Goodbye to Cairo

Days three and four were just as busy as days one and two.

Yesterday we traveled to Wadi el Natrun to a Coptic Orthodox monestary (St Bishon Monestary I think). We spent the entire day touring the monestary and talking with the abbot. He had quite a bit to say about politics and the culture that is encroaching on them. The monestary used to be in the middle of no where, no roads, no water, no power, no nothing. Now their is a city and police station right outside their gate, and all the problems that come with that. It was a good time and their hospitality was great. We spent the evening having a history lesson and some teaching moments with our professor.

Today we visited Old Cairo. Unfortunately most of the places we visited we couldn't take pictures so no new pics to look at but I'll tell you all about it. We started at Ben Ezra Synagogue which is the 'traditional' site that where Moses was plucked from the Nile. It has gone through many versions and changed hands a number of times but is now a synagogue that is no longer active.

After Ben Ezra we went to a Coptic church that is built on the site that is said to have housed the Holy Family when they fled to Egypt from Israel. It's a beautiful old church with many icons and some beautiful wood work. After this we went to another Coptic Church called the Hanging Church which is a much larger church that is still an active parish. It contains the remains of many martyrs that have been sainted.

Following our tour of the churches we went to the Coptic Musuem which is the complete opposite of the Egytian Museum. It is wonderfully laid out and all the pieces are marked and have descriptions. It contains some great frescos, tapestries, and archetectural pieces. It also contains the oldest psalter book, from about 400ce. I could have spent hours looking at the icons it contains, but we had to make our lunch date.

We ate a restraunt in the Khan el Khalili bazzar. It's a winding maze of alleys that contains all kinds of shops and interesting little things to buy. And it is crammed with people yelling at each other and hauking their wares. It is a chaotic place but we braved it for a while and came out with some things for some of you.

After the bazzar we spent some time the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo. We visited with the dean and some students and shared a meal there.

Today has been a very, very long day. It has also been the first day which Kaci hasn't been as pleased with the food. Every other day our meals have been very large and Kaci has been able to find something on the buffet or plate that she liked. Today, no such luck. Today was also the first day that one of us has had a stomach problem. Matthew had a little trouble after lunch and had to make a quick trip to the Water Closet (WC as they say here) as soon as we arrived at the seminary.

We are both doing well and looking forward to the rest of our trip in Israel. However we have to get to bed because we have to be on the bus ready to leave the hotel at 5am. So until we write again, we love you all and wish you could be with us.