Cairo

Thursday (9 June) was a day for settling in. Along with three of my fellow teachers – Michael, Dea and Ian – we spent the morning navigating our way up and down Road 9 in Ma’adi to purchase some basics for our time here. We ended up at our favorite Greco Café for coffee and air conditioning – not necessarily in that order.

It was hot today. A dry hot wind blew hot air up and down the long halls of the seminary so that it felt a little like a furnace when you walked outside of your room. Baptism by heat, I guess.

Late this afternoon the four of us

made our way by metro to Sadat Station where we exited at Tahrir Square. My favorite picture (which I’ll try to post) was a graffiti-ed wall across the green from where we were standing that said “Enjoy the Revolution!” It was amazing to think of how over the course of a few weeks that relatively small stretch of green became the birthplace of a new Egypt – one that’s still struggling to be born.

What was most amazing to me today was the scene on the walls at the Sadat Metro station. As we exited the station there was a long hallway covered with pictures from the revolution. And another wall was covered with various paintings, photographs and other artistic expressions inspired by recent events. What struck me in this is that everywhere you go in Egypt you see references to history – usually ancient, pharaonic history. This is the first time that I recall seeing artistic reference to modern Egyptian history. It was quite moving. There was a palpable sense that people are very proud of what they’ve accomplished (and also that there is a long way to go).

In addition to our visit to Tahrir Square we strolled over to the bridge along the Nile and grabbed dinner in the city. By the time we started to make our way back, night had come and the energy and electricity in the city came alive! Cairo really is a remarkable, energy-filled city. It’s amazing to behold the juxtapositions of old and new, ancient and modern that are everywhere.

I hear the echoes of the final prayer of the day. It’s 8:30 p.m. or so local time as I write this. Time for me to clean up, read a bit and crash for the night. Hoping to worship at St. Andrew’s, Cairo in the morning. Always grateful for this opportunity.