Visit to Coptic Cairo and Islamic Cairo

My good pal Chin Chia paid me a short visit in Cairo in mid-Dec 07. Finally, I found a companion to explore the Old Cairo (also known as Coptic Cairo) and Islamic Cairo. In Old Cairo, we visited the Hanging Church, Monastery and Church of St George as well as the Coptic Museum. The walkabout the tranquil neighbourhood was a nice departure from the noisy downtown. Through the various artifacts, we also gained a deeper understanding of the spread of Christianity in Egypt. I will definitely revisit this part of the city regularly during my stay here.

Islamic Cairo is quite the opposite of Old Cairo. The noise level was much higher and very crowded indeed. Seeing our foreign faces, touts kept tugging at us trying to lure us into sales traps. We refrained from buying anything to save us the trouble. We started off with coffee and local breakfast staple (fuul & taamiyya) at the famous Fishawi's Coffeehouse at the Khan Al-Khalili bazaar. We trailed off the beaten track into the heartland mingling in the local thoroughfare.

Click here to see the photo album.