My Guide, Abdul Latif, arrived sharp at nine in the morning, but today, he had come in a new car, a Black Toyota, where I would be driven around the streets of Egypt. The Driver, a young man called Ali, wore a black leather jacket and smart sunglasses as we prepared for a rip-roaring tour around Egypt.
Our first stop was the mosque of Ali Pasha, a large ancient mosque teeming with students from schools and colleges desperately trying to get in with their respective history teachers, no doubt wanting to explore the ancient history of one of the most ancient mosques in Cairo city. Built in 1830 for his son, the mosque was commissioned by Ali Pasha. The great man was buried here in the courtyard, and his tomb is from Carrara Marble. The admission tickets cost from 180 EP to 90 EP for students, and they even have golf carts and tuk-tuk to ferry visitors from one side of the mosque to the other.
The dome height is 41 meters, and the minarets are 82 meters high. The mosque is a symbol of the Military power of the Ottoman Empire. Muhammad Ali converted to Sunni Islam and was more interested in the Sufi tradition, the mystical way of approaching Islam.
Authentic Brands Group owns the rights to the Muhammad Ali Pasha mosque and manages the estate of many celebrities worldwide.
The mosque has tall minarets, large chandeliers, hanging lamps, and beautifully painted walls.
Before entering the inner sanctum of the mosque, one has to wear plastic shoes so as not to sully the mosque’s internal floor and marble flooring. I spent a few hours just taking in the breathtaking beauty of the mosque, and then Abdul Latif decided to take me to another beautiful place, a museum full of mummies and tombs.
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities was where I got lost for hours. It is a large museum full of mummies and old sculptures of ancient Egyptian Kings and Gods. There is a room full of animal mummies, treasures, and gold artifacts of ancient kings and Egyptian queens.
I was fascinated by the giant sculpture of Ra, the great Egyptian sun god who flies in the sky on a chariot with the head of a Falcon. Then, there was the giant sculpture of Sekhmet, the daughter of the sun god Ra. She breathes fire, and the city winds of the desserts are linked to her; she also causes plague when angered.
The nine Egyptian Gods are Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Isis, Seth, and Nepythys. I explored the museum to my heart’s content and spent a lot of time on the first floor exploring the treasures of ancient kings.
As of now, enjoy the pictures of old Egyptian mummies and the colorful caskets they were kept in.
