We arrived in Cairo from Aswan about 10:30 AM. The strange thing about Egyptair is that they have no jet ways. You have to walk down the stairs of the plane (like the old days) or either walk to the terminal or take a bus, depending on the distance. I did watch a lot of people struggling with their carry on luggage on the stairs. Other than that, they are a modern airline.

Lunch was next on the agenda in a beautiful outdoor cafe. Lots of Egyptian appetizers followed by soup and my vegan dish of curried mushrooms that was very good. Our tour this afternoon was very different from the past, a tour of Coptic Churches in Old Cairo, mainly Christian Churches dating previous to Jesus Christ.

Although not as famous as its Islamic counterpart, Coptic Cairo is the oldest area in Old Cairo, dating back to the period before the Muslim conquest of Egypt established the city as we know it today. It was the center of Christianity in Egypt for hundreds of years. We visited three churches.

The first was the Church of the Virgin Mary or the Hanging Church and probably the most famous. It dates back to the 4th century. It was built in the Basilican style above the southern gate of the Roman Babylon Fortress thus making it suspended. It has been shored up but you can still feel the floor move if you jump on it and everyone in our tour jumped that the same time.

The next was St. George’s Church, a Greek Orthodox Church that was built on the northern tower of the Babylon Fortress and is distinguished by its impressive dome and gorgeous interior. On display they have the tools that were used to torture St. George and the cells that he was kept it. The church dates back to the 10th century but was rebuilt in 1904 after a fire.

The third church was the Saints Sergio and Bacchus Church and considered to be Egypt’s oldest church. It was built on the place where Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus stayed when they were fleeing King Herod. All you fellow Catholics remember that Herod was killing all baby boys two years and younger (at least according to the Gospel).

An interesting fact about the Jewish population in Cairo. There are 37 Jews in Cairo and 23 synagogues. I am not sure who supports the 23 synagogues.

Then on to my favorite thing on vacation – shopping. Unfortunately we were going to my least favorite place for shopping, the market. Just like I don’t like to fight with my food, I hate the haggling, especially when it’s for something I want. I definitely do not have a poker face. I am an open book. So we walked around for a while and Peggy bought some cute tee shirts for her infant grand daughter. Our guide, Tarik, was hanging out at a coffee shop while the group was shopping so we decided to sit with him. Of course, we had to be sitting right in front of a jewelry store. Not bazaar jewelry but a real jewelry store. I start window shopping and the next thing you know I am inside the shop and we all know what happens next….. I find this gorgeous sterling silver mother of pearl necklace. So I go outside and get Tarik. He and the owner are going back and forth about the quality of the piece and Tarik is making sure that the stones are real. They come to a price that I think is acceptable and then, of course, I have to ask about earrings. The owner finds a pair that are a close match. Tarik says – don’t you think they are kind of big? I answer that it is never too big for earrings or diamonds. Everybody laughed. Needless to say I ended up one happy little girl.

We returned to the hotel for our farewell dinner in a very beautiful Italian restaurant called Tuscany. Lots of good times and laughs and a sad farewell to our guide. This man truly loves what he does and all things Egypt. A 2:45 AM wake up call for our flight to Jordan.