Mosque Tour/ Wishing I Wasn't Blonde

I was thrilled today to not wake up with jetlag! I took some jetlag pills that some friends swore by, and now I do as well.

When I woke up Kate and Nic were already showered and ready to start the day. In fact, they had already run 4 miles- they are training for the Marine Corps Marathon in DC in October. They are CRAZY. I've been here two days and I feel like I've been smoking a pack of cigarettes a day from the pollution- I don't know how they do it.

We toured four different mosques today. It was so incredible to see these massive structures. They built some of them in the 700's... not the 1700's, the 700's!!!

The first mosque we headed to was The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the Cairo surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area. You have to take your shoes off, and women must cover their heads. Luckily Kate knows all the rules and brought scarves. I loved this place because of its very colorful and controversial history. There is significant controversy over the date of construction of the minaret, which features an outer staircase similar to that of the famous minaret in Samarra. Legend has it that ibn Ţūlūn himself was accidentally responsible for the design of the structure: supposedly while sitting with his officials, he absentmindedly wound a piece of parchment around his finger. When someone asked him what he was doing, he responded, embarrassed, that he was designing his minaret. Many of the architectural features, however, point to a later construction, in particular the way in which the minaret does not connect well with the main mosque structure, something that would have been averted had the minaret and mosque been built at the same time. Architectural historian Doris Behrens-Abouseif asserts that Sultan Lajīn, who restored the mosque in 1296, was responsible for the construction of the current minaret. Either way, it's beautiful, and the picture of the view over Cairo it from the top of the minaret. So cool!

My favorite Mosque was The Sultan Hassan Mosque and Madrasa (Madrase means "school" and not "terrorist camp" unlike what many Americans believe it to mean) is considered stylistically the most compact and unified of all Cairo monuments. It is one of the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture. The building was commissioned by Sultan Hassan bin Mohammad bin Qala'oun in 1356 AD as a mosque and religious school for all four juristic branches of Sunni Islam. It was designed so that each of the four schools of thought - Shafi, Maliki, Hanafi and Hanbali - has its own area while sharing the mosque. Construction started in 1356 AD and ended 7 years later in 1363 AD. One of the minarets collapsed during construction killing 300 people. The state was able to fund the massive structure through the properties that were left behind by the victims of the Black Death. The Sultan was assassinated before the mosque was completed and his body was never recovered. The magnificent burial chamber that was intended for him holds his two sons instead.

We also went to Al-Hakim Mosque. It is one of the largest Fatimid mosques in Cairo. Construction of it commenced in 990 under Caliph Abu Mansoor Nizar al-Aziz, but it was completed under his son Caliph al-Hakim bi Amr Allah in 1013.

The last mosque we toured was Al-Azhar. It is very famous for incubating progressive thinkers. It's the premier Egyptian institution of higher learning, world-renowned for its position as a center of Islamic scholarship and education. It is the second oldest operating university in the world! Al-Azhar is considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic learning, and its scholars are seen as some of the most reputable scholars in the Muslim world.

After the tour of the mosques, we were starving. Kate and Nic took me to one of their favorite places- an Egyptian Pancake House. They aren't pancakes, of course, they are more like pizzas, with the toppings inside instead of on the top. They're called fatirs and they are excellent. They also have "sweet" fatirs- an Egyptian treat with the flaky pastry crust- it had honey and hot bananas in it- YUM!

After our tasty treat and lunch, we headed over to a very busy Egyptian market. It was insane. And this is when I realized I should have dyed my hair before I got here. In Zambia and Thailand everyone would look at me, but here they grab my arm, shout "blondie" and "Cinderella" and other weird things. I'm not even that blonde!

It got old real quick. Kate and Nic are used to it and they hardly even hear it anymore. Men kept telling Nic "you are a lucky man." Not one boy or male would go by without at least whispering something under his breath. It's very very frustrating, considering I was respecting all their rules (long pants, long sleeves, covered head, etc). But because I had blonde hair, and because I wasn't Egyptian, I am taunted everytime I go out. Kate just doesn't even do anything anymore- I don't know if that would ever stop bothering me, especially the grabbing.

In the end I ended up not getting much because I was too frustrated with how everything worked. I did, however, get some cool spices for my friend Alyssa at work. (Hopefully customs doesn't flip out!) Kate knows a nice store that doesn't haggle and bother Westerners, so my guess is that's where I'll be buying most of my goodies for home.

After the craziness in the market, we came home to prepare for a big cookout with Kate and Nick's friends from American University of Cairo. I knew almost everyone, because I went to American University in DC with them. It was great to see them all and hear their stories from traveling over their break. I also made some new friends, which is always a nice thing. The dinner was excellent and after that we just sat around and chatted about everything under the sun. It was so nice- I miss being a student and learning all these incredible things- I was like a sponge tonight, trying to absorb as much Middle Eastern history as I could.

But now it's nearly 2am here (7pm in DC) and I'm getting up at 7am to go to school with Nic and Kate. I'll also be going to the Egyptian Museum tomorrow, which should be great.

Enjoy my pictures from today that are below, and check out the rest at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mk2/

The first mosque we entered... amazing!

I love foreign soda cans- this is the neatest one I've seen so far

A breathtaking view from the top of the minaret at Ibn Tulun- I burned about 400 calories climbing to the top!

Prayer rugs at a mosque- each carpet space is meant for one person- the pointy part is where you head should make contact- very devout Muslims actually have bruises one heir foreheads from praying five times a day- it looks very similar to ashes placed on foreheads for Ash Wednesday in Catholicism

An "artsy" shot of the hanging lamps in a mosque- I love these lamps!

This picture is only for Annie- I thought of you when I saw this cute mamma and her identical baby!

Nic and Kate, my amazing friends, hosts, and guides!!!