|
COPTIC
EGYPT
 Most
people
associate
Egypt
with
Islam
today,
but
Christianity
was
actually
the
dominant
religion
between
the
fourth
century
AD and
641 AD,
when
Islam
officially
took
over.
St. Mark
first
preached
Christianity
in 50
AD, and
Egypt
was one
of the
first
countries
to adopt
the
still
young
faith.
The
Egyptian
branch
of
Christianity
is
called
the
Coptic
Church.
Unlike
other
branches
of
Christianity,
the
Coptics
believe
that
Christ
was a
wholly
divine
being
and not
God made
flesh.
One in
every
ten
Egyptians
is a
Coptic
today.
The
Coptic
Church
has its
own
Pope,
and many
ceremonies
are
still
held in
the
ancient
Coptic
language.
The
Holy
Family's
Journey
If you
know the
bible
well,
you'll
remember
that
Jesus
and the
Holy
family
fled
from
Bethlehem
to
Egypt,
seeking
refuge
from a
bloodthirsty
King
Herod.
They
made an
arduous
2,000km
trek by
donkey
over
four
years
which
took
them
over 30
different
places
in
Egypt,
from Al-Farma
down to
the Al-Muharraq
monastery.
Needless
to say,
the Holy
Family's
Journey
is an
extremely
important
event in
the
Coptic
tradition,
and they
celebrate
Jesus'
arrival
in Egypt
every
year on
June 1st
(the
24th day
of the
Coptic
month
Bashans).
Coptic
Monuments
Alexandria
was once
one of
the
major
seats of
the
Roman
Empire
and many
beautiful
Coptic
monuments
record
the
great
triumphs
of those
years of
glory.
Virgin's
Tree
Many
places
are
named in
honour
of the
Virgin
Mary,
but the
Virgin's
tree is
one of
very few
to have
been
visited
by Mary
herself
with
young
Jesus by
her
side.
They're
thought
to have
taken
shelter
beneath
the
tree's
bowed
branches,
refreshing
themselves
from the
same
spring
that
waters
its old
roots.
 Al-Muallaqa
(Hanging)
Church
Dating
the al-Muallaqa
church
definitively
has
proven
difficult
due to
its
various
makeovers
throughout
the
years,
but it
was
completed
sometime
between
the
seventh
and
ninth
century
on top
of what
was the
Water
Gate on
the
southern
wall of
the
fortress
of
Babylon.
In fact,
the gate
is still
visible
through
a hole
in the
baptistery's
floor.
The
church's
two bell
towers
soar to
an
awe-inspiring
13m at
their
highest
peak.
Beneath
its
hallowed
vaulted
ceilings,
the
major
events
of the
Coptic
calendar
are
celebrated
to a
spectacular
effect.
During
the
Enthronement
of the
Patriarch,
its
impressive
collection
of
censers,
chalices
and
crosses
in gold,
silver
and gilt
go on
full
display.
 Saint
Catherine's
Monastery
It was
at the
top of
Mt Sinai
that
Moses
received
the ten
commandments
from
God. At
its
base,
besides
what is
rumoured
to be
the
burning
bush of
biblical
fame, is
the
Greek
Orthodox
Monastery
of Saint
Catherine.
The
monastery
was
named
after an
early
Christian
martyr
from
Alexandria
and the
Emperor
Justinian
had a
basilica
built to
house
her
recovered
remains
many
centuries
later.
Today,
the
church
is lined
with
spectacularly
ornate
icons
and
scriptural
paintings.
Its
monastery
museum
is home
to the
world's
second
largest
collection
of
illuminated
manuscripts
in
Greek,
Arabic,
Hebrew,
Coptic
and
Georgian.
 Church
of Mar
Guirguis
(St
George)
Not to
be
confused
with
England's
dragon-slaying
hero,
Mar
Guirguis
was an
early
martyr
from
Palestine,
put to
death by
the
Romans
in the
fourth
century.
The
first
church
to bear
his name
was
built
some six
centuries
later.
The
elegant
circular
domed
church
you see
today
stands
on its
fire-ravaged
remains,
built at
the turn
of the
twentieth
century.
Inside,
the
church
is
bathed
in the
magnificent
multicoloured
glow of
its
striking
stained
glass
windows.
 The
Coptic
Museum
(Old
Cairo)
Just
approaching
it's
first
century,
the
Coptic
Museum
in Cairo
is a
treasure
trove of
relics
from
Egypt's
early
Christians,
where
you can
find :
scraps
of
painted
textiles,
manuscripts
and
icons,
frescoes
and
carvings
in wood,
ivory,
glass
and
stone.
Behind
its
understated
scallop-shell
archways,
the 13
halls of
the old
wing are
currently
undergoing
a
massive
face-lift.
However,
the 17
halls of
the new
wing
house
the bulk
of the
exhibits
and an
enclosed
garden.
Church
of Abu
Serga
(St
Sergius)
Built on
the site
where
the Holy
Family
is said
to have
taken
refuge
on the
flight
into
Egypt. |
|
ISLAMIC
EGYPT
In 642
AD, the
Byzantine
Empire
(the
empire
that
introduced
Christianity
to
Europe)
was
conquered
by an
army of
Arabs
and
Egypt
became
part of
an
expanding
Islamic
Empire.
Islam
became
the
dominant
religion
and it's
stayed
that way
ever
since.
Today,
nine out
of ten
Egyptians
are
Muslim.
A new
capital
was
established
at
Fustat,
the
first
Islamic
city of
Egypt
(modern
day
Cairo).
When the
Fatimids
invaded
in 969
AD, they
built a
new seat
of power
and
Fustat
became
al-Qahirah
(the
official
name of
the city
of
Cairo).
Only
traces
of their
legacy
survive
to this
day. It
was the
legendary
Saladin
who
finally
vanquished
the
Fatimids
in the
twelfth
century
and he
built
the
magnificent
Citadel
as we
know it
today.
Regarding
the
Fatimids,
the
Mamluks
and the
Ottomans,
each
dynasty
left its
own
unique
mark
through
elegant
domed
mosques,
"Madrassas"
and
mausoleums,
with
slender,
soaring
minarets.
Well
over a
millennium
of
uninterrupted
Islamism,
Egypt
has a
wealth
of
architectural,
historical
and
religious
mosques
and
these
are just
a few of
the
'must-see'
across
the
country.
 The
Citadel
(Cairo)
The seat
of
Egypt's
power
and the
lifeblood
of Cairo
for
seven
centuries,
the
Citadel
was
Saladin's
creation
of an
imperial
Islamic
complex
with
unrivalled
views
over the
medieval
city.
Partly a
palace,
partly
an
inaccessible
fortress,
the
Citadel
is split
into
three
different
sections
inside
its
tremendous
walls.
Though
entirely
Islamic,
its
myriad
mosques
and
palaces
were
shaped
by
different
kingdoms.
The
Ottomans
rebuilt
the
Citadel
in their
own
image.
Mohammed
Ali's
nineteenth
century
typically
Turkish
Mosque
dominates
the
entire
city.
Its
bubble-like
domes
loom
over the
modern
city
skyline.
The
Mosque
of an-Nasr
Mohammed,
with its
towering
spiral
minarets,
is the
only of
Mamluk's
fine
buildings
to
survive
the
Ottoman's
demolition
derby.
Today,
the
Citadel's
grand
palaces
have
been
given a
new
lease of
life to
their
medieval
masters
as
modern
museums.
 Mosque
of Amr
Ibn
al-As
It was
Amr Ibn
al-As
who
brought
Islam to
Egypt,
and his
namesake
was
Egypt's
first
ever
mosque.
In fact,
it's the
oldest
mosque
in
Africa,
as well
as one
of the
most
unconventional.
The
original
mosque
was
rather
rudimentary,
rumoured
to be
built of
mud
bricks,
palm
trunks
and
leaves.
What you
see
today is
the
result
of
endless
re-invention.
Most
striking
is the
conspicuous
absence
of the
usual
minaret
or domed
roof.
With its
rectangular
figure,
clean
lines
and
eclectic
clash of
styles,
it looks
as
different
to the
average
mosque
today as
it must
have
then.
 Al-Azhar
Mosque
It was
the
Fatimids
of
Tunisia
who
built
the Al-Azhar
Mosque
in 970
AD, with
its
myriad
minarets
and
assortment
of
domes.
The
modern
day
mosque
has
evolved
architecturally
over
many
centuries.
But its
purpose
and
status
remain
unchanged
as It is
still
the
epicentre
of study
and
teaching
for
Egypt's
Sunni
Muslims
to this
day. Al-Azhar's
Mosque
is not
just a
religious
school,
it is a
fully
fledged
academic
institution,
the
equivalent
of the
Ancient
Greek
academies
only
older.
Lectures
no
longer
happen
in the
mosque
itself,
but it
is still
the
official
home of
the
university.
Mohammed
Ali
Mosque
No, not
that
Mohammed
Ali,
this
Mohammed
Ali
ushered
in
Egypt's
modern
age. Now
the
finest
jewel in
Cairo's
fantastic
Citadel
and an
unmissable
part of
the city
skyline,
this is
a modern
mosque,
in
honour
of a
thoroughly
modern
man.
Designed
in the
grand
Ottoman
style by
a Greek
architect,
the
construction
of the
alabaster
began in
1830. It
opened
its
sacred
door 27
years
later.
Its
needle-like
minarets
pierce
the
clouds
at a
dizzying
270
feet.
 The
Blue
Mosque
(The
Aqsunqur
Mosque)
The Blue
Mosque
gets its
name
from its
most
spectacular
feature,
a blue
mosaic
of
majolica
tiles
that
cover
the
eastern
wall.
The Blue
Mosque
is a
Mamluk
monument,
commissioned
by
Prince
Aqsunqur
al-Nassery
in 1347.
It's
also
renowned
for its
unorthodox
4 storey
minaret,
its
magnificent
marble
mihrab,
and its
vine
leaf and
grape
patterned
Minbar
(pulpit).
Mosque
of
Sultan
Hassan
Standing
at the
foot of
the
Citadel,
this
building
(1356-1362)
is a
perfect
example
of
Mameluk
architecture
–
austere
and
imposing
outside,
curving
and
spacious
inside.
The
Rifai
Mosque
opposite,
where
kings
Farouk
and
Fouad
and the
Shah of
Iran are
buried,
is
merely a
showy
pastiche
constructed
at the
beginning
of the
twentieth
century.
|
