Sad departure

So today marks the last day that I am was in Egypt. I am really doing to still be here for another night, but it is in the Sinai and not in mainland Egypt, so it doesn't count. But today was a good way to end the trip from Egypt, going into the Citadel of Cairo and getting to see the Muhammad Ali Mosque as well as seeing the churches in Old Cairo.

The churches in Old Cairo were amazing to see. We went to the place where they think that Mary and Joseph may have fled to when they came to Egypt. The church's around here were very simple and they were not as well taken care of as the ones that we have seen in other locations. I guess to their benefit one of the churches was under renovation as they tried to clean it up, but it was interesting never the less. We went to the Hanging Church which is the main church for the Coptic's and it is a simple church, but really has a wonderful marble pulpit for the priest to stand on. The hanging church is the only one in which we were allowed to take pictures (i really was getting annoyed by this point) but it was still a magnificent building. We also saw the Ben Ezra Synagogue which is this great little chapel that is really decked out. It was really neat because all of these places in really close to one another, and so the old city is a symbol that even here the three big religions can get along.

This motif is also seen in the huge Muhammad Ali mosque. This was cool to see not only because of how grand it is, but because it is built just like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, so now i don't have to plan that trip! The motif of the three monotheistic religions is seen in the minarets and obvious Muslim use of the building, with the cross being seen in the crossing of the domes on the building, and a Star of David being seen in the center of the central whole dome. The arcetecture of the building is amazing and it was built for acoustics, with full domes, half domes, and 1/4 domes to help sound go from the place where the imam would sound the prayers throughout the whole dome. Really it was a great place to just think about all of the religions of the world and the conflict that they are in, wondering if a peace is ever going to be found, or what is going to be the final outcome. Truly it will be a sad day when and if any of the great monuments of our time are destroyed, no matter what religion the are from.

I really have grown to have an appreciation for the work of others while on this trip. I may not believe in the way that they do or agree on doctrine, but i can respect the sacrifice that they have made for their religion and I would hope that they would do the same for me. It was interseting also to get to know Islam a little more (our tour-guide, not the religion). I would ask him about different parts of the Islamic faith as he would tell us things that i had never heard, like, did you know that the reason for the head covering for the women in Islam is becuase that is the way they belive that the Virgin Mary dressed, and she is the most important lady in Islam? I had no idea! He even had part of the surra that described the virgin birth and it was really interseting to read the different account of what they belived happened It's a little different, but amazing in it's own way.

The rest of the day was really just a drive to Morganland, the last place that we were going to spend the night, just about 10 min from Mt. Sinai. I really cannot wait to climb this mountain and see what it does for my life. Maybe i'll get some commandments eh?