Weekend (it's friday and saturday here)

today has been a pretty exceptional day.

i got up around 12, and i knew i wanted to get out and explore the city a bit. i went down to biko's room, and hung out for a while, but he had school work. kevin and jason were busy too. so i decided to go by myself.

i wanted to go to the islamic cairo part of town, which is a couple miles east of the neighborhood where i live. i caught a cab, and told the driver the name of the square i wanted to land at -- midan ('square') salah al-din. i don't know what that means. salah might mean prayer-- at least it is simlar to a word for prayer.

when i got there, a man called out to me and asked what i was up to. i told him i was just wandering, and that i'd like to visit a couple mosques. but then he reminded me that mosques aren't generally open to visitors on fridays. so, while i was within walking distance of a couple of gorgeous mosques, particularly the citadel, of which i'll put up a picture.

we introduced-- his name was shem-- and he offered to show me through the neighborhood a bit. i basically had no plan, and was down for anything, so i wandered around with him. we got off the busy road we were walking up a hill on, and started down the hill through some narrow side streets and alleys. i only saw egyptians around-- no tourists here, which i was pumped about. after weaving our way through the streets bit by bit, we ended up at a mosque. this was my favorite one yet. it lacked the marble and the luxurious splendor of some others that i've seen, but it had gorgeous wooden carvings, and it was just simpler than the other ones. sort of a hidden treasure. it's central courtyard also boasted some trees and plants, which i have not seen in a mosque before. for 50 LE, or $10, which probably wasn't a very good deal, but whatever, i got to climb to the top of the towering minaret. the view from the peak was incredible, and i probably took ten or fifteen pictures at the top alone. first of all, i noted the cairo tower, which is nearish to my dorm, which helped me to orient myself. what i really loved was seeing the other minarets of mosque after mosque after mosque.

i made my way down slowly (to savor the moment, but also to avoid breaking my neck), and walked around the roof of the main floor, immediately above the courtyard. shem had had to leave before i ascended the minaret, so when i got down i followed the direction that he had recommended, and wandered off into the streets and markets.

i spent the next hour making my way through these alleyways, finally reaching the famous (and famously touristy) khan al-khalili area of islamic cairo, where i had been before, and where i had seen the whirling dervish show.

after a few more minutes being shown around by some random guy, i caught a cab. he insisted on 25 pounds, which i refused. so, i got out and grabbed a different cab, this time for 20. i may have been scammed, but at least not outrageously.

this way a great way to spend the afternoon though. shem was awesome, and at least three other guys introduced themselves to me and showed me around for brief periods of time. love it.

salaam