10/17/2022 0 Comments Old/coptic cairoI felt very in-touch with my religion today. Today we had a private tour of Old and Coptic Cairo. In all, we visited: the Virgin Mary Hanging Church, St. George Church, the Cavern Church, the Church of St. Barbara, the Citadel, the Mosque Alnasser of Mohamed Bin Qalaoon, the Mosque of Mohamed Ali, and the Khan Al Khalili Bazaar. In order of visits, the Virgin Mary Hanging Church was beautiful, with murals outside the church of depictions from the bible. The church was very unique, and incredibly beautiful on the inside as well, with what is refereed to as the Mona Lisa of Egypt with a painting of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. At one of the praying areas, I lit a candle in remembrance of Sue Blake. Afterwards we headed to the St. George Church and saw the horrors that St. George experienced in the defense of keeping his Christianity. You could walk in the cells where he was kept, and they still had on display many of the torture devices that were used on him. It was horrific and devastating, and a reminder of what people went through due to their religion. We then headed to the Cavern Church, where I finally spotted my bud St. John and snapped a pic! We walked through and saw the well where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus used to survive, and were told that still to this day no one knows where the water comes from. It is thought of as a miracle. You continue walking through to see the area where the holy family hid while under prosecution from Rome. It was amazing to think that Jesus and Mary had been there, I felt like I could a deep religious presence when in the church. I felt a deep calling while there to pray and think about my religion. Later we went to the Church of St. Barbara, where Barbara had hidden due to her Christian religious affiliations to be later discovered and brutally killed by her family. With this church, we were done with Coptic Cairo and headed to the Citadel. Our tour guide was very smart, with a degree in Egyptology. However, he walked sooooo fast and we were always being left behind! We had to keep reminding him that we were a lot slower than him, and wanted to take time to take in all of the sights. At the Citadel was the Mosque Alnasser of Mohamed Bin Qalaoon and the Mosque of Mohamed Ali. The first mosque was large and beautiful. The indoor/outdoor aspect of the Mosque was impressive and beautiful with sunlight peering through the middle. However, the Mosque of Mohamed Ali was the most breathtaking and incomparable. The chandeliers and murals inside the Mosque were works of art. We exited the Mosque, where there was a balcony overseeing all of the city. Another breathtaking view for an amazing day!
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