Well really, this post should be called just Mosques. We were unable to use our cameras inside the Churches we visited today (and the same for the one synagogue we walked through – first time ever in a synagogue!). Oh well, what could I do but make dreadful jokes about the artwork in the ikons? Looks of constipation, incontinence, and intestinal distress sprung to mind across the views, and uh, may have leaked out verbally from time to time… (have a delusion-free day Kathleen D!).
I had forgotten the scale of Mosques in Cairo (how did that happen?). They can be ENORMOUS, and very obviously designed to make you feel small and humbled before their god. But they are stunningly beautiful. Really. And such a contrast to the abject chaos that is daily life in Cairo, mere metres away from wherever you stand in one. And oh so quiet they are, making them oases of calm and beatitude. They do provide what they purport – comfort, and comradeship with fellow man. We walked through rooms today with ceilings arching easily 70 or 80 feet above our heads. Incredible. In one, a huge empty room, we imagined a giant swing slowly undulating back and forth taking long, long seconds to reach each parabola. You will see this room in the photos below.
But we are doing less each day than I anticipated. Today, I napped on return and have not really even looked at photos until now (6:20pm). I will do so and get them attached to this post forthwith.
