Itinerary:
Friday, 27 November

• 2:30am: Depart Dokki for Cairo Internationl Airport
• 4:35am: Depart Cairo for Aswan on EgyptAir Flight 090
• 6am: Arrive Aswan Airport, Drive to Nile
• 7am: Check into Nile Cruise (boat M/S Domina Prestige Emilio)
• 8am: Visit Philae Temple & High Dam
• noon: Lunch on board
• 3pm: Navigation to Kom Ombo
• Dinner on board & overnight

Saturday, 28 November

• 8am: Visit the Kom Ombo Temple
• Navigation to Edfu
• Visit the Temple of Edfu
• Navigation to Luxor with passage through Esna Lock
• Dinner on board and overnight

Sunday, 29 November

• 8am: Visit West Bank (of Nile)
• Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple & Memnon
• Afternoon free on board

Monday, 30 November

• Visit the temples of Karnak
• Afternoon free in Luxor
• 6pm: Proceed to Luxor Airport
• 7:50pm: Depart Luxor on EgyptAir Flight 167 to Cairo
• 9:00pm: Arrive Cairo Airport, transfer to Dokki

Nile Cruise

On the Nile

Ancient Pharaonic Homes on Nile

Grazing Land on Nile (between Luxor and Aswan)

Karnak

Karnak comprises a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amen and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1391-1351 BC). It is located near Luxor, some 500 km south of Cairo, in Egypt. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut (“The Most Selected of Places”).

A model of the Karnak Temple near Luxor

Amusement park status entrance to Karnak Temple

Entrance to Karnak

Dumbstruck tourists...

Pillar

If only the Pharaoh's had cranks...

Luxor Temple

A panoramic view of the interior of the Luxor temple, just inside the entrance. The mosque built over the ruins is on the left.

Luxor Temple (Inside)

Remains of a Church Mural from Christian Era of Egyptian History (Inside Luxor Temple)

View of Entrance from Inside Luxor Temple

Mosque in Luxor Temple

View of Mosque from Ground Floor of Luxor Temple

Mosque built on top of Luxor Temple

Minaret of (Luxor Mosque?), Street View

Outdoor Prayer Area

Remains of the Temple are quite visible from within the Mosque. The pillars of the Temple are essentially used as foundations of the Mosque.

Window looking down into the Temple

Mihrab carved into a pillar

To top off the awkwardness, images from the temple are preserved in a luminiscient case in the direction of the Qibla

Minaret

Outdoor Prayer Area

Left: Temple ruins, Right: Mosque window

Entrance of the Mosque (same level as street). The temple is actually a few hundred feet below the Mosque, which is built on top of the temple's pillars.

View of Temple from Mosque Above

Evening View

MORE PICTURES

Here’s an article that comes pretty close to doing justice in describing the book fair:

Source: alternativeentertainment.wordpress.com

Let me say right at the onset that the only reason I’m writing this is to help the Egyptian Tourism industry, and also to show my gratitude to the Organisers of the quite incredible Cairo International Book Exhibition. It’s not to make other students of knowledge and scholars feel jealous as they realise what they missed out on (although of course you did miss out) and it’s not to make others feel bad (although of course you should feel slightly bad and gutted on missing the greatest show around).

So no nazr on me folks.  :)

Anyway, this معرض القاهرة الدولى للكتاب yearly get together is world-famous and rightly so. It is quite simply mind-boggling. Effectively all of the world’s Arabic book publishers come down for a couple of weeks with all their key stock and all their latest releases, prints, authenticated versions etc.

It’s nothing but books, books, and then more wonderful, amazing, gratifying, delightful…books. Seriously, it’s the playground of the scholars (and there are plenty of them walking round, it’s like spotting the celebrity!) and when you enter and walk around, you start to really feel like a kid again in a sweet shop. It’s ‘ajeeb ya’ni.

I think I visited over two hundred separate book shops/stalls over 18 hours and I probably had to leave 80% of the rest of the stalls because my body simply couldn’t handle it, despite wheelchairs, brothers and all the other help you can imagine. Okay, I’ve got to admit that we decided to use the wheelchair to carry the books, but hey.

I could wax lyrical to be honest, but instead why don’t I show you some of the pics that were taken from our group.

Books, books, glorious books!

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Amongst all this fitnah (yeah, believe me!), we came across some wonderful old prints of the Hashiya of Ibn ‘Abidin (r), as well as a lovely copy of Tafsir’l-Manar…

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The other wonderful aspect to the fair is the amount of people. Thousands! And most of them very “practising” masha’Allah which really adds a great feel to the place as a whole…

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We came across some very interesting people as well. One of them was the Shaykh behind Dar’l-Minhaj based in Jeddah who are behind Shaykh Muhammad al-’Awwamah’s and Shaykh Bin Bayyah’s books. They were promoting their excellent un-tampered versions of Riyadh’l-Salihin and the 40 Hadith Nawawi, based upon quality manuscripts from the riwayah of Ibn al-Attar. Most exciting masha’Allah and nice to see some quality work still being put in to the well-known and often thus neglected classics.

Interestingly they’re also about to release a new version of the Musnad of Imam Ahmed in 12 volumes with approximate 200 extra hadith found from the latest checking of international manuscripts which is fascinating to say the least. Perhaps caution might be better until we get the book in our hands, but judging by Sh Awwamah’s discoveries on the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah, we might be in for a big surprise. Or not. Let’s see.

Then we came across one of my favourite book shops (al-Azhariyyah li’l-Turath) run by probably the most knowledgeable owners out there. Normally, owners know everything about bottom lines, how much discount they can give, how good or rubbish a buyer you are i.e. British (think Omid and that moneysupermarket ad!) and that’s about it. But this man (on the left) is quite unbelievable when it comes to his knowledge and his love for his books, stock and madhab. Even more amazing than him is his wife who was even more knowledgeable but I haven’t seen her in a long time…

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There were loads of the ‘Ulema walking about but we only got a picture of Sh Ali Hasheesh on the left with Sh Ali Hasan al-Halabi from Jordan on the right…

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Anyway, it was simply incredible. I came out cream-crackered, bamboozled, but very satisfied. And so I just wanted to say that this is the greatest show I’ve ever seen where you can just pick up any book you’ve dreamt of, for excellent prices, in one place at the one time.

I loved it. Now say Masha’Allah. No nazr remember?

Source: alternativeentertainment.wordpress.com

After arriving at St. Catherine’s monastery around 5pm, exploring the area, breaking fast and eating dinner we all decided to take a nap before the planned midnight climb of Mt. Sinai. A lot of tourists visit the monastery, and climb Mt. Sinai during the night to view the sun rise from atop Mt. Sinai. We woke up around 1:30am, met our student group, and headed towards the road that leads up to Mt. Sinai. Along the road up to Mt. Sinai there are several rest stops where you can buy all your “favorite” drinks for hi-jacked prices: coca-cola, sprite, orange fanta, and of course, bebsi. You’ll also be sure to notice the many locals who attempt to sell you a camel ride up to the top of the mountain.

Personally, the climb up to Mt. Sinai was pretty epic. I’m glad it was night and I couldn’t see what we were climbing other than what was 10 feet ahead of us. Perhaps it was a bad idea to climb during Ramadan, but I was truly exhausted by the time we got to the top. I think around 3am, or more than half-way up, I got separated from everyone in our student group and from anyone else who was climbing up. If it wasn’t for the flashlight in my cellphone, it would’ve been nearly impossible to find my way to the top. At each of the rest stops it was amazing to look back down and see the dozens, if not hundreds, of lights (flashlights) of the people climbing the mountain.

Sunrise atop Mt. Sinai

After finally arriving to the top around 4am, I looked around for the masjid someone had advised to make sure to pray in, and was relieved to find comfort from the chilling weather outside. The masjid is more like a small musalla, just a small room accommodating perhaps 10 people at most.

Watching the sun rise was a really good experience. I made sure to bring a sweater up with me, but it wasn’t enough. The locals rent out blankets, which nearly everyone decides to buy and find a good spot to sit and watch the sun rise. Its not until the way down, that you actually realize what a long trail you’ve climbed. I remember I kept thinking, subhanAllah how did Prophet Musa (pbuh) climbed this when there was no trail. It must have been nothing less than Divine inspiration.

My pix:

Under the guidance of Pope John Paul II the Catholic Church provided significant leadership in promoting peace, justice and harmony among religions. Now the new Pope, the most revered figure in the Catholic world, infallible to his followers and the representative of God to his co-religionist is choosing a path of dialogue with Muslims that seems disturbing.

St. Catherine's Belltower

In a recent speech he decided to quote a 14 century monarch in his argument about Jihad. The quote of the emperor was a political statement within the context of his relations with the emerging Ottoman dynasty, not worthy of giving any credibility. Yet, the Pope chose to repeat it.

If the speech writers of Pope Benedict XVI had looked at a book the “Spread of Islam in the World: A History of Peaceful Preaching”, written by a prominent 19th century historian Professor Thomas Arnold, they might not have quoted the passage of the emperor.

Stronger than the book are the words of Prophet Muhammad himself with regard to Christianity. In 628 CE he sent a charter of freedom to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. If Pope Benedict XVI or his speech writers had looked at this document they would have found a different image of the Prophet.

This document consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians living under Islamic rule, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war.

Here is the letter written to the monks. This letter was written at a time when no one was talking about freedom of religion, pluralism or protection of human life.

“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”*

*The English translated text of the Charter of Privileges was extracted from the Book ‘Muslim History: 570 – 1950 C.E.’ by Dr. A. Zahoor and Dr. Z. Haq, ZMD Corporation. P.O. Box 8231 – Gaithersburg, MD 20898-8231 – Copyright Akram Zahoor 2000. P. 167.

Saint Catherine Monastery is located in Egypt’s Sani desert. Saint Catherine city is famous for its various sites, e.g. Firon village. Firon is considered a garden rich with the best kinds of fruits of special taste, such as apricots, peach and cantaloupe in addition to the best kind of olives. Furthermore, the city houses Maktab Valleys that is located near Maghara Valleys, besides thousands of unique historical engravings.

St. Catherine's Monastery

Saint Catherine area encompasses many significant sites including al-Tarfas site that dates back to more than 30,000 years, and abu-Madis site that dates back to 10,000 years. The latter enjoys a world-wide fame, particularly among specialists, as it witnessed one of the major civilizational transformations from hunting and shooting to agriculture and grazing.

In addition, Saint Catherine area is famous for the matchless locations of residential villages, dating back to thousands of years. These villages include Prophet Saleh’s (PBUH) site, that is called al-Marwas, Sheikh Mohsens site, and Sheikh Awwads site.
Alexandrian Saint.

The Monastery was built in the 6th century A.D or the 4th century A.D., according to some sources. It is located at the foot of Mount Sinai on one of Wadi al-Sheikhs branches, and rises about 5012 feet above sea level. In 545 A.D, the Monastery was constructed by King Postilianos as a fortress for Sinai monks. It comprises several monuments that presumably date back to the Christ’s era. In addition, the monastery houses a large library that is south of the big Church.

It consists of three adjacent rooms and which comprises about 6000 old historical, geographical and philosophic manuscripts, written in Greek, Syriac and Arabic.

Many of the monastery manuscripts were written in different languages other than Arabic. As for most of the Christian heritage, it was written in Arabic, especially the copies of the Old Testament and the New Testament (The Bible).

With the help of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, a new museum has been recently inaugurated inside Saint Catherine Monastery. The new museum houses distinguished collections of rare books and volumes written in Greek, Coptic, Syriac, Latin and Arabic, and they date back to the first seven centuries A.D.

Among the major acquisitions is an important document, dating back to the year 2 A.H. It is al-’Ohda al-Mohamadeyas; a document signed by Prophet Muhammad , to guarantee full protection for the monastery and Egypt’s Christians. In 625 AD, the Popes of the old monastery went to Prophet Muhammad  in Al-Madina, for discussion. The result of this discussion was this document.

Fortunately, all these acquisitions and monumental treasures were kept in a dry clean weather in the heart of Sinai desert for long centuries. Thus, they are still in a good condition. Furthermore, the monastery is notable for being a huge artistic, historic and religious wealth, including Bizantine icons that were painted by the monastery monks, dating back to the period from the 6th to the 9th centuries A.D.

In addition, it houses several other historical manuscripts that serve as references about emperors, chief monks, leaders and sultans. All these manuscripts date back to the period from the 4th to the 7th centuries A.D. Among the treasures found in the library is the time-honoured Syriac-registers that dates back to the year 400 A.D that was rewritten during the 7th and 8th centuries. Collections of manuscripts that total about 5000 copies are preserved in the library, dating back to the early years after the invention of printing.

It goes without saying that the document of al-O’hda al-Mohamadeias, signed by Prophet Muhammad , is one of the most significant acquisitions in the library.

Dr. Aslam Abdullah is Editor-in-Chief of the Muslim Observer, director of the Islamic society of Nevada, Las Vegas and acting president of the Muslim Council of America, a Washington-based newly formed groups of Muslim activists.

Source: http://www.islamicity.com/Articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC0609-3110, http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=IC0609-3110

Taraweeh at Masjid Amr – Sept. 8

Masjid Amr – Ramadan Night of 27th

On the night of the 27^th of Ramadan I decided to go to Masjid Amr ibn Al-Aas, despite having been warned that I wouldn’t find a spot to pray and that if I did go I should arrive well before Maghrib (another advice that, for some reason, I didn’t heed).

To start off: I’m taking this really informative class on Islamic architecture “The Development of Islamic Architecture in the City of Cairo”. It wasn’t originally fitting into my semester schedule, so I decided to audit the class (just sit in and take the class, no credit). Its especially amazing because our professor is being issued a special permit to take us to some sites that aren’t open to tourists (or Egyptians for that matter), and others that are sealed off. So I’ll definitely be updating posts on our field trips. We’ve already been to several sites, that I’ve lagged to post Should be up today iA!

• The university was founded by the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt, descended from Fatimah (may God be pleased with her), daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Fatimah was called Az-Zahra (the brilliant), and the university was named in her honor.
• Studies began at Al-Azhar in the month of Ramadan, 975 AD (364 AH). The university had faculties in Islamic law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, Islamic astronomy, Islamic philosophy, and logic.
• Azhar University is the world’s second oldest university that is currently in operation; the first being University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Morcocco.

SubhanAllah, I couldn’t help but remember these verses. Some of these pyramids were built over 4,000 years ago! Nothing remains of them but these monuments, and only God knows what the status of the pharaohs will be on the Day of Judgment!

“And how many a generation (past nations) have We destroyed before them, who were better in wealth, goods and outward appearance?” (Qur’an 19:74)

“And (remember) when We separated the sea for you and saved you and drowned Fir’aun’s (Pharaoh) people while you were looking (at them, when the sea-water covered them).” (Qur’an 2:50)

So here’s some random info I was able to write down or still remember:

• There are 90-100 pyramids in Egypt.
• The most famous and largest is located in Giza (Great Pyramid of Giza) and is one of the only seven wonders of the Ancient World that stands intact. It was built about 4,500 years ago in honor of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu. Although this pyramid was originally 146 meters tall, with the test of time and erosion it now stands at 138 meters.
• Generally the pyramids were built west of the Nile River. This is due to the fact that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped the Sun and the West, as the point of sunset, meant death and the eternal afterlife for them.
• The Pyramids point true north, and were measured using the North Star.
• Today, tourists enter the Great Pyramid through a tunnel dug by the Caliph Al-Ma’mum around 820 AD.

We were able to go inside the second largest pyramid, next to the Great Pryamid (you need to come early in the morning if you want to go inside the Great Pyramid)… but honestly there wasn’t much to it. Just declined a very small opening down into a pathway that led to the other side of the Pyramid where you can see a large room with a coffin at the end. Much of what was in the Pyramids is no longer there. It was either stolen by thieves, colonizers, or is in Museum’s in Cairo or Britain.