Cairo – November 2024
Mono- og multitheism in Cairo
NB! THIS TRIP IS NOW SOLD OUT.
In a dictionary, the words Cairo and cacophony are on the same page. In Cairo you’ll find huge crowds as well as, shall we say, vigorous traffic. Life in the city is at all times buoyant, exuberant and dynamic. A resting heart rate is difficult to achieve.
At the same time, it is the Islamic culture’s unofficial capital. The city has also inherited the only man made construction who can hold back time. Bygone days in the Western desert and life everywhere.
Cairo can be your home from 9th November 2024 for a week. We are staying at the 4* Hotel Flamenco Cairo in Zamalek. Below is our program we trust you’ll find exciting – and tempting.
You are more than welcome to call us on +45 5273 6316 if you have questions. Weekdays from 10 am to 6 pm. Saturdays from 10.00 am to 3 pm.
Parnassos.dk is a Danish company and member of Rejsegarantifonden ↗, the Danish equivalent of ABTA (You can verify our membership by following this link↗). Just type our company name in the relevant field.
Rejsegarantifonden guarantees your money – independently from where you book your trip – whilst we guarantee your adventures.
Professor Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen
We are proud to be able to announce that the leading Danish Islam expert, Professor Jacob Skovgaard-Petersen of Copenhagen University, will join us throughout the week in Cairo. He will give us solid grounding for our exploration of one of the world’s largest cultures.
As you are reading this in English it’s a reasonable assumption that you are not from Denmark, so, to give some background:
Professor Skovgaard-Petersen was embroiled in controversy in the 2000s, when he was attacked by the right-wing press over his attitude towards the Muhammad cartoon crisis and his opinions on immigration. Sad and shameful. Unless you see it from a marketing point of view; then it doesn’t get much better than that.
We will be treated to his many stories about the city, including when, during the 1980s, he lived in Old Cairo, the most exotic part of the city, where he picked up yellow fever, one of the most exotic diseases. (No longer a risk in Egypt.)
Concerning our specific tour, Jakob says,
Cairo is not only one of the oldest cities in the world, it has for centuries also been one of the largest, as it is today. The many historical eras are still visible in the city, not only beneath the surface but in the many distinctive districts. This is one of the reasons why a walk through Cairo feels like entering a time machine.
Our journey in November is such a tour through its many layers. From the Pharaonic to the Hellenistic, Christian and Jewish in the Fustat quarter. Onwards to the Arab conquest and the Fatimid Caliphate’s new town, al-Qahira, continuing to the heyday of the Mamelukes (1250-1517).
We will visit the Osmanic town that [Danish/German explorer] Carsten Niebuhr visited and later on Napoleon conquered.
Then we arrive at the elegant fin-de-siècle Cairo with boulevards and parks. From the colonial days’ nationalistic expressions to the independence in 1954 and socialism’s modernism. We will finally arrive at today’s Cairo with slums, chaos, decay, side by side with the new rich quarters.
It takes time to master a city like Cairo. But we will give it a try during our stay.
As mentioned, Jakob will stay with us throughout the week. Not only is he an expert in the Arabic cultures, his command of the Arabic language is at a level where even the Danish expats feel intimidated.
Ben Ezra synagogen in Cairo
And where will Jakob lead us to?
He will take us to old Cairo, Islamic Cairo followed by the Fustat district, where we will visit the newly inaugurated Ben Ezra synagogue.
Ben Ezra is among the most interesting synagogues in the world. It has just been reopened – on the 31st August 2023 – after a major renovation. A visit is a must. But it is not particularly easy. It will be towards the end of our stay in Cairo, as the authorities need copies of our passports at least 3 days before the gate to the synagogue opens for us. Dorte Vestentoft, from the Danish embassy, has promised to take care of all the practical aspects of this.
According to tradition, the synagogue is located at exactly the same place as the infant Moses was found in a reed boat. The building probably dates from the pre-Islamic period. It has seen a bit of everything since then. Apart from its peculiar history, the most interesting part about the Cairo Geniza Synagogue its manuscripts.
The Geniza is a storage place for the Jews’ holy writings, as well as written pages containing God’s name, YHVH, as these were allowed to be burned or thrown away. And the Geniza of the Ben Ezra synagogue had accumulated documents on an enormous scale throughout the centuries.
The scholars first became aware of their historical value at the end of the 19th century, documents that were up to 850 years old. We will have another fascinating afternoon.
The City of the Dead
Jacob’s route takes us on to old Cairo, Islamic Cairo and from here to the City of the Dead, whose residents share houses with the living. It is a little spooky. Jakob tells us about the history behind it, about the area, about the Muslim customs associated with it.
By the way, we have listening equipment with us on our tours, so that everyone can hear even if we occasionally are surrounded by large crowds*. This also applies when the guides below take over from Jakob.
(*And don’t be intimidated. A plain clothes police officer will be with us at all times.)
Yasmine El Dorghamy som guide
Yasmine El Dorghamy, assistant professor of the American University in Cairo – who the undersigned has just learned is a good acquaintance of Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen, small world.
We have asked her to give us a lecture and guide us through the large, new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), where we find, among other things, the last or rather latest resting place of the pharaonic mummies.
Her specialty is textiles from Egypt’s earliest days to the present. She is a fantastic and charismatic communicator. She will give us 5000 years of Egyptian history seen through the clothing of the population.
Her CV:
Yasmine El Dorghamy is the founder of Rawi Publishing for Egyptian History, Heritage & Art; a bilingual research and publishing platform. Each year, Rawi publishes its namesake flagship periodical, a reference-quality publication in both English and Arabic, on a selected topic from Egyptian history.
Themes of past editions include the History of Modern Egyptian Art, history of the Egyptian cinema industry and of Egyptian cuisine. The most recent publication focused on Egypt’s costume history and traced the changes and trends in Egyptian dress over five millennia. El Dorghamy also teaches Visual Culture at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Egyptologen from 'the Ministry of Antiquity'
It is with great pleasure and pride we can announce that our Egyptologist for the trip will be Arto Belekdanian, who will take us under his wing for two of the days.
Arto is of Egyptian-Armenian origin. He is a Dr. Phil. in ‘Oriental Studies in Egyptology’ and educated at Oxford University.
He has been an editor for National Geographic and is the BBC’s expert adviser for their programme, ‘Unearthed’. I can find 11 scientific publications in his name.
And he is an extremely pleasant person. For example, if you get stuck in the middle of deciphering the hieroglyphs, he is ready to help you move on to the next sentence.
The image shows him in front of a scene carved in relief on a wall at the Great Temple of Isis in Philae. It depicts a ‘barque shrine’ of a deity. Barque shrines, as the name suggests, were shrines that contained the statue of a deity shaped like boats.
Furthermore, and not least, he works for the ‘Ministry of Antiquity’, which issues permits to visit mausoleums, temples and the like which are closed to the public. It would not be in the spirit of Parnassos.dk not to make the most of that opportunity.
The Pyramids of Djoser
We will head towards the Western desert to visit a number of Pyramids, each and one of them overwhelming and majestic. They are close to unfathomable, especially when we talk about the three large pyramids in Giza.
However, the Egyptologists have a certain ambivalence towards them as they have ended up being almost clichés. No matter, naturally we will visit them. Naturally.
We will let Arto decide the exact program for the two days. He has access to a number of excavation sites near the Djoser pyramid, so our bus will stop here first. We’ll afterwards arrange a light lunch at the nearby and elegant Saqqara Palm Club.
Onwards to the pyramids of Dahshur. Called the Red, White and Black Pyramid respectively.
They are perhaps a touch less magistral than their siblings at Giza, but here you have far fewer tourists and far fewer hustlers of any persuasion. Our Egyptian official guide has promised to keep them at arm’s length. An important little detail, as they can be rather tiresome.
Grand Egyptian Museum
The Pyramid Plateau at Giza
The photo shows the Giza plateau with the three inscrutable and enigmatic pyramids. Just look at them!
Cheops pyramid furthest away, Menkaure’s the closest where you also can see the small pyramids for his three wives. Granted, we are not quite there yet concerning equality between the genders. But I still think we have come far in the past 4,500 years.
I will never tire of this vue. No one will. Back in the 1980’s I was, with a school mate and girlfriend, visiting the pyramids. A guard told us that it is strictly forbidden to climb Cheops Pyramid. But if we must, it is best to climb it from that and that corner. An information he deemed worth some ‘bakshish’. Fair enough.
Today it is strictly forbidden, with or without tips. But looking at them close up and in awe will certainly be on our program.
A Signature Dinner at Mena House
What better way to end our Egyptologist days than with a dinner at the Mena House, just across the pyramid of Cheops?
A hotel, established in 1886, whose mythology is attached to the 20th century.
All kings and queens, heads of states and celebrities would stay during their visit to Cairo, and still do. Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie og Charlie Chaplin to name a few.
It was here, December 1977, that Egypt and Israel sat down for negotiations that ended with the Camp David Accords September the following year.
We have booked a table on Tuesday 12th November 2024 with an unobstructed view over the world’s first wonder. A view and a half it is.
Within the First Security Parameter
At an event at the British Embassy recently, I met a person who is an avid collector of furniture by the Danish designer Arne Jacobsen. He lives within the first security perimeter of the British and American ambassies. If you knew which procedures he has to go through!
His apartment is outstanding and he has given us access to this, where we will arrange a reception. (I think he has a soft spot for Danes).
He is happy to tell us what I find to be genuinely interesting stories about this particular and heavily protected environment or fortification. It is well situated for us as it is rather close to ‘Old Cairo’ which we will visit in the afternoon.
We can probably persuade him to tell us what happened the day the former first wife, Melanie Trump, visited the American Embassy.
Nile by Night
Not a journey to Cairo without a trip on the river Nile. For us, two trips. Two during the day, one at night time. Each city has its own metamorphosis while going from daytime to darkness.
Egyptians are party loving people and when it’s party time it is often on the Nile. Consequently we will set afloat one of the really charming ‘disco boats’ offering quite a light show. We have rented one of them and yes, it’s a little bit naff, but it is also fun.
Since we have the entire boat at our disposal we also have control over the sound system. Just as well. We will sail around for an hour, enjoying our drinks, but it also has a purpose, because it will disembark on the other side of the river, where we will stay for the rest of the night. We are really looking forward to this part of the tour. And for this we have decided to keep it a secret.
We can keep a Secret
The financially strong and influential golf states have made their imprint in Cairo, and in Egypt overall. To fully understand the country we need to explore this aspect as well.
A year ago I visited a building which was clearly Saudi Arabian territory, where I was a bit out of place and perhaps felt a certain distance from the personnel. On the other hand, the place had a 1001 night’s feel to it, which I was genuinely attracted to.
My next visit put my first feelings to shame. They were very friendly and forthcoming. I spoke with the manager of the place, who greeted me with the words ‘my name is Sherif, and here I am the sheriff’ and then he laughed. I think there is a good chance that he has used that phrase before.
He was sympathetic to my suggestion. Summa summarum is that one of our nights is going to be really special in a real special way. That’s what Sherif has vouched for.
My brother, Bent, who lived in Cairo for 30 years
Winter 1991. My brother’s depression is getting worse. Consequently, his doctor in Denmark suggests he should move to a warmer climate with sun-filled days to take the sting out of the dark Scandinavian winters. He heeded the advice and moved to … Cairo!
He lived here for close to 30 years, where he got himself a new life, friends and acquaintances and found Aladdin’s cave. Almost. I have no doubt that he played the cards he was handed as well as could reasonably be expected.
The last time we met in Cairo was February 2020, shortly before the Corona crises that wreaked havoc with the world – and our plans; that of arranging a guided tour to his city.
Late February 2020 he went to Athens, where he also had an apartment, while I stayed in Cairo. A three-week planned holiday ended up being a five month unplanned ditto because of Covid.
We sadly had to say goodbye to my brother early 2022, but the plans we made are alive with this trip, which can be seen both as a memory and a synopsis of a life fully lived despite uphill struggles.
I have kept his apartment in the Cairo district, Agouza, and inherited his friends who have been indispensable while arranging this tour.
I will gladly show you this part of Cairo. When visiting my brother, and if one couldn’t find his flat among the small and similarly looking streets, you could always ask where “the stranger” lived.
My brother was well liked in the neighborhood, they looked after him during his ‘dark’ spells and he ended up being the district’s mascot. I have inherited their hospitality as well – and now it’s me who is the stranger!
Mohammed Kora's Story
The name of the supervisor of my brother’s apartment in Agouza; which I have taken over, is Zakaraya, originating from Sudan. I doubt you will find a nicer man. His English language level is… let’s say rudimentary. But his son, 28-year old Mohammed, is in full command of the language as he has worked at the customer services of Vodafone for a couple of years. (It was, however, a challenge for him to understand Scottish. He is not alone).
One evening, while we sat in a taxi, he opened up a little about his life and said, “Erik, the traditions in Egypt are toxic!”. That triggered my curiosity. I asked what in his opinion was the difference between tradition and culture. He pondered over it for a bit, then replied, ‘traditions are acts; culture is achievement’. It was time for a double-take. He has promised to hold a little speech for us about being young in Egypt, their dreams and their indignities.
Not only that, Mohammed has ‘the finger on the pulse’. He will the same evening bring us to whatever place is ‘in’ in Cairo. The Arabian youth is exactly as fickle as the European counterpart, so what is ‘in’ today is hopelessly ‘out’ tomorrow.
Don’t worry about the fact that some of us will be one or even two generations apart, they will gladly welcome us for the night.
A bit of Exorcism and Healing in Old Cairo
In the district of El-Sayeda Zainab you’ll find a small theater that plays Nubian or ZAR music, the purpose of the tunes is to expel any demon that might possess you. I have attended a few of their performances. And it works!
Once again, it is difficult to put words to this performance, but I have rarely seen and listened to such charismatic singers. And here it is the women who are in charge. They will make a show just for us. Half of us will need to sit on the floor, making it so much easier to levitate. We’ll bring pillows and plaids.
We will afterwards be treated to a dinner arranged by the troup and the owner of the establishment. And as it is a private party we are allowed to bring wines and beers. (most of the restaurants we visit have alcohol licenses. But not all).
Jesus and parents - and a bit of Soviet Brutalism
Our bus will take us a little south of the city, where we will visit, in my opinion, the most interesting Coptic church, ‘The Virgin Mary’s Church’ in Maadi. The priest of the church, Stefanos, will welcome us to his congregation.
It’s a little more intimate than their much larger churches in the city center. Not only that, it has had pretty classy visitors back in the day.
This is where you will find Christianity at its infancy – literally.
We read the following in the gospel of Matthew,
‘An angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, because Herod is starting to look for the child so he can kill him. Stay in Egypt until I tell you to return.” So Joseph got up and left for Egypt during the night with the child and his mother’.
According to tradition the family stayed in Maadi for about a month – an area of Cairo where there was a large Jewish community in those days – and exactly where the church was built later on.
Not only that, Stafanos has promised to open the door to the most sacred area of the church, the crypt where it is said the parents and child were hiding from the spies of Herod.
It’s doubtful there is any historian who “buys” the story but let us, for about an hour, place our skepticism in the wardrobe and be captivated by this story, where the roots to the legend are at least a thousand years old.
Equally riveting will be Stefanos speech about belonging to a Christian minority in the midst of an Islamic society.
If the traffic peermits it we will make a little detour to building blocks from the days of Nasser, inspired by the Soviet building style. They are as compact as Parnassos’ traveling programs.
St. Regis Watergardens
The church is located on the banks of the Nile and it is therefore obvious that we will take the almost obligatory trip with Felukahs, large sailing boats in symbiosis with the Nile, a river that is both mythical and factual at the same time. We slide with time, ebb and flow in stark contrast to the hectic city.
The sailing trip takes an hour and a bit and past Maadi Island. When we disembark, we immediately reboard a river taxi that takes us back to downtown Cairo, where we yet again disembark at the exceptionally luxurious St. Regis hotel, who will serve afternoon tea for us at their Water Garden restaurant.
Will there be time for a short stay at our hotel after this before the evening’s program? It’s likely.
The Restaurant at the Citadel
At Cairo’s imposing Citadel, which overlooks the entire city, arrangements are being made for their pop-up restaurant to become permanent.
Again, Dorte from the Danish embassy will make sure that we have seats for a dinner.
You’ll find a genuinely special atmosphere here and it will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the trip.
Incognito in "Garbage City"
The Al Abageyah district in Cairo is a strong contender for being the most bizarre place on earth.
An area with 140,000 inhabitants, their chief livelihood consists of collecting and sorting the garbage from the population of 10 million in this mega-city. All kinds of refuse ends up here: plastic, bottles, cloth, paper, furniture, tyres… you name it, they deal with it. There is a constant traffic of vans, donkeys, men and children, and a certain air of decay to the area.
Wandering around, you might feel as if you are walking inside a Federico Fellini film scene. The only issue is, understandably, the residents generally don’t like visitors of touristic origin. We have, however, found the perfect solution to this, so you can roam the streets, not quite believing what you see, without stepping on anyone’s toes.
We will explain the “trick” when we stand at the Al-Mokattam street, adjacent to the quarter. You will have half-an-hour on your own, before we meet again – this time on the other side of the large man-made mountains of waste.
We will exit the Fellini film, but still be in the dominion of surrealism.
St. Simon the Tanner's Cave Church
Al Abageyah in Cairo is primarily a Christian Coptic district. And, while we are on the subject, I think you will be surprised by how many churches you’ll find in this solidly Islamic city. Around 400. It’s in their honor that Egypt gives extensive religious freedom to their Christian minority which probably consists of about 10-15% of the population.
Behind Garbage City a new revelation will be disclosed to us: one of the largest churches in the world with space for 5,000 churchgoers. It has been carved out directly from the Mokattam cliffs that surround Eastern Cairo.
Granted, there are tourists, but not many. On the other hand, the church is well visited, not least by the Coptic youth, even outside the hours of religious services.
In my opinion, the Coptic society doesn’t quite get the attention it deserves. I, on the other hand, find it fascinatingly interesting.
If you join us on the trip, I’ll happily tell you about the day, a quarter of a century ago, I first visited Garbage City and experienced a little episode; a Coptic Cultural Shock of a non-religious quality if you like; that has followed me ever since.
The Young, Rich and Beautiful in Egypt
If you want to go from relative poverty to relative wealth in Denmark, it requires a relatively long walk. In Cairo, you can go from absolute poverty to excessive wealth by crossing a gate – and a few guards. Like small plots of Chelsea on the banks of the river Nile.
As indicated above, we will seek out Cairo’s nightlife whenever we feel like it.
The Opera House in Cairo
One of our evenings is consecrated a concert at the Opera house in Cairo. The program has not yet been announced but we await it with excitement. It’s going to be fun and pretty different if you are used to the posh opera houses of Europe.
As mentioned, I was stuck in Cairo during the Corona crises. But finally, in July 2020 the opera house as one of the first cultural institutions in the country opened its doors. It was an outdoor event. We were only a few guests listening to Peer Gynt by Edward Grieg. Admittedly, it was not the Vienna philharmonic’s who played, but after several months of lockdown and cultural starvation it is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever listened to. Only briefly interrupted by a couple of cats who all of a sudden decided to continue the lineage. No propriety.
This time we will sit inside the opera house. There is one major difference, however, from the European counterparts. It’s the dress code. True, in Europe It is frowned upon if you turn up sloppily dressed. But in Egypt you are expected to be well dressed. That includes men wearing ties. One is just not allowed entrance without.
Egyptisk bomuld
Nu hvor vi er i påklædningsafdelingen, er det i samme åndedrag værd at nævne egyptisk bomuld.
Dens renommé når med rette ud til alle verdenshjørner. Eneste hage herved er, at det er en eksportvare. Den bearbejdes ofte i Egypten, hvorefter den finder vej til franske modehuse og dets lignende. Og vi ved hvad det gør ved prismærkatet.
Men the Expats i Egypten som er in the know, ved hvilke forretninger som har fået dispensation og tilladelse til salg af dette attråværdige stof, som materialiserer sig i form af trøjer, skjorter eller jakker i høj skrædderkvalitet. Og til priser langt under hvad du må slippe i Europas designerbutikker.
Tager du med på turen, kan du opgradere din garderobe for få penge – og samtidig støtte lokalsamfundet. De har brug for det.
Pharaoh's Revenge, what Revenge?
Plus, Safe and Sound in Cairo?
Musik-programmet
Slutteligt
Der er intet charmerende ved at ting ikke går efter planen. Men vi bør alle møde Egypten med en vis overbærenhed. Modsat vores civilisationsture i Europa, især i Tyskland og Østrig, hvor man kan stille sit schweizerur efter den germanske punktlighed – kan du forvente en feberredning hér, en plan-b dér, under vores ophold.
Har du spørgsmål til ovenstående rejse, da ring gerne på 5273 6316. Vi har åbent fra kl. 09.00 – 18.00 hverdage. Lørdage og søndage mellem kl. 10.00 -15.00.
And our Purpose is?
We want to create exclusive experiences – without excluding anyone.
Granted, our tours are not among the cheapest, but they are still accessible to most of those who walk in the footsteps of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish poet who once said, ‘to travel is to live’.
The ‘trick’ is to be a large group. We’re talking about around 40 people. Being many has its own dynamic. And a larger budget allows us to offer truly unique adventures that surely will be beyond most of us if we acted on our own. Sometimes we will split up in 2 groups of 20 when that makes more sense.
Our purpose is to tear us away from our day to day lives, to ensure that when you are back home again, you will ask yourself, ‘did I really experience what I think I experienced’?
What Exactly do you get for your 13.000 kr? (cirka 1740€ / £ 1500)
Below you’ll find the specification of our program for Cairo.
A Quick Overview
Seven nights, breakfast included, at the 4* hotel, Flamenco Cairo, 02 El Gezira El Wosta, Abu Al Feda, Zamalek, Cairo.
You can upgrade to the 5* Hotel Marriott, at Zamalek if you so wish.
All transportation, including transport to and from the airport. All guides, concerts and museum entrances are included.
3* lunch including Afternoon Tea at St. Regis.
4*dinner/buffets, inclusive the banquet at Mena House. Drinks at own events.
The following is not included in the price
Flights. Wines and spirits generally at the restaurants we visit. Visa paid at Cairo airport, (at the moment $ 25).
