Sightseeing Sunday, August 14th - The Monastery of St. Anthony

My hope when I set out to write this blog was for it to be about "everything Egypt". Although my great passion in Egypt's history is in its Islamic past, Egypt has many other layers to its story. Its most famous is its ancient history with pharaohs, mummies and pyramids. But there lies another history, very much alive today, that most people brush over (myself included) somewhere between the Ancient past and the Arab/Islamic periods. That's where we find the Coptic Christian story of Egypt. And so, as I attempt to give bits and pieces of Egypt to my readers, I think we are overdue a post on Christian Egypt. 

Before we take a tour of this week's sight, let's first pause to talk briefly about Coptic Christianity and its history.

By tradition, Christianity was brought to Roman Egypt in the middle of the first century by Saint Mark the Evangelist. The church he established in Alexandria was a powerhouse of the early Christian church with such influential theologians as Athenagoras, Clement, Didymus and Origen. That last of whom is considered the father of theology. Out of Egypt's early church also came a duo that changed Christianity forever and whose effects are still fundamental to the religion today: Arius and Athanasius. 

In the fourth century, the two church leaders began a dispute over the nature of Christ that still represents a major divide between various churches today. Arius professed the idea that within the trinity God the Son was inferior to God the Father and was created by Him. This was contrary to Athanasius's position that God the Son was eternal and was one with the Father. This conflict led to the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, which affirmed Athanasius's opinion and led to the writing of the Nicene Creed. Over the next century, further disputes within the greater Christian community occurred. Finally, a dispute between the early churches occurred at the Council of Ephesus in 449 AD, and in 451 AD at the Council of Chalcedon the Coptic Church separated from the rest of Christendom. 

Since that time, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has continued to give many contributions to modern Christianity, while at the same time remaining rather obscure to mainstream Christians. Its rather quiet anonymity may be due to its isolation as a minority in a majority Muslim population. But regardless, the Coptic Orthodox Church is a major player in Christendom as the largest Christian minority in the Middle East and as a vibrant community in its own right. The church has its own pope, Pope Shenouda III and a large diaspora community. Its ecumenical work in recent years with the Roman Catholic Church and some protestant groups has helped to raise its profile. But at heart, the church is a mystery to most Western viewers. Hopefully over the course of this blog, it will be demystified a bit. 


The Coptic Church has as its focus two major themes, fasting and the monastery. Coptic Christians fast more than any group from any religion that I have ever met. Generally, a fast require an abstention from any animal product including milk and eggs, and occasionally, in high fasts, the fast includes fish products as well. Fasts occur on every Wednesday and Friday, regardless of church season, and before and during various holidays throughout the year. If counted altogether, a devout Copt fasts more than half of the days of the year.


The other point around which the church focuses is on its monastic communities. Many Coptic families make trips to monasteries around Egypt as their major source of vacation time. Indeed, this is encouraged by the churches and trips are frequently organized to travel to monasteries throughout the country. Egypt's tradition of Christian monasticism is the oldest in the world and it was in these monasteries that many of the churches traditions and beliefs were kept alive through many centuries of invasions and later Muslim majority rule. So let's see where it all began, the world's first Christian monastery: the Monastery of Saint Antony (Anthony) the Great.


The Monastery of St. Antony the Great (cc. 4th Century AD)


Of course, the details of the story of St. Antony's life is mostly hearsay and tradition taken with a lot of faith, but St. Antony is supposed to have been born in the area of Beni Suef to a wealthy landholder around 251 AD. Orphaned in his teenaged years and left a small fortune, Antony gave up his wealth at the age of 18 after having read the Bible's repudiations of money and materialism. Shortly thereafter, St. Antony settled himself in the Eastern Desert near the Red Sea in the same area as another hermit, St. Paul. Overtime other Christians throughout Egypt having heard of Antony's asceticism and faith, followed in his footsteps. Soon, a small community developed around him. This was to become the world's first group of monks; the world's first Christian monastery. 


With time, however, the solitude that Antony had sought, disappeared as the monastic community continued to grow. Seeking more quiet and seclusion, St. Antony moved into a cave in the mountains overlooking the fraternity of monks below. It was in this cave that he would spend the last 40 years of his 105 year life. 


This new form of devotion and faith, monasticism, quickly spread throughout Egypt and the Byzantine world. Within one hundred years, monasteries could be found in Italy and France; and shortly thereafter, icons of St. Anthony of Egypt were found as far away as Ireland. Most people cannot imagine traditional Christianity without monks and nuns, but it all started with one man here in Egypt.


Below are a collection of photos from the Monastery of St. Antony. Enjoy!

On the gate to the monastery.

The long stairway to the cave where St. Antony spent his last forty years.  If you look carefully on the upper-right side, you can see the end point.

Here's a close-up of the sight.

Here is the cave where St. Antony lived, packed with pilgrims.

A view of the monastery below. The twin towers are the entrance gates.

Another view of the monastery and the desert beyond.

This drawbridge was the only access to a keep in the middle of the monastery complex.  During the 8th and 9th centuries, Bedouin raiders attacked the monastery frequently. The drawbridge allowed the monks to hide inside the keep and have relative protection from the desert raiders.

The monks of the monastery still eat around this table, continuing a centuries' old tradition.

Icons inside the Church of St. Antony inside the monastery complex. Recently restored with help from Italy, some of the icons are supposed to date from the 5th century.

Icons representing gospel writers: St. Matthew (the winged man) and St. Mark (the winged lion).

And the gospel writers: St. Luke (winged ox) and St. John (winged eagle).

Looking towards the altar and the iconostasis (icon wall separating the congregation from the main altar). The white orbs hanging are ostrich eggs. Present in all Coptic churches, they represent the resurrection and rebirth in Christ.

Looking down the main avenue through the monastery with monks' quarters on both sides.

Sources:

Kamil, Jill. Christianity in the Land of the Pharaohs: The Coptic Orthodox Church. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 2002. 

Book Review: "Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide" by Caroline Williams

Since last week the first week of the blog, I started readers of with a good introductory book to Cairo. But now we're moving along, and I want to introduce everyone to the most essential book for any explorer to Cairo's Islamic past. 

I was first introduced to this book by a fellow explorer and my Middle East history mentor, Joseph Stanik (at that time a visiting lecturer at the US Naval Academy and author of El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's Undeclared War With Qaddafi). It is because of Joe that I am going into Middle East history as a full time profession, and our early walks together in the summer of 2009 really shaped my passions. For anyone who has ever visited Cairo and made an attempt at its Islamic past, they know how extraordinarily overwhelming the depth of the history and its numerous monuments is. To have Joe in those early days of my interest, and continuing until today, guiding me was irreplaceable. Caroline Williams's book, however, is the best alternative for those not lucky enough to see Islamic Cairo with Joe.

Starting with a brief but thorough overview of the city's Islamic past and a matching architectural introduction, Dr. Williams guides her readers through the various historic neighborhoods of greater Cairo. Each of her tours give the reader the choice to choose just the major sites, or all of them! 

Once out exploring, Dr. Williams is a personal guide. She points out important features clearly, without leaving the reader searching buildings cluelessly. Important Arabic script is translated and significant art and architecture are explained. But like my mentor, Williams's Cairo is not just brick and mortar, wood and paint; it's stories. And into the guide to Cairo's Islamic monuments, are the stories of their builders, their significance within the surrounding neighborhood, and how they continue to be used and restored. 

Other than a general guidebook for first-time visitors to Egypt, there is no other book so essential, especially to history lovers, than this one. Cairo is a treasure trove of the Islamic past, and Caroline Williams's Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide is your treasure map.

Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide by Caroline Williams, The American University in Cairo Press 2008. $24.95

Need 2 Know: Minarets of Cairo

For the first several centuries after their advent, conquest and expansion were hallmarks of the Arab and Islamic civilizations. Expanding at an unbelievable rate across north Africa into Spain, into eastern Europe and southern Russia, and East to the frontiers of China and India; Islam and its empire covered more land than almost any civilization the world had ever seen. As with the great empires before it, the Islamic empire split into various groups with contested leadership. As leadership shifted between different sovereigns, the capital of the empire shifted with them: from Mecca to Damascus and later from Damascus to Baghdad. 

During these early years, there was no Cairo. Egypt was a province of a larger empire, and its provincial capital was Fustat (located within modern Cairo). Fustat was founded in 642 AD, a decade after the death of the prophet Mohamed, by a general Amr Ibn Al-As. Almost immediately he constructed Egypt's, and Africa's, first mosque. This is significant because it brought to Egypt an architecture never before used in the country. Amr's mosque still stands, although in a much altered form, and was a flat-open courtyard mosque. The mosque was the center of his new city, Fustat. The city itself was centered along the walls of the old Roman and Byzantine city Babylon on the Nile. I won't say more about Fustat here, but it was eventually engulfed by Cairo as it expanding through its walls about four kilometers away. 

While the capital of the empire was in Baghdad during the Abbassids, a rogue general Ahmed Ibn Tulun established his own capital near Fustat. Nothing of his capital, which was also within present-day Cairo, stands except the monumental mosque that bears his name. This mosque, photo one, featured a spiral minaret in the style of the Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq. So, here, we see one of the first importations of architecture from abroad. This is to become a major theme of Cairo's architecture from all periods.

Minaret of the Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun. 876-79 AD / 263-65 AH

In the tenth century, a shia'a dynasty based in Tunisia was beginning to expand across north Africa. This group were called the Fatimids on account of their claim to descent from the prophet's companion Ali, who's wife Fatima was the daughter of the prophet. After their expansion into Egypt, they chose to build their capital city here. In 969 AD, a general named Muezz ad-Din Allah founded the city of Cairo. With their new city, came another style of architecture; this time yielding from north Africa. In the next picture you can see one of the most famous Fatimid mosques in Cairo: the Mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The minaret below is one of two on the mosque. This pair are the oldest surviving minarets in Cairo, with few others from the period surviving elsewhere in the city. While Fatimid minarets are hard to find, they are easy to identify. Notice that there are ribbed hoods along the top of the minaret. They culminated in a ridged dome. These are two hallmarks of the Fatimid style. The final product is called mubakhara meaning incense burner. Although to most western viewers, this doesn't look like an incense burner... you'll have to take my word that the traditional burners here do look very similar.

Minaret of the Mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.  The red marble piece in the courtyard is an ablution fountain.

Following the fall of the Fatimids in 1171, a new ruler Salah ad-Din, (we know him in the West as Saladin), set to converting Egypt back to a Sunni state and reconquering the holy lands from the crusaders. His dynasty would be known as the Ayyubids, and in addition to encircling a larger parcel of land around Cairo with walls; the Ayyubids produced one of Cairo's most famous features: the citadel. Another feature of Ayyubid rule was the importation of slaves to form a ruling sub-class. These slaves, Mamluks (meaning owned), were brought from Eastern Europe. After receiving a rigorous military and Islamic education, they were freed; but remained fiercely loyal to their previous master. This freed slave class formed a second tier of the ruling hierarchy of the country, with the Ayyubid sultan and his family at the top. I won't ruin a good story by shortening it (you'll have to wait to hear about how the Mamluks assumed the reign of Egypt), but the Ayyubids finally disappeared and were replaced by their former slaves the Mamluks in 1250. 

Ayyubid minaret, similar in style to the Fatimid minaret but without as many ribbed hoods. Notice, also, the elongation of the center tier and the larger gallery beneath the canopy (top).

The Mamluk style of minarets is probably the most distinctive of all the types found in Cairo; and because of the long period of their reign and the proliferation of building under their rule, they are also the most commonly seen in the historic districts of Cairo. The Mamluks themselves were divided into two periods, the bahri (river) and the burgi (tower). These names were derived from the place were the ruling Mamluks resided, the former on Roda Island and the latter in the citadel. The earlier bahri Mamluks built taller minarets than their predecessors that featured tiered sections with bulbous minaret tops. Although from the later, burgi period, the double minarets in the next picture are fairly similar in style to the earlier, bahri period. Minarets in the true style of the later, burgi style were more stylized and, again, with bulbous tops. The second picture below is from the Al-Rifai Mosque, which although built in the nineteenth century is in the Mamluk style. Because it is replicating that style, it's Mamluk features are exaggerated, which is useful in illustrating our point. Compare photo one and two. Notice in photo one that the two sections of the shaft, although different sizes, are the same shape. However, in photo two, the first section of the shaft is angular whereas the second section is round. Also notice the level of ornamentation on the balconies where the sections are connected. Clearly the minarets became more stylized with time. 

Minarets of the Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Mosque (the mosque is actually under the dome structure). The minarets are an addition to the Bab Zuweila (an 11th century gate). 

Al Rifai Mosque (19th Century) - Although not from the Mamluk period, the mosque was completed in the Mamluk revival style; its exaggeration serving to illustrate our point. 

Our next photo is of the minarets of Al-Azhar. Although the complex itself was built in the late 10th century under the Fatimids, the minarets are a Mamluk addition. Notice again the different geometric shapes of the sections of the shafts. Also, notice the intricate patterns on the shafts themselves. Finally, on the far right minaret, notice the double gallery. This is truly unique to the late Mamluk period.

Other than modern architectural styles in mosque construction, the final major period of building is Ottoman. After a battle in 1517, the Ottomans (based in Turkey) gained control of Egypt. Under the Ottomans, Egypt had semi-autonomous rule with Mamluk rulers but a provincial governor was sent annually from Istanbul. Furthermore, Egypt had to pay annual taxes and tribute to the Ottoman sultan. This diminution of status, from being the seat of an empire to being merely a provincial capital, had a dramatic effect on the amount of construction inside Cairo. Buildings during the Ottoman period are less grand in size and design, and less frequent throughout the city. The style itself was evolutionary, originally very Mamluk but over time adopting more Ottoman features. (See: Sabil-Kuttab of ‘Abd al-Rahman al Katkhuda 1744 AD for a superb example of this blending.) The high period of truly Ottoman architecture, in the more Istanbulian sense of style, was in the 19th century during the rule of Mohamed 'Ali Pasha and his successors. During this time we see a huge amount of European influence, combined with the Ottoman mosque style. The next photo is the center piece of the citadel and the period: the Mosque of Mohamed 'Ali Pasha. Built in the middle of the 19th century, it is a true departure from the past and a declaration of a new order. It's multiple domes and sleek, slender minarets with conical caps are superbly Ottoman. As I mentioned in a previous post: pencil minarets (unless very modern) = Ottoman.

Mosque of Mohamed 'Ali Pasha (1830-1848 AD): Slender, pencil-like minarets and multiple domes implicate this mosque as clearly Ottoman. 

The last photo on today's post is of a finial or the topper to the canopy of the minaret. These are the crescent and various other designs that you will notice at the very tip of most minarets and occasionally domes. Notice the previous pictures of Mamluk minarets, and you'll clearly see their silhouettes against the sky.

So next time you're looking at pictures of Cairo or, hopefully, walking our streets... look up. These stones and towers have stories to tell!

Sightseeing Sunday, August 7th - Water

Mosque-Sabil of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar 1839 AD / 1255 AH

This week's sight follows on the same theme of water. However, other than the sabil (fountain), the connection won't be immediately obvious. A very young monument, by Cairo's standards, this mosque-sabil-kuttab (school) was was built in the third decade of Mohamed Ali Pasha's reign by his minister in charge of the arsenal. Appropriately, the minister's name was Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar (the armorer), and other monuments of his patronage include two surviving wikalas (caravanserai) in the Khan al-Khalili and near the northern walls of the city.  In the picture below you can see the complex (along the left of the photo). Cut off along the left edge is the gate leading into Haret al-Bargawan. A hara is an alleyway or street that usually terminated on either end with gates. Inside were shops and homes and usually a place for community prayer. The streets would traditionally police themselves and have a sheikh as a representative to the greater community. At night the gates would be closed to strangers and be staffed with a watchman. In this way, the hara, until the present day, functions as the most basic level of Egyptian society. Moving to the right along the picture, you can see the protruding sabil (fountain), moving farther along is the kuttab (school), and finally, the mosque itself. The minaret in the picture is a classic Ottoman style minaret. I always tell people that if you see a pencil in the sky, it's Ottoman. This style becomes more frequent in the late 17th century in Egypt. But doesn't really come into vogue until later still. (I will post this week on the minaret styles of Cairo... Stay tuned.) Another feature which had its roots in Europe and came to Cairo during the Ottoman period are the slanted eaves which top the front, exterior wall. 

From L to R: Gate, sabil, kuttab, mosque. Notice the window placement on the kuttab and mosque. On the kuttab the windows are low onto the street. On the mosque they are much higher to provide privacy.

Inside the mosque, the ceiling is more ottoman in style than in last week's sight. This is later in the Ottoman period and so the style is becoming more European. Again around the molding we see floral patterns.

This week feature our first sight that includes a mosque. I will detail the main features of the mosque in a later post. But for the time being, there are two features that need some explaining. The dome in the next picture is located over the mihrab. The mihrab is a niche in the wall indicating the qibla or direction of Mecca. As muslims must pray in the direction of the holy city, it is towards this niche that their prayers are specifically directed. Domes topping the mihrab are a common feature of many mosques in Cairo and will be featured in many subsequent posts. Another feature is the minbar or pulpit of the mosque. It is from here that Friday sermons are given. Traditionally they are wooden and they are located directly next to the mihrab. With few exceptions, mosques have one mihrab and one minbar. 

Dome over the mihrab.

The marble indentation below the chandelier is the mihrab. The wooden structure to the right is the minbar.

The next picture of the ceiling is a unique feature for a mosque specifically and a truly unusual architectural element for most viewers. The raised indentation with the sunlight is called a malqaf. The malqafs are basically giant vents or wind catchers that direct wind into the space below to cool the space. Most viewers are probably wondering, "what happens when the wind changes direction?" Well, fortunately Cairo has a wonderful natural feature: wind almost always comes from the north. Interestingly, the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic for traveling south was a ship with full sails; for traveling north, a ship riding the current with its sails down (the Nile conveniently flows north). So whenever you come across a malqaf in Cairo, you can be nearly certain it's pointed north.

Top Center: a malqaf

Another European style found in the complex is the openness and simpleness of the kuttab, large chandelier and, again, the ceiling ornamentation. 

Here you can see the space behind the sabil. Notice the curve of the windowed wall and the basins beneath each window (next two photos). In the corner there is an indentation, which is our clue to our not-so-obvious connection to the water theme. This indentation leads to a large underground cistern (coming photos). By means of this indentation, water was brought to this room from the cistern below using a bucket and rope system. The water was then poured into the water troughs below the windows. It was then scooped from the troughs by those who needed it from the outside of the building. 

Closer view of the water trough. Notice the larger spaces at the bottom of the grail. Here, small cups could grab water to be put into water vessels

The next three photos are of our special connector of the day. Nearly all of the sabils of Cairo had their own cistern under them. Except in a very few cases, however, they are either closed to the public or closed off completely. These cisterns contained large amounts of water to be brought up and distributed for public consumption. This particular cistern is particularly large, as you can see in the second photo. It is "roughly fifteen meters high, twelve meters wide and eighteen meters long" (Williams, 204). 

Unlike European cities where public squares contained wells, the water table in Cairo is brackish and barely potable. Therefore, water was collected by organized water companies to bring water directly from the Nile over a kilometer away. Andre Raymond in his master work Cairo: City of History better describes the organized process by which water was collected in distributed:

"The water carriers drew water from the river at  particular locations and loaded their filled skins (the rawiya of cowhide and the qirba of goatskin) onto camels and donkeys, shuttling back and forth between the Nile and the city. They were organized into five corporations along the western edge of the city... The distribution in town was performed by a corporation of street-based water sellers, another of carriers of cistern water... and one of carriers of 'salt' water, no doubt used for cleaning - an entirely rational distribution across the geographic and technical spectrum. The water was often sold to passerby or delivered directly to homes, where it was often paid for according to an ingenious subscription system. The water carrier inscribed lines on his client's door corresponding to the quantity delivered, or he used a necklace of blue pearls, removing one per waterskin. The number of water carriers is naturally impossible to estimate... [However] there were still 3,876 of them in around 1870... This system also made use of public fountains where water was stored. These fountains... were distributed evenly throughout the built up area as a function of the distribution of people... As supplying water had strong religious connotations, one of the favorite ways for rich patrons to perform good works during the Ottoman period, particularly among the military caste, was to build fountains." (Raymond, 246)

Forty-nine steps down into the cistern (Williams, 204).

Here you can see the immense size of the cistern.

Another view into the cistern from the stairwell.

Next week, we will view something highly unusual...

Sources:

Williams, Caroline. Islamic Monuments in Cairo. 6th ed. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 2008. Print. 203-204.

Raymond, Andre. Cairo: City of History. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 2007. Print. 246.

Book Review: "Cairo: The City Victorious" by Max Rodenbeck

Since this is the first of many book reviews I'm going to do on history and Middle East related topics, I'm starting with a good book for people who are new to this amazing city: Cairo: The City Victorious.

Max Rodenbeck is the Middle East correspondent for The Economist and has lived in Cairo since age two. His personal knowledge and passion for his adopted city comes through in this sweeping history of Cairo. Just because Rodenbeck is well-versed on Middle East topics, doesn't mean the reader has to be in order to enjoy this book. It is deep enough to provide a meaningful introduction to the city, but not so much so as to lose first-time readers. This balance between insightful history and accessibility makes this a great starting point for anyone wanting to explore Cairo's history but who are intimidated by its immense size. Rodenbeck jumps between Pharaohnic, Coptic, Islamic and modern Cairene history in an effortless way, allowing the reader to see the layers of the city's history and their interconnectedness. Because the book gives a panoramic view of Cairo's history, any reader interested in specific topics will have to read more in other texts. But for anyone new to the city of a thousand minarets or just generally interested in the Middle East and one of its greatest cities, Cairo: The City Victorious is a must read.

Cairo: The City Victorious by Max Rodenbeck, Vintage 2002. $15.95

On Faith Friday - Ramadan Lanterns

Cairo is an extraordinarily busy city. From morning to night, without stopping, the city buzzes with activity. A recent study proclaimed Cairo, not New York, as the real "city that never sleeps". (See link: Article) There is one exception to that rule: Ramadan. During this month, the city like those fasting, begins to lose steam in the middle of the afternoon. Just after the evening call to prayer, the whole city becomes very still. Almost everyone is at home breaking their fasts. As the meal, called iftar, concludes the city comes to life again with a bang, literally. The streets are filled with the cacophony of firecrackers, as children celebrate the start of the night. But perhaps nothing symbolizes the month of Ramadan more than the Ramadan lantern. 


The lanterns, called fanous or fanoose, are hung throughout the city. From balconies, on ropes across alleys, and in the windows of homes, the city glows with the celebratory light of the fanoose. The word fanoose is probably adopted from the Coptic/Greek word phanos meaning candle indicating the tradition was adopting by Egypt's muslim population from the Coptic christian population. This origin is far from certain, and there are competing tales about the lantern's start.


One story, which I have heard many times, was that a Fatimid leader Caliph Hakim bil-Amr Allah had forbidden women from leaving the home. (More about his eccentricities, which were enormous, when we explore his mosque in a later post.) Only during Ramadan, were women allowed to go out. Even then, they had to be accompanied by a male member of the family. Furthermore, a young boy had to walk ahead with a lantern to announce that a woman would be passing along the street. It is said, that once al Hakim's reign ended and women were allowed to go about their affairs in a more relaxed way, the population continued to associate the lantern with Ramadan and began to decorate with them. Whether this is the true story or not, we may never know. But I have a theory of my own...

Most people after breaking their fast, go out and enjoy an evening of fun and celebration. Shortly before sunrise, the devout eat a heavy meal to help prepare the body for the coming day's fasting called sahuur. After eating, they generally go to bed. But seeing as everyone is so nocturnal, I can only imagine that the lanterns were simply a light source for the many celebrating fast-breakers. After the advent of the lightbulb, the tradition carried on. Now, as you can see in the pictures below, the Ramadan lamps come in many shapes, materials and colors. 

The last two images are of lanterns inside mosques. Now lighted with electric, they used to hold oil in their bases, which was burnt. A lot of the current restoration work of mosques involves removing the soot from the ceilings of the mosques after centuries of burning oil lanterns. The lantern is traditionally inscribed with the Qur'anic sura, Surat al Nur (Light) which reads: 

"Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth. The Parable of His light is as if there were a niche and within it a lamp: the lamp enclosed in glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: Lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it: Light upon light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His light: Allah doth set forth parables for men: and Allah doth know all things."

Sources:

Montalbetti, Giovanna. "Lights of Faith." Ahram Weekly [Cairo] 20-26 Aug. 2009, 961st ed. Online. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/961/special.htm.

Outside Cairo - Dahab

I hesitate to post about something outside Cairo so early on in the life of this blog... but, having just returned from Dahab, I'd feel remiss if I didn't say something about this wonderful town in Egypt. Also, because of the recent revolution; tourism has dramatically dropped in Egypt, and I thought I should plug the place for those who haven't heard of it. Dahab, a town built entirely on tourism, is just barely squeaking by. So for those who live in Europe, particularly, come visit. It's a short flight, with international flights into Sharm al-Sheikh airport, and then just a forty-five minute ride from there. Accommodations range from stringing up a hammock on the roof of a hostel to five-star resorts and everything in between. Filled with coral and tropical fish, the diving is renowned . Snorkeling, windsurfing, sea-kayaking... there's always something to do in the Red Sea. And on land, camel trips into the desert, Bedouin camping, and dune-buggying. And just a little ways away is Saint Katherine monastery, which I'll highlight in another post later on. 

Enough talking about the place, here's some pictures... The first set are Dahab in daytime.

This is Dahab's main strip... On one side are hotels and shops; on the other the beaches and restaurants... Amazing place for a stroll.

Dahab in the evening. Looking across the Gulf of Aqaba, those are the mountains of Saudi Arabia in the distance.

Dahab is also spectacular at night.

As a budding historian, no vacation is just sand, surf and sun... Dahab, meaning gold in Arabic, has long been inhabited by local bedouins and has only recently (since the 1980s) been home to tourism. But even before the bedouin, the town was home to a thriving port and storage area, as part of the Nabatean trading network. Dahab, being located in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, was a key stop off point for the Nabateans living in present Jordan, Palestine and northern Arabia. If you haven't heard of the Nabateans, you're sure to have heard of their capital: Petra. For those who aren't history lovers, Petra was made famous in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

Along the walking area that runs the length of Dahab, there are some fantastic ruins of a Nabatean port from the 1st century AD. 

Below, an overview of the the larger archeological site.

In the next picture, you can clearly see the rooms that were used for storing goods while ships stopped over in the process of trade. The volume of trade in the Red Sea during the ancient period until the Middle Ages was astounding, even by modern standards. Incense, coffee, slaves, exotic animals, silks and goods from Europe to the Far East all traversed the waters of the Red Sea. Egypt and the region's many civilizations were at the heart of this trade, which only ceased with the Portuguese exploration around Africa and the Spanish discovery of the Americas. Both of these cut out the middle man i.e. the Middle East. It wasn't until the construction of the Suez Canal in the late 19th century that the Red Sea became, once again, a major body for trade.