Day 41

February 29th

On this lovely spring day, John and I decided to explore the area in Cairo know as the Citadel. The Citadel is an 11th century fortress built by Saladin, which is located on a hill overlooking of all Cairo. The Citadel grounds have had extension additions throughout the centuries, most prominently the Mosque of Mohammad Ali, built in the late 19th century and the National Military Museum completed in the last century. Since today is Friday many of the Mosques were closed to us until after prayer but we used this time to explore the fortress walls and the National History Museum. The funny thing I noticed about the History Museum was that many of the murals that depicted their Military showed them actually killing their enemies. In D.C. the monuments to the wars of our History never show us actually killing our opponents. The Monuments in D.C. seem to be much more understanding of the costs of humanity that war entails, and never seek to glorify the death of people, no matter what side they are on. I guess this might stem from differences in reasons for fighting. The rationale for Wars in America comes in order to protect and promote that which is intangible that which can not be painted: the ideals of freedom, liberty, and democracy. While, in Egypt they might because a menacing enemy threatens to eliminate their country and they must defend it. I wonder if Egypt ever becomes a free country if they will take down those murals.
The Mosque of Mohammad Ali was definitely the highlight of the trip. This Mosque is absolutely huge and dominants the skyline. Its gorgeous on the inside and the outside, with a massive dome that features beautiful gold decorations. I personally wondered how and how long this Mosque took to build.
Later in the day we got to talk with the man who cleans our room. This was one of the more interesting conversations I have got to have, while I have been here. This man graduated from college with a degree in social work. He speaks English very well, seems bright and friendly, and yet he works as a custodian for AUC for about 300 pounds a month. This salary is barely enough to survive on these days. This is just a snapshot of the problems that face Egypt. They have way too many people, not enough jobs, and far too many restrictions eliminating the possibility of new markets. It's hard to even know where to begin to address these issues. Is education the answer, clearly not for this man, so it is the lack of jobs. Well yes, but where does that come from? A lack of opportunity and growth, but where does that come from? This issues are so difficult and its so hard to think that change is even possible in this country.