Egypt and Libya, March 19 - April 2, 2006 / 20060324a_AmrIbnEl-AasMosqueCourtyard
Ruth Milner, rmilner plus web at bookofmarvels dot net
We arrived quite early
at the train station in Giza. Our driver met us (though later than expected
as he hadn't been told we were on the early sleeper train) and took us to
the Ramses Hilton to wait until 9am for Heidi. This was
actually fine with us since we could spruce up a bit in the lobby bathroom,
eat breakfast at their amazing buffet (not cheap but they didn't charge for
the kids), and relax quietly in comfy chairs; Sarah even took a nap.
This is the courtyard of the oldest mosque
in Egypt, Amr Ibn El-Aas. Everyone has to take off their shoes before going
in; they actually have a check stand just inside the door. Non-Muslim women
were required to wear the voluminous green robes you can see here, although
they weren't too fussy about complete coverage; mine didn't even tie
properly in front, and although it had a hood it wouldn't stay up. We
went to this mosque on a Friday, which is the holiest day of the week
for Muslims; we could hear sermons and calls to prayer from loudspeakers
all over the city.
