…
Inside the mosque was lit with hanging lanterns that provided a luminous atmosphere. I could almost imagine holding a wedding here… I mean, if it wasn’t a mosque. I liked seeing a very rustic style of decor as opposed to the opulence of Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque (which I will post about soon).
Another highlight of the citdel is the view it provides of Cairo. Just imagine if the air wasn’t thick with haze…
After scoping out a few more bits of the citadel, we scampered back down to find a cab to the Egyptian Museum.
We decided to hire a guide to help us find our way around the rooms stuffed full of ancient artifacts. Our guide must have been able to read us well as he seemed to tailor his tour to the particularly sexy bits of history (I didn’t need to see King Tut’s condom or underwear, but ok). We are loose Western women, after all. Check out Molly’s post on the museum to learn a bit more.
After the museum we took a leisurely taxi ride to the airport. And by leisurely I mean hot, sweaty, and life endangering. But we made it!
xo, jill
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