Egyptian Jacks

If all these photos look a bit random, that's because they are, at least as far as my understanding of them. We were working on one of our vet clinics near a mosque in a village by Abu Sir and there was a very intent knot of young girls sitting together all facing inward on the terrace of the mosque. I noticed them but it wasn't until we had finished with most of our patients (donkeys, buffalo, cows, goats, and so on) that I got a chance to see what they were doing. One of the girls had three flat round stones and three flat angular stones. She would toss them on the tiles and then toss one stone up into the air and collect the stones on the tiles in various combinations. It reminded me of a game we played when I was a child in California with a ball and a set of spikey metal objects called Jacks.  In Egypt it is called "Al".

Location, Location, Location

Passing by the mosque on Road 9 in Maadi one morning I noticed that a shoeshine man had set up shop there. Since those who enter the mosque to pray remove their shoes, this is a perfect place for his business. Why not get your shoes cleaned at the same time?

Wondrous Sound

I generally post a photo here but a while back I was visiting the mosque and madrasa of Sultan Hassan in Cairo with a friend when one of the men offered to show us how the construction of the mosque facilitated the transmission of sound from the area where the sheikh would be preaching to the people sitting in the large courtyard. This mosque was built in the 1100's long before anyone could dream of microphones, but the effects are extraordinary.

Dwarfed

The mosque of Ibn Tulun is one of the largest mosques in Cairo and also one of the oldest. Built in about 880 AD it was attached to the royal palace of the Abbasid ruler of Egypt at the time, but it is the only building of the era that still exists. It is one of my favourite mosques, its clean lines and open spaces give a sense of isolation from the chaos outside. Click for a larger version of the picture and you will have a better sense of the size when you see the two people in the upper left corner of the courtyard. The Gayer-Anderson museum is attached to that corner of the compound.

Putting His Shoes Back On

I have a young photographer staying with me and I've invited her to join me on this blog. This photo is one of Catherine Feeney's. A visiting Canadian friend of ours was with her at the Citadel today. He's putting his sneakers back on after visiting the main mosque...whose lights shine in the darkness behind him.

Topiary

Various types of ficus trees thrive in Egypt growing lush and green. Things like those spindly Ficus benjamina that people fuss over in the north, shoot up to massive trees in a matter of months. Since they are evergreen they make great topiary, trees and shrubs carved into shapes. This tree has the word "Allah" carved into it in counterpoint to the mosque of Mohamed Ali at the Citadel.

Country Roads

A canalside trail in the countryside with a farmer resting by the canal, a young boy walking a water buffalo, and a mosque in the distance. A typical peaceful scene. Wonderful for horseback riding.

Finding a Breeze

While visiting some mosques in Old Cairo, in this case Sultan Hassan, it was readily apparent as we strolled through that they'd been built in such a way as to maximise air flow to reduce the summer heat. At doorways and windows (which are usually open to allow for the air to flow) there would be anything from a gentle whisper of a breeze to a refreshing blast of air. A young man sitting inside the mosque takes advantage of this flow and the shade to find relief on a summer day.

Almost Invisible Cat

Visiting the mosque of Sultan Hassan today in ridiculous heat, we encountered a tabby cat relaxing on the wall of the basin for the washing before prayer. The mosque was built in the 1300's and had included a fountain at one time, but now the area for the water has stones and the colour of the cat matches the stones almost perfectly.

City of Minarets

Cairo has thousands of mosques, many of them lovely old buildings that please the eye at any time of day.

Concealed Shelter

This is not a model of a rocket but a folded umbrella out in front of the mosque of Hussein in Khan el Khalili. The shape models a minaret and when opened the umbrellas provide shelter for the overflow from the mosque during prayer or for people in the plaza below. The umbrellas are a modern addition to a very old mosque but somehow don't violate the design.

Let There Be Light

There is an antique store in Khan el Khalili with the most marvelous painted ceilings and walls and some incredible chandeliers. They say that they are from old mosques. I don't know but they sure are something to see. They'd never fit in in my house.

Community Center

The minaret of a neighbourhood mosque seen through banana trees. Smaller mosques are often built by a group of neighbours and provide a place for schools that teach reading and writing for the poorest children.

A Desert Place

In Old Cairo there is a very old mosque, the mosque of Ibn Tulun which was built in the 9th century, before the city of Cairo even existed technically. At this time the city was known as Fustat and was ruled by the Fatimid dynasty who were Shiites from western north Africa who claimed descent from Mohamed's daughter Fatima. The mosque is unusual and lovely in an austere fashion. Rather than being an indoor gathering place, the main space is under the sky. There is a fountain/well in the center of the open courtyard where the ritual washing of hands, arms, face, ears, nose, mouth, and feet would be done before prayer. Surrounding the courtyard is an arcade whose only decoration is quotes from the Quran carved in a simple script. The minaret, the tower from which the muezzin would make the call to prayer five times a day, is also unusual in that the stairway climbs the outside of the minaret rather than the inside. This is one of the oldest mosques in Cairo and has been renovated since I first saw it in 1976, bringing it back to its desert simplicity and peace.

Wish I Was Here

There are thousands of mosques in Cairo...thousands in the city and even tiny hand-built mosques scattered throughout the farmland. Mosques are wonderful places, peaceful and welcoming. This particular photo was taken in the main mosque of Mohamed Ali at the Citadel in Cairo. It isn't particularly old, only a couple hundred years or so, but when I was traveling back and forth between Toronto and Cairo with two small children it was one of our favourite stops on a busy day. I could let the kids run off steam in the park of the Citadel and then they would be happy to lay down on the carpet and just check out for an hour's nap. People come and go, some to pray and some just to admire the lovely architecture that is reminiscent of the Grand Mosque of Istanbul that was once the church of Hagia Sophia. No one ever is concerned that children sleep in a quiet corner or that an old woman sits in a sunny spot to watch passersby or that students study together somewhere else. These are truly centers of community in the old sense of the word