Breakfast starts early today because we have a full schedule. After a quick bite and staring at the Pyramids from our table, we proceed to Old Cairo to visit the Citadel of Salah El Din, and the Muhammad Ali Mosque situated high above the city.

The Citadel of Salah al-Din is one of the most important landmarks of Islamic Cairo, and its strategic location on the top of Mokattam Mountain, provided a fantastic panorama of all the important landmarks of historic Cairo.

Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi began the construction of this castle but he did not complete it during his life. It was finished by the next Sultan. The main purpose of the Citadel was to protect the city from the threat of invasion by European crusader armies.

Inside the Citadel is the Muhammad Ali Mosque. The Mosque was commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1830 and 1848. Believe it or not, the architect was Yusuf Boshnak from Istanbul and it was modeled after the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul. There are way too many highlights of the Mosque to cover, so I will try to cover them with photos. You can see that the alter faces Mecca and there is a Christian influence.

One thing that is worth noting is seeing the tomb of Muhammad Ali, and I don’t mean the boxer.

Next stop, the Khan El Khalili Bazaar. It is the oldest open air market in the Middle East. The original bazaar called a Souk, was built around 970AD. It was then demolished and then rebuilt in 1511. No doubt it is not nearly as impressive as it was centuries ago, but it is still colorful and very active.

Bargaining and haggling are the order of the day, and the Egyptian merchants are considered the best in the world, and then they met me. My background is in the Fine Art world, where bargaining and negotiation is a matter of survival. To say I was more than the vendors bargained for is probably an understatement. I like to say – “Donald Trump wrote the Art of the Deal, but I wrote the Deal of the Art.”

After about an hour of walking around the market, I was able to pick up a couple nice souvenirs. Next stop was to purchase some essential oils for our personal health and wellness. Our guide Mohamed took us to the best place in Cairo for these oils. It was quite the experience. Thanks Mohamed.

Now it’s time for us to head off to our next destination. It is so important that I am dedicating an entire post to it – The Egyptian Museum.

Watch for my next post, coming soon