Al-lan wa Sah-lan!/Welcome! I am very excited to be going on a week long study-tour of Cairo, Egypt this April as part of the Harvard Egypt Forum sponsored by Harvard University's Center for Middle East Outreach. Our group of 7 educators from around New England, along with our leader, Dr. Paul Beran, Director of Harvard's Outreach Center will be spending a week in Cairo and Alexandria exploring Egypt's rich history and vibrant modern culture. I hope you can join me as I share images and reflections of this exciting journey! ANCIENT EGYPT 
Our first stop of study-tour was to the Egyptian Museum. Here we spent a few hours wandering around this incredibly large museum that house the treasures of ancient Egypt. The highlight of the trip were the treasures of King Tut, including his golden desk mask and golden sarcophogus.  Sunday we explored the world of Ancient Egypt with Ashraf Mohie El Din, a well known and respected Egyptologist and Archeologist. Our group visited the the Zoser Step Pyramid in Saqqara. The Step Pyramid was built by architect Imhotep in the year 2650 BCE for the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Zoser and is the world's first pyramid! Notice it's birthday cake look. The world's oldest "true" pyramid, the "Red Pyramid" was built nearby by Zoser's son, Snefru. Did you know Snefu's son was Khufu? 
 We also went to the Giza Plateau on the outskirts of Cairo to gaze upon the supreme wonders of the anicient world-The Great Pyramid at Giza. Built for the pharaoh Khufu, second King of the 4th dynasy, the pyramid took 20,oo0 workers 2o years to build for their god-king. I learned from our guide and Egyptologist, Ashraf El-Din that free laborers, not slaves worked to build these wonders. The pyramid was Khufu's final resting place and vehicle to the afterlife. I was able to go inside the pyramid walking up the grand gallery to one of the three major chambers in the pyramid. How moving it was to stand before this 4,500 year old wonder and ponder the magnificence of this monument to eternity.  The Pyramids at Giza-The Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure pyramids. Did you know they were father, son and grandson?  I never realized how small the pyramid of Khefre was! :-)  We also visited the impressive Shinx. The accepted belief is that the sphinx, a half lion /half man like monument was ordered carved by the Pharaoh Kafre out of a giant rock of soft limestone and as a result is wearing away due to the passage of time and the elements. The face on the sphinx is believed to be the Pharoah Khafre himself who's temple was built behind the Sphinx around 2570 BCE.  Our first lunch was at a nice outdoor restaurant in Saqqara where we all enjoyed some delicious Egyptian fare. We started by sharing several mezzes, or appetizers of stuffed grapeleaves , ta'amiyya (outside Cairo it's called falafal) or mashed broad beans and spices rolled into balls and deep fried, tahini dip, eggplant, and shammy, delicious homemade bread called aysh, which is very similar to pita bread.  For the main course we had flame grilled kebabs made of chicken and lamb. |
 Reminders of the recent revolution are all around the city. Here I am in front of a newly created grafitti wall in the Zamalek section of Cairo, near where we stayed for the week.   Sunday evening we were invited to attend the opening of an exhibit of works by local artist Dr. Farid Fadel's entitled "Here is Cairo" at the Picasso Art Gallery. His paintings, like the one above of the bread man, depict the many faces of Cairo, that can be seen all around this energetic city of 20 million. OLD CAIROThe second day of our journey to Egypt our group went on a walking tour of "Old Cairo." This section of Cairo is home to the city's indigenous Coptic Christian community. Evidence shows that people lived in this area since the 6th century BCE. The Romans built a fortress here in the 2nd century CE. and this spot became a stronghold for early Christianity.  We started our day touring the Coptic Museum. The museum is the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world! The museum displays a rich mixture of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman traditions linking ancient Islamic Egypt. I was so excited to learn that geometric design, which plays such a major role in Islamic art and architecture has its foundations in Coptic Christian art as well as Roman and Byzantine art!
 Christianity arrived in Egypt in 45 AD with the arrival of St. Mark, one of Jesus' 12 apostles. It was a firmly established religion in Egypt by the end of the 1st century. During the 4th through 6th centuries and until the Muslim conquest, Christianity was the major religion in Egypt. They spoke a Coptic language which was a direct descendent of ancient Egyptian. The language is now mostly limited to liturgical use. The word "Coptic" means Egyptian. Today around 12% of Egyptians are Copts and the majority are part of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria. Some Copts are Catholic or Protestant. The majority of today's Coptic Christian community live in towns and cities along the Nile and are proud of their claim to be the true heirs of ancient Egypt.  "The Hanging Church", constructed in the 9th century CE, is so named because it was built on top of an old Roman Water Gate. The inside of the church was beautiful. While walkingg around I was able to listen to the parishioners chant their Holy Week prayers in the ancient Coptic language. The main alter is behind the beautiful ivory-inlaid screens covered with geometric designs.  The main alter is behind these beuatiful ivory-inlaid screens covered with geometric designs.  This mosaic is on the walls of the courtyard to The Hanging Church. It depicts the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. (Notice the pyramids in the background).  We also visited St. Sergius Church, the oldest church in Egypt, with stone pillars dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. We visited during Holy Week and were fortunate enough to listen to the beautiful chanting of prayers that incorporate both the Coptic and Arabic language.  The churches are linked by narrow cobbled alleyways running between high stone walls very similar to Jerusalem's Old City.  This is the entrance to the cave (now a crypt) below St. Sergius where it is believed by Christians that Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus lived after fleeing King Herod of Judea, who had embarked on a "massacre of the first born" when he had heard that a child was born in Judea that would one day become King. |
