Ancient synagogue, the Citadel and the Market, followed by the Tango

Today I woke the kids up at 7:30am and a big smile immediately spread across Justin's face, "Mom," he said, "I'm so happy, life is so amazing, I never knew I could be this happy." That's the kind of vacation we're having. Mohammed and Aiymen drove us to meet Walid near the Coptic church, known as the Hanging Church, because it was built on top of two Roman ruins with nothing between them so that church is effectively hanging atop the ruins. We visited one of the oldest synagogues in the world, the Ben Ezra Synagogue, and Walid explained that it is believed the Jews established the synagogue in this particular spot because it was believed that this was where Moses had been found by the Pharoah's wife along the Nile. Sure enough the marble platform in the center of the synagogue was covered in Hebrew writing that explained how this was indeed the spot where Moses had been found etc.. I read the scripture aloud and translated it to English for the kids, and I saw Walid go slack-jawed and thought he might faint at the realization that he was with a Hebrew literate Jew. He told me that in his 22 years of guiding no one had ever read the inscription, thanks mom and dad for sending me to Hebrew school so I could impress Walid in Cairo. My sister Marianne would've read it with a much more impressive accent but let's just keep that to ourselves. Walid then went on to give the kids a lovely explanation of the "true Islam" which holds that Judaism is sacred and how in the Koran you read of Moses and the forefathers Abraham, Isaac etc...I think Walid was sending me a not so subtle message that it was safe. He went on to say that all religions reflect the belief in the same God but it is mankind who creates problems with divisive ideology and actions. I was impressed and the kids were relieved because I had kind of warned them not to advertise our religion while visiting Egypt due to modern day realities in the middle east. Livvy chimed in that she was going to have a Bat Mitzvah in 4 years and that she'd love to invite Walid if she could figure out how to get an invitation mailed to Cairo.

We then headed for the Citadel where a group of school children were on a field trip to the mosque and we enjoyed their chanting Allah Ahkbar (sp?, sorry if i just butchered this holy name) as they attempted to make the echo reverberate throughout the mosque. Livvy made a new friend, her first Hijab-wearing friend, and Justin was obsessed trying to get a photo of one of the many women wearing a nakab without being obvious.

Finally we made it to the market and the kids were in bargain hunting heaven. We were greeted and escorted by a security officer carrying a partially concealed machine gun under his jacket. We could see the machine gun sticking out of the back of his jacket. Mildly disconcerting and comforting at the same time. He was all smiles but never let us get more than 5 feet ahead of him. Walid assured me this was only for VIPs but I have a feeling all obviously American looking tourists sporting Nike Air hats receive the same honor. Walid reminded me numerous times during the day to be sure and tell all my friends back home how safe it is and to encourage them to visit as tourism has been hit hard in Egypt.

Justin was very successful in the market with Walid's help negotiating and Justin knows how to walk away if the price seems unfair. Livvy on the other hand has absolutely no sense of how nor why to bargain; if it's pretty and she has the money then why not just get it straight away. Walid tried to encourage her to save her pocket money for the cruise where she can buy 10 bracelets for the price of 1 here in Cairo, to which Livvy replied, "But they might now have the exact same one I like and then I'll be disappointed because I don't know when I'll be back in Egypt." Hard to argue with her.

We heard the call to prayer from minerets surrounding the market and suddenly the shops cleared out and various shops hung signs saying they'd be back in 10 minutes following their prayers. So much more meaningful than a cigarette break.

We made our way back to the hotel and had lunch by the pool. Justin enjoyed his 3rd consecutive lunch cheeseburger which he swears are the best burgers he has EVER had. Then he and Livvy swam together for 2 hours and practiced their Tango in the shallow end like the kids from that documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. All the waiters (there are about 15 around the pool) were watching them and smiling and laughing at the water dance.

Now we are off for dinner and a very early wake up to catch our flight to Aswan where we join our cruise.