January 3, 2010—Cairo

The wake-up call came at 7:00 and we were soon eating another delicious omelette from the King Hotel dining room.  Afterward, we loaded onto the bus and headed over to the Citadel and the Mosque of Mohammed Ali, an Ottoman-style mosque completed in 1848. It is constructed of Egyptian alabaster, which is not really alabaster but a marl (brackish water limestone). A quick test with my acid bottle demonstrated that it is, indeed, a limestone. Numerous Eocene nummilitid fossils were present in the curbstones but I didn’t see any in the building stones.

The silver dome of the mosque and its two minarets are most impressive. The cavernous interior is brightly decorated with ornate geometrical patterns and stonework. The domed ceiling displays intricate detail. Dean told me he had painted the ceiling. We wondered when they will convert their numerous lights to compact fluorescent bulbs. Hala gave an interesting and well received talk on Islam. We saw how much her faith means to her and appreciated her even more.

From the mosque, we went to an establishment that sells cotton goods. I missed my opportunity to buy an Egyptian flag for my office but I did get a t-shirt. There were lots to choose from. Some of our older crowd purchased some linens. When we were done, we went to an outdoor restaurant called Sakkara, named after the nearby Sakkara pyramid. There was a distinct smell of marijuana as we entered and it wafted through the restaurant several times as we ate. Like yesterday, the meal was really tasty. We all left in a satiated state. Curtis briefly contemplated a career as a drummer with the local band playing at the entrance of the restaurant but he never really got the beat.

Before going to the pyramid, we visited Memphis, the ancient capital of the Old Kingdom, situated at the apex of the Nile Delta. Impressive in its antiquity, it has few structures that remain. The second largest sphinx in Egypt guards the main courtyard. Ramses II, although a New Kingdom pharaoh, left his mark here with two statues, one of which is truly colossal. It is sculpted from the red “quartzite” and reposes in a museum constructed over it. We all spent a good amount of time admiring the work.

The bus took us over to Sakkara. We walked through the sand to get to the Tomb of Ti, a hairdresser to the royal family of the 5th Dynasty in the Old Kingdom. It had not been open to the public for many years so Hala was excited to be able to go in it. Inside the numerous reliefs depict what appears to be an inventory of the king’s holdings. They are exquisitely crafted and many still retain their original paint.

We hustled over to the funerary temple of the Sakkara pyramid because it was getting close to closing time. It was less crowded but, again, we were pressed for time. By the time we got to the farthest point, the armed guards were blowing their whistles and sweeping out the tourists. I was the last one out and was surrounded by five armed guards. On a whim, I called the major over and put a drop of acid on a piece of limestone on the ground. All five guards stopped and started chattering in Arabic. The major knew some English so I explained what it was and why it is a good test for limestone. He translated and everyone smiled. I shook hands with them as I left.

Our final stop of the tour was to a carpet-making school. Really young (5-8) year-old children are taught how to make the knots and sit there for hours tying them into weave a carpet. The justification is that their fingers are small enough to do the work quickly. The owner/headmaster sidestepped questions about how long they work and what they are paid. I wondered how long it takes to learn the knots (10 minutes? 15?) and graduate to a life in a sweatshop. Of everything we saw on this trip, this was the only thing I would encourage cutting from the itinerary. I am not a supporter of child labor for any reason. Elena and Chelsea each did one knot and elected to pursue other career options.

We returned to the hotel for our last dinner. I ate with Lynne and her buddies, Krista, Mary, Marlene, Diane, and David. We managed to put away a few bottles of wine. Because our wake-up call for our flight out was at 1:30 AM, most of us decided not to go to bed. I took a bath—the shower hose was broken—and then packed my luggage.