Day 8 – Saturday, February 28: Old Cairo, Grand Egyptian Museum
We enjoyed our first full day here in Cairo today! The view of the Nile River from our hotel balconies was incredible! All morning was at the Grand Egyptian Museum, and the afternoon in Old Cairo. The weather was unseasonably cool in the morning (40s), with highs rebounding with the warmer sunny skies to the mid 60s in the afternoon.
Grand Egyptian Museum
Shortly after 8 a.m. we drove to Giza (a southern suburb of this 23 million people city!) to the Grand Egyptian Museum. We spent over three hours there (until 12 noon). The museum cost $1.2 Billion and took 23 years to plan and build it.
While some of the artifacts are still in the Old Museum (i.e. the Merneptah Stele and the Amarna Letters), there are about 55,00 items displayed. We first followed our guides (Moses and Max) around this newly-designed museum before having some free time to explore on our own. We saw artifacts from the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms! We made many biblical connections too. We saw statutes of Ramses II, Amenhotep II (the likely pharaoh of the Exodus based on conventional dating), Thutmose III, the head and sphinx of Hatshepsut, colorful jewelry, to name just a few. The colors of some of the artifacts (e.g. the “sitting scribe”) were astonishing! The grand display featured the collection (5,400 items) of all of King Tutankhamen, including his pure gold coffins and mask. It was incredible. The museum is one of the best in the world! We could have spent all day there exploring!
Old Cairo
Following a visit to an Egyptian cotton store (many bought 1600-count sheet sets, shirts, scarfs, etc…), this afternoon we bussed into the area known today as Old Cairo. This is where three of the world’s great religions coexist in remarkable harmony. Within minutes, you can visit a 4th-5th century church, a 9th-century synagogue, and a 7th-century mosque. Old Cairo doesn’t just tell Egypt’s story—it tells humanity’s story of faith, culture, and civilization.
According to Christian tradition, the “Holy Family” (Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus) fled to Egypt here as they escaped King Herod’s persecution. Several Old Cairo sites commemorate their alleged journey. We visited the Cavern Church of St, Sergious and Bacchus (also known as Abu Sera) and the Church of Holy Mary known commonly as the “Hanging Church.” The Holy Family (Joseph, Mary, Jesus, see Matthew 2) are remembered here in Cairo as coming from Bethlehem and spending time herein Egypt. In reality, they probably were only in the Delta and Alexandria areas (where tens of thousands of Jews lived), but we can’t be sure.
“We spent the entire day in Cairo today. We began at the Grand Egyptian Museum and spent the entire morning there. We then visited a few traditional sites in Old Cairo. This city of 23 million is quite amazing!
Ben Ezra Synagogue
We also saw the Ben Ezra Synagogue. While its date is uncertain, there is good evidence from documents found in the geniza (container that keeps the Hebrew scrolls) that it predates 882 AD and is probably pre-Islamic. This would make the synagogue the oldest in Egypt.
The synagogue is named after Abraham ibn ‘Ezra, the Jewish religious scholar and philosopher. Ben ‘Ezra contains all the main features of a synagogue. The bimah, or pulpit, from which prayers were read is in its center. The Ten Commandments are inscribed on it in Hebrew. The synagogue was once the center of many celebrations, congregations and prayers, but is no longer in use today.
We returned earlier than normal (4:00 p.m.) back to our hotel for a time of rest before another amazing dinner at 6 p.m. Following eating together, some enjoyed a night walk along the Nile River. We are all looking forward to seeing the pyramids and Sphinx tomorrow!
Day 9 – Sunday, March 1: Sakkara, Carpet School, Giza Pyramids, Sphinx
