Muslims on the Nile

A month before I left India I finally hooked up with my dream girl. Katja was Dutch and she traveled to Goa, India with her boyfriend. They broke up, and I got the girl. For one night. Only one night because she was leaving to go back to Holland the very next day. I thought that was the end of it, but I had to tell her I was on my way to Egypt and she should join me. She said she would think about it. Two weeks later I called her. She made up her mind and said she had a flight on the same day and would meet me at the Cairo airport. I had my dream girl back.

The Caliph's Palace.

In Cairo, every day was a new adventure for Katja and I. One day we rode horses through the desert to Zosar's Step Pyramid. Another day we strolled around the old city and the Caliph's Palace. Of course, the Cairo museum took a whole day. The funniest day was getting kicked out of the Mohammed Ali mosque for kissing under the dome. Ahhhh, we've seen better temples!

Mohammed Ali mosque inside the Citadel.

Egypt is a rather unique culture, one heavily influenced by religion. The men wear long traditional robes and the women are clad in black dresses with head scarves. Egyptians regularly pray five times per day -- before dawn, early morning, in the afternoon, at sunset, and in the early evening. All worshippers in the mosque face and pray towards the holy city of Mecca, even those on the streets during call-to-prayer. The call-to-prayer minarets are scattered all over Cairo, and it is not uncommon to hear several services going on at the same time over different loudspeakers. This could be confusing if you didn’t know which way Mecca was.

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