Another day, another museum. This time it was the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation. This is another grand, spacious museum full of ancient relics. More mummies that we could not photograph. This collection included some of the most famous pharaohs. They all look a bit the same when they are black and shrivelled though. Many artifacts that started to blur together in my head. The world’s first prosthetic. A toe. Big toe with a leather strap to hold it on. And a carpet. I was really hoping this would be the carpet that Cleopatra was rolled up in. Sadly, it wasn’t, although it was a nice carpet.
On to Old Cairo. The Church of Abu Serga is where tradition says the Holy Family, including Jesus, hid during their flight into Egypt. The church was built over a cave where they are believed to have stayed, and a crypt beneath the church contains the original site of their shelter. We went down some stairs to have a look. Seemed a bit small and stuffy to hide in for three months. Perhaps if you were desperate. The rows of vendors outside were selling bibles, scripts, icons, beads, crosses and other Christian paraphernalia.
Next stop was the Salah El-Din Citadel and the grand Mohammed Ali Mosque. We were promised spectacular views over Cairo from here. The reality was far too hazy and dusty. Our guide, Mayo, took us into the mosque and explained the five pillars of Islam. This seemed appropriate. We took our shoes off and sat on the floor. The inside of the mosque was ornately decorated and the ceiling was fabulous. I did pay attention but was still a long way from any sort of religious conversion by the time he finished. After twenty minutes sitting cross legged on the floor, my great revelation was that my legs do not like doing this anymore. We both hobbled a bit leaving the mosque but had recovered by the time we were back at our hotel with a glass of wine and a lovely sunset to watch.
Next morning we went off to look at the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid of Dahshur. As we arrived a couple of dozen military helicopters went past. Then some other aircraft and then two wings of fighters. All in proper formation and looking very businesslike. US President Donald Trump was joining more than 20 other world leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt that day. The aircraft were maybe connected with this. We let them get on with it and concentrated on walking round the pyramids. Both pyramids were constructed by Pharaoh Sneferu during the Old Kingdom. They represent key stages in pyramid-building evolution. The Bent pyramid was too steep. Having started at 54° they discovered cracks appearing internally. The rock could not stand the weight. So they switched to a more modest 44°. The meant the pyramid would not be so high but at least it would not collapse. The second, Red Pyramid, was done at 43°. This time they had it right. Although a modest 105 m high it was still the first true pyramid with a smooth, straight-sided design. After this one, in 2,500 BC they were ready to get cracking with the big ones at Giza.
As lunchtime approached, we headed off to a farm. We were promised this was a typical working farm. One that welcomes tourists but still a farm. Turned out to be a delightful couple of hours. To reach the farm, we sat on the back of a cart pulled by a donkey. At the farm, we began by sitting in a treehouse and drinking tea. Next was bread making. The bread dough was already made. Our job was to roll out thin round sheets before throwing them into an extremely hot clay oven. After being shown what to do, we both made acceptable attempts. This was as well because the bread ended up being part of our lunch. The oven was an interesting design with a fire pit underneath the cooking area. I may try to make one sometime.
Back in our treehouse, we were shown how to make fig biscuits. Given yet more tea. Then our lunch turned up. Flat bread with vegetables followed by fig biscuits – which had been cooked by then. All very good. After some more tea, we had a short stroll round the farm. Some of the crops and rotations were explained. I experimented with climbing a date palm using a rope. Probably best left to the youngsters. I also found a wicked looking stick insect. Then it was back on the donkey cart, back to our hotel and we were done with Egypt. Next day we would fly to Jordan. Just time for a last glass of wine and a sunset.
