Cairo and Giza

November 11-13, 2020

By Hector Gonzalez

November 13^th, 2020

We don't get out much. It's been a pretty busy time, and there's that whole, you know, deadly virus on a rampage. Beyond that, I still don't have my camera with me, and I really don't like shooting on my phone unless I have to. However, this week we managed to take two nice excursions, and I realize I haven't posted anything at all about my new home, so here you go.

On Wednesday we had the day off, so Laura and I went to Cairo's medieval quarter, often called Islamic Cairo. This is the original walled city founded in the 900s. The modern world intrudes all over the place inside, but the romantic atmosphere remains. I did the best I could with my phone.

And immediately outside of the gates, modern Cairo begins.

Our neighborhood looks nothing like that. Maadi, where we live, is on the southern edge of Cairo. It was planned in the early 1900s and shows it, with broad streets, plenty of sidewalks and parks, and lovely homes spanning the styles of the 20th century. It is worlds away from the medieval quarter. In fact, it looks like this.

Today's journey, though, took us far away from mid-century Maadi or medieval Cairo, and all the way back to the beginning of everything. We ventured across the river to Giza, about thirty minutes by car and 5000 years in time. And this is what we saw.