Cairo, Day 1
Monday, 16th May 2022
Waking up in Cairo is a treat all by itself. Our rooms at the Tulip Hotel with their high ceilings and shutter doors, didn’t keep out the constant noise that is Downtown Cairo completely. I didn’t mind as it’s almost like waves crashing on a beach, and it lulled me to sleep with no problem. It’s also what woke me up on day one. (Ok, full disclosure: I have no problem sleeping anywhere…thank you Sleep Apnea). I jumped out of bed and got ready in a flash, only to wait for Ahmed to get done. I had missed him so much the past year that I enjoyed watching him get done while playing Wordle on my mobile. I was so grateful to him for buying me a local SIM and inserting it in my phone the night before. The hotel has WiFi but it’s not that strong, whereas the Vodafone plan I was on gave me plenty of gigabytes and call time.
First up, we went out for breakfast, and had tameeya, egg and chips all on separate pita breads. We sat at the sidewalk café and enjoyed not only our breakfast but watching Cairo wake up to another day. After the respite, we started walking through the Al-Mosky souk eventually ending up in Khan el Khalili souk. We took a break opposite the Al-Hussein Masjid for a welcoming drink, then made our way over to Al Azhar Masjid where we could sit in on a Qur’anic lesson or Sisters Halaqah. That was the highlight of my day. On my previous visit, we did get to pray Asr (the afternoon prayer) with some Indonesian students, but then left shortly afterwards. This time, I could spend time inside the mosque in reflection Alhamdulillah.
After dinner, we went back to Al-Hussein so I could pay my respects to Sayyidna Hussein RA (the Prophet PBUH’s grandson). The mosque houses the mausoleum or maqam of the slain Hussein RA’s head which was sent to Cairo in the 12th century for safekeeping after having been buried in Iraq for over 450 years.
We ended our day walking around Islamic Cairo, enjoying the sights and sounds all around us.
