Day 4 – The Road to Alexandria - 1/29/2010

Once again we awoke in Cairo at the Mena House. Before boarding the bus we decided to rectify the fifty piastre/pound. I exchanged $120 in US dollars at the Mena House while Charles was checking out. The Mena House had a currency exchange office right across from the main desk. $120 bought about 600 Egyptian pounds. I didn’t realize that the currency exchange had it’s own security guard on station until I heard the gentle snoring coming from a reclining figure of a security guard seated in the corner. No doubt he was a victim of excess celebration from the prior nights victory.

We boarded the bus to Alexandria. About halfway between Cairo and Alexandria is the Wadi El Natrun  (Natron Valley.) Until recently this area was very much a desert, known mostly for the salt lakes scattered across the valley. This area is primarily known for Coptic Christian monasteries and the natron salt used in the mummification process. Recently, the area has seen extensive growth due to desert reclamation. One new feature of the area was the dominance of little three-wheeled taxi cabs, big enough for only three people. One particularly amusing cab had a pirate flag draped over the front of the vehicle, a rather incongruous additional to such a harmless seeming vehicle.

Our first stop was to the Coptic monastery of Saint Pishoy. Along the road to the monastery was a salt lake. Farms surround the monastery, and we passed through one after the bus went through the security gate. Our bus dropped us off at the fifty-foot high walls of the original monastery. The doorway to the monastery was very low, but the door itself was wooden and bound with iron and was impressively thick. On the outside walls near the door was a bell. In ancient times a rope would have led ground to allow petitions for entrants.

Our group walked into the cloister. The cloister was a peaceful garden with palm trees and other greenery. We met our guide at the edge of the cloister near the Martyr’s Well. Our guide was Cedrack, a monk. He guided us through the monastery.

He showed us an original working donkey-driven grain mill. It used volcanic stone from hundreds of miles away and donkey power to mill flour. It is one of the oldest surviving such mills. Next up was an old refectory, where all the monks would gather together to eat. Then he took us through St. Bishoy’s Church. He explained the features that matched the ancient Egyptian temples that carried over into these churches. We had to take off our shoes before entering, something that also has to be done while visiting mosques.





He showed us the Martyr’s Well. Invaders had slain dozens of monks and had used the well to clean their swords. He took us up onto the roof. To reach it we had to pass a wooden drawbridge. This drawbridge would have been pulled up in case of Bedouin attacks. 

Once on the roof he gave a lecture. He mentioned his love for peace. He spoke about Islam and how wahhabism from Saudi Arabia was corrupting Islam with tribal beliefs that advocated violence against Christians. He compared US and European immigration policies towards Muslims with the ancient practices of the monastery. Those primitive tribal Bedouins who would attack without justification for monetary gain would not be allowed entrance to the monastery. If Bedouins rang the bell in front of the gates, the monks would lower down food and water but would not let them inside their defenses.

The tour ended and he invited us to a free lunch. On the monastery grounds was a giant open-air shelter that could accommodate hundreds. There were dozens already in the tent, visitors to the monastery that were already partaking of the free lunch. Lunch consisted of beans, bread and hot tea. The beans were flavored by oil and salt. After we ate the beans and bread we were given a cup of hot sweat tea. After lunch we met up with Cedrack once again and he talked to us in private for half an hour, answering all our questions.

He gave one of members his business card:

Cedrack Anba Bishoy

Orden Priester

p.cedrack@bluemail.ch

After leaving the monastery we stopped by the salt lake not too far down the road. The shores of the lake were crusted with natron salt. This was the salt used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process. Charles and I picked up a bag of the salt for any future mummification needs. Hopefully, airport security won’t mistake the sale for something else.

We continued to Alexandria. Alexandria seems less poor and more modern than Cairo. Intersections have traffic lights and the cars don’t take them as mere suggestions. The buildings are more modern but seem run down. There are none of the half-finished brick apartment buildings; instead more modern looking but weathered buildings take their place. The people wear more colorful and western clothing, but nowhere does one see women without head coverings. Alexandria is like the reverse Florida to Egyptians. When it gets too warm in the summer southerners head North to cool off in the cooler weather of this Mediterranean port.

We stopped of at the new Library of Alexander built within 200 meters of the old library’s location, now sunken beneath the waves. The building is a modernist piece with no hint of Greco-roman influence. The outside of the building is covered with letters of every alphabet known to exist.

Our hotel for the next two days was the Paradise Inn. It was a beautifully constructed hotel built in the 1920s. The ceiling of our hotel room had to be at least twenty-five feet high. The hotel was built prior to air-conditioning and the height helped keep the warm air up and the cool air down.

We were on our own for dinner and our hotel was situated a stones throw from one of the more popular Egyptian restaurants: KFC. We met a friendly Egyptian named Ahmed on our two hundred foot walk to KFC. He help translate our order and showed us where we could buy a two-liter coke for only ten Egyptian pounds.  Ahmed said that he had been in the United States before. He had lived in North Carolina for a while. Ahmed followed us back to the hotel, on our way we found another couple from our group had managed to find a similarly helpful Egyptian translator. As we slipped into our hotel, KFC and two liter coke in toe Ahmed mentioned to us that he had an uncle who owned a sneaker store just down the street and be sure to pay a visit before we left. After consuming inhuman amounts of chicken we fell asleep, eager for the next day’s adventure.