The Land Before Time: Papyrus IV - Islamic Cairo, Citadel

Egypt might sound like a very hot place but in fact it does experience winter too! Around the end/beginning of year, temperature in Cairo is like our aircon temperature in SG. At night, it can even drop below 10 degC! At some parts of Cairo with higher altitude, temperature can even reach freezing point. Although there is no snow, frost can be observed. In desert climates the daily temperature range can be pretty drastic yea?

Unfortunately when we visited there, it was just the beginning of summer. Not the hottest yet, but I could already feel the power of the sun. Temperature wise it's similar to hot days in SG. As I said previously, Cairo is considered one of the coolest place in Egypt...

Where did I left off in the previous papyrus? Ok...After visiting Al Azhar and Ibn Tulun Mosques, I spent an hour looking for the entrance to the huge mosque located on elevated ground.

Finally...found the entrance after a long walk along some expressway-ish main road. Saw foreign tourists too! I haven't seen any tourists at all around the city centre since I reached Cairo. Must be due to the protest at Tahrir Square.

Welcome to the Citadel! This Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the central icon of this fortress, surrounded by high fortified walls.

The courtyard. Hmm I still prefer the plain design of Ibn Tulun Mosque. Sometimes simplicity is the best.

The interior is pretty indeed. Love the suspended lamps arranged in concentric circles.

Not to forget to turn my head up to see the ceiling, which is also an art by itself.

Quite a few tour groups seated in circles listening to the tour guide explaining on the history about Citadel. No tour guide to listen to, so just slept on the comfy carpet =p

Don't worry, this is not Phantom of the Opera - the chandelier won't fall on you.

Barricade for curious tourists like me who have the urge to climb up this stairs (called minbar)

A marvelous view of Mosque of Muhammad Ali, standing tall and proud at Citadel.

Fortresses are usually located on high ground, so they often have nice views of the city.

Now I understand why Cairo is called the 'City of Thousand Minarets'...

A tree which has been styled to be an ideal shelter. Wanted to find one but it looks like all of them are occupied =(

Ibn Tulun Mosque seen from afar! After the entire trip this remains my favourite mosque out of all. Plain and tranquil. 有种返璞归真的感觉

The huge mosques we saw from atop the minaret of Ibn Tulun, and along the way here.

This roof looks like some...oil tank? Lol. Do I see HDB flats on the upper left background?

The buildings with 'a different colour' stands out from the rest. By the way, CAN YOU SEE IT??? As usual the weather isn't that good but it's amazing how ancient people managed to build such large structures. Be patient...we shall come to it soon.

I called for hamburger and they gave me this lol. Where's the meat? Yes, it's inside - in one long and slim slice.

Police National Museum. Too bad it was closed =(

Instead, we visited the National Military Museum, which is quite an eye-opener.

Must be some honorable knight.

Open display of fighter jets! Kamikaze! Lol....

Reminds me of my days as an armored vehicle technician...

The Egyptians seem to take much pride in their military prowess.

Their military has a long long history...tracing back to the Pharonic age.

This is one of the few museums in Egypt that allow phototaking. What's more, the interior is done up really nicely and it's very photo-worthy. Enjoy!

I think this place was once a palace.

The Knights of Valor

Looks like a typical warrior in a medieval Real-Time Strategy game lol.

万众一心！携手迈进！

Looks like victory =)

Insignias of lieutenants and generals.

Nice flag and carpet.

The Islamic Era

步入红地毯

Salute to the past honorable generals.

May your legacy live on...

The artillery section

Under attack!

Cinderella...lol

Unfortunately we were asked to leave the museum halfway (or maybe more than three-quarter way) because it is closing. =(

That's all for Citadel. The place is pretty big and we didn't have time to finish visiting what it offers, such as the Carriage Museum. Oh well...

TLBT Tip No.5: Personally I think for sightseeing trips it's better to start the day early and end the day early. This is to utilize the daytime as much as possible, and to avoid disappointment when attractions close early in the late afternoon. After all we always go to bed after the sky becomes dark, but never set off before the sky turns bright. (ie. the first few hours of daytime is wasted on sleeping/preparing to leave) This is the reason why tour groups usually set off very early in the morning, much to people's complaints. Unfortunately most of us will tend to stay up until late at night (for various reasons), hence being unable to commit to waking up early to set off as planned.

The Land Before Time: Papyrus III - Islamic Cairo, Al Azhar Mosque & Ibn Tulun Mosque

I believe everyone knows how the climate is like for a desert country. Yes indeed, the sun in Egypt is the powered-up version of what we have in SG. It can really merciless - its sunrays scorches and penetrates into the skin. The highest rated sunblock is a necessity. Long sleeved shirts is a must if you want to prevent sunburn. Even though I don't really like wearing something over my head, I find my cap pretty useful under such weather.

One good thing is that since the climate is dry and arid, you hardly sweat in Egypt. So you can cover yourself up with clothes without worrying about the disgusting sweat.

At that time we went there, the temperature was about 32-35 degC. Cairo is one of the cooler parts of Egypt, despite being such an urbanized city. The streets rarely have shelters, so museums or subway stations offer the best resting spots.

Entrance of Al Azhar Mosque. Have to take off shoes before entering the mosque.

The courtyard. I didn't dare to cut across lol. (And it's cooler to walk around the perimeter anyway...)

As you can see, the courtyard marble floor is so spotlessly clean that the reflection of the mosque can be seen!

That tall spire/tower is called a 'minaret'. It's a beautiful piece of architecture that compliments the central dome.

The prayer hall. It also serves as a good escape from the sun. It's unexpectedly cooling (and quiet) here and I see people sleeping soundly haha.

There were some books about Islam so we browsed through them while relaxing on the cool carpeted floor.

Streets of Cairo. Yes, all their buildings have the same colour...

I'm guessing the sign reads as some bazaar. It doesn't look like it because of all the mess in front lol.

I feel like Aladdin walking through Agrabah.

Bazaar...but not very active yet. Nowadays in SG I rarely see stores hanging their toys like that haha.

Egyptian's staple food - pita bread. Even though I'm a bread lover, these don't look very appetizing to me haha. There are tons of flies on it too. And the way they handle the bread at eateries is not very sanitary - the people just grab the bread by their bare (and dirty?) hands and place them directly on the table surface without any plates or saucers. Too used to SG's hygienic society =p

Goose...and rabbits! Oh no they are going to be... ...poor thing T_T

Ibn Tulun Mosque...I guess this is it, even though I can't read the sign. The exterior looks like another typical mosque on the street.

Wah I'm entering the castle walls!

I'm the King! That's my tower! Heh heh.

Once again, to enter the main hall we had to take off our shoes. It can be quite a hassle sometimes, not because the shoes are troublesome to remove or anything but...

TLBT Tip No.4: When visiting mosques, it's best to bring a plastic bag to put your shoes in, and take them along with you inside. Because sometimes there are no proper place to put your shoes and even if there is, it has the risk of getting stolen. Because of this (and for convenience sake), an attendant will help visitors to put on a plastic cover on their shoes so that they can walk in without removing their shoes. Since the attendant helped you, you must also give something in return right? Yup you got it...tips!! (aka baksheesh) To avoid all these baksheesh, just BYOB.

Anyway I provide all these tips out of kindness, don't have to give me baksheesh.

WOW...I was blown off when I first saw the size of the courtyard. Though the floor is not made of marble, it looks terribly clean.

Walked a perimeter around the courtyard to appreciate its beauty. I see a minaret with spiral stairs! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

The corridors look so artistically beautiful.

Had the urge to climb up this raised platform....

And thus we paid baksheesh to have the attendant let us access the 2nd floor (aka roof) and minaret...

WOO HOO! The roof is just as FLAT as the courtyard lol. But I like it!!! (But it's so hot HOT, I shouldn't have worn short sleeves actually)

I tried to walk to the edge...indeed, the roof is totally flat and has no railings. Once you fall, that's it...haha.

Climbed the spiral staircase of the minaret. Yay!

From the top of the minaret, the entire courtyard can be seen.

Kudos to these cleaners who maintain the courtyard spick and span always. Thankfully it rarely rains in Egypt.

I like this skyline...there are countless minarets!! And the mosques are so pretty.

A smaller prayer hall beside. I can even peek into the mini-courtyard.

Wah this view is a little KABOOM...hard to describe lol. Anyway can you spot tons of satellite dishes on the rooftops? (can be a little hard to distinguish due to the colour)

Off to the next destination! Traversing the streets of Cairo can be dangerous (due to the haphazard traffic) yet challenging (learning how to find your way) and fun (able to see many sights not seen in SG).

Ooh..this is one of the mosques we saw on top of Ibn Tulun just now!

Another splendid view of the mosque. Didn't visit this due to time constrain.

First time seeing such a landscape in a city area - sandy plateau. There seems to be a facility up there.

Ah ha...this is another one of the huge mosques we spotted on top of Ibn Tulun just now. You know what...we spent almost an hour trying to get to that mosque even though it's just right in front of us. Didn't know how the get across the walls to the higher ground. Then we realised that the entrance is actually far far away from here...right on the other end. -_____-

What's the huge mosque (which seems different from the rest)? We shall continue on the next papyrus =)