© Richard Randall

THE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES

At the time of our visit to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities there were apparently 136,000 exhibits for us to view. Unfortunately the building was obviously way too small to adequately display this many items, and the lighting and poor or non existent captioning on most items was frustrating. Many of the artefacts were stacked up so high in glass cases that even with a ladder you still couldn't see them. Having said that, we both thought that this was one of the most interesting museums we had ever visited. Auguste Mariette founded the museum in 1858, he excavated the Serapeum at Saqqara along with several of the major temples in Upper Egypt, he was buried in the grounds at the museum. Obviously there were lots of guided tours at the museum which lasted about two hours, we walked round alone spending almost the whole day there. The queues at the entrance were unbelievable, so many people, independent travellers as well as large tour groups. As often occurred during our time in Egypt the queue started out orderly and soon turned to chaos. With all the pushing and shoving it was surprising that no one was seriously hurt. When we first joined the queue it was roughly in a straight line up the steps, but after a while it began to curve, and as there was not much order to the queue we just walked up to the front and went more or less straight in. As we were closely followed by several tour groups who had to keep stopping whilst their guide explained certain exhibits to them, we seemed to spend our day in the museum in a crowd yet on our own. It was great, we managed to see all of the main exhibits we had wanted to, without having to crane our necks to see over the heads of other people. There were so many wonderful, interesting artefacts I couldn't possibly mention them all here, but probably the most memorable for us were the treasures of Tutankhamun. There were almost two thousand items spread out among a dozen rooms. The Tutankhamun exhibits are one of the biggest attractions at the museum, so we made sure that we headed straight to these rooms as soon as we entered. Of all the Tutankhamun exhibits room 3 which contained his gold was amazing, with his haunting funerary mask forming the centrepiece. This piece was actually well displayed with correctly positioned spot lights, enhancing the full majesty of the mask. You could easily visit the museum all day, every day for months and you would still only scrape the surface, there are so many interesting exhibits.

The Nilometer ~ Roda Island

Roda has two main sites of interest, the main one is The Manial Palace, and the other is The Nilometer. As these two attractions are not close to each other we took a taxi, as we didn't want to be too tired from walking in the heat to appreciate either. Egyptian agriculture was dependent on the annual flooding of the Nile. Every August the river's level was measured by the Nilometer, and then the crop yields were estimated and the taxes would be set in accordance. A reading of 16 ells (8.6m) foretold the valley's complete irrigation. A reading that differed greatly more or less would bring flooding or drought. With the announcement of the Wafa el-Nil (abundance of the Nile) there would be public celebration. There would no doubt have been a Nilometer in existence since pharaonic times, but the Nilometer we visited dates from 861. The stone lined shaft of the Nilometer obviously descends way below the level of the Nile, and was connected to the river by three tunnels at various heights. Only the uppermost tunnel was accessible, around which were Koranic verses in kufic script. Looking up, the interior walls were ornately decorated with gold on a dark background which reflected beautifully under the sun. The Nilometer is kept locked, (probably due to lack of interest from tourists), access can be gained from the caretaker, who gladly showed us around. It was quite nice being just us two after the crowds at the other sites we had seen in Cairo.

The Manial Palace ~ Roda Island

The Manial Palace was built in 1903, the architecture portrays the taste of King Farouk's uncle Prince Mohammed Ali. There are many different styles, Syrian, Moorish, Ottoman and Rococo all happily mingling together. Inside the gateway was the Reception Palace, its salamlik embellished with stained glass, polychrome tiles and decorative wood carving was beautiful. Upstairs were the guest rooms, and on the stairs there was a model of Qaitbey's Mausoleum made of mother of pearl. The prince's mosque was elaborately decorated and reflective of the great mosque of his namesake in the Citadel. There were lots of stuffed animals in the Hunting Museum as well as butterflies and an hermaphrodite goat. The Prince's Residence was luxuriously decorated in a infusion of Turkish and Occcidental styles. On the level above there was an amazing silver four poster bed from the Abdin Palace, in the Obsidian Salon in the private appartments of the prince's mother.

The Citadel

The Citadel, a centuries old bastion crowned by the minarets of the great Mosque of Mohammed Ali. The Citadel was begun by Salah al-Din, (known throughout Christendom as Saladin), the Crusaders' chivalrous foe. Salah al-Din reigned from 1171 to 1193, his nephew Al-Kamil developed the Citadel as a royal residence, later being replaced by the palaces of Sultan al-Nisir. The Citadel houses many sites of interest including, the Rifai Mosque, the Mosque of Gawhar Lak, the Mosque of Sultan Hussan, the Akhur Mosque, the Mosque of Mahmoudia, Bab al-Azab, the Mosque of Suleyman Pasha, Bab al-Qullah, the Mosque of Sultan al-Nasir, the Military Museum, the Carriage Museum, the Seized Museum, Yussef's Well, Al-Gawhara Palace, and the Mohammed Ali Mosque. Today the main interest of the Citadel are associated with Mohammed Ali, successor to the Mamlukes and Turks. In 1811 he layed on a banquet for 470 Mamlukes in the Citadel Palace, then after they left he had them ambushed in the lane behind the Bab al-Azab, the locked gate opposite the Akhur Mosque. Once you walk through the gate and pass the inner Bab al-Wustani you are in a courtyard which has the Police National Museum, from there you can visit both the Carriage Museum and the Seized Museum. The view from the terrace out over the whole of Cairo makes visiting the Citadel well worth while. In a pit are the excavated remains of the Qasr al-Ablaq or stripped palace of Sultan al-Nasir, whose mosque stands on the Citadel, although very much overshadowed by the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. The day we visited the Mohammed Ali Mosque it was fairly busy but very calm and quiet after the noise of Cairo's crazy streets. The Mosque was erected between 1824 and 1848, with the domes later being demolished and rebuilt sometime in the 1930's, it was very interesting to look round. There was a very decorative clock which was given by Louis Philippe, it was swapped for the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, also a Turkish Baroque ablutions fountain. The interior of the Mosque's domes were decorated like Faberge eggs. Overhead were globe lamps and chandeliers illuminating the Thuluth inscriptions, a gold scalloped mihrab and two minbars. Mohammed Ali is buried beneath a white marble cenotaph. We spent a few hours walking round the Citadel, lingering at the Mohammed Ali Mosque. I could write in detail about all of the other Mosques and museums in the Citadel, but as this is still Cairo and I have lots more places in Egypt to write about I don't think it is necessary.

Cairo Tower

The Cairo Tower (Borg al-Qahira) stands 187m above Gezira and offers spectacular views of Cairo. The tower was built between 1957 and 1962 (with help from the Soviet) combining pharaonic and socialist realist motifs, within a lattice work shaft constructed from concrete blooming into a lotus finial. There is a revolving restaurant on the sixteenth storey, and a Soviet style cafeteria above it, although we didn't use either so we have no idea what they are like. The reason we, and most people, visited the tower was to go right to the top and see what are probably the best panoranmic views of Cairo. You can see the medieval quarter below the Citadel, and the sere Muqattam Hills, Roda Island, Zamalek (our hotel), Shubra and the Nile Delta, and on a clear day where the city turns to desert you can even see the Pyramids on the horizon.

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