 |
| One of the cave churches |
Helbees, the Guest House manager, offered to escort us and another guest today to see the Cave Churches of the Mokattam district in southeast Cairo. Helbees is a diminutive Egyptian woman, but we were grateful for her presence as we went to this fascinating area and walked around it. It's a place in the hills where the Coptic Christians have made a sanctuary (over centuries) and have carved churches out of the rock. There are lots of them, some very small (the size of a house) through to others that can seat 5000. It's hard to believe the dedication it must have taken to excavate these chambers from the hills. The Christians have been always been a persecuted minority, so this was a relatively safe refuge, and there are many carvings of biblical stories all over the cliffs.
 |
| How many cats can you spot? There are at least six. |
Around this cave area is the one of Cairo's huge rubbish dumps, and the Christian community here has established a ramshackle suburb around it and an industry sorting and selling the rubbish for recycling. The squalor is unbelievable, but despite that they are friendly and welcoming. Not sure I'd accept a cup of tea around these parts, but we didn't feel in any danger as we wandered through the streets. Nevertheless, having Helbees with us to speak Arabic was a huge bonus, and we instantly agreed that we would never have gone on our own.
The following images give you an impression of Cairo and the many contrasting sights there are all around.
 |
| The River Nile |
 |
| Outdoor butcher shop |
 |
| Have bread, will travel |
 |
| The Citadel |
 |
| View from the Cave Church area - all the white stuff is rubbish |
 |
| Transport takes various forms |
 |
| Street scene in the Mokattam area |
 |
| Street scene in the Mokattam area |
 |
| Citadel at sunset |
 |
| Sky dishes define every horizon |
No comments:
Post a Comment