City of the dead, Cairo

It amazes me to know that the famous stuff in Egypt are the burial places whether it be of the Pharaohs or the other rulers of the Egyptians especially the Mamluks. So if you find yourself in Cairo or Egypt, don't be surprised if your pictures are full of burial plots and monuments. Our trip of 5 days in Cairo was this way. We were taken to a cemetery. There are many cemeteries in and around Cairo, the Northern cemetery, the Southern Cemetery, the Coptic Christian cemetery, the Greek cemetery and of course the pyramids which are actually burial monuments. We were taken by our taxi driver to the Southern cemetery, a place dotted with Mamluk architecture. It is not just a place to put the dead but it has become a city for the living. Housing in Cairo is so expensive that the people find ingenious ways of living. Muslim graves are huge, often housing the coffins of all the family. When Muslims visit the dead, they often stay overnight so there is lots of room. The poor of Cairo finds themselves sharing living spaces with the dead. Sometimes they pay rent to the owners, other times the owners pay them to be caretakers. We were taken to see the living conditions of a family there and they live under the most horrendous conditions. The men are in the city working, the women folk and the older men are at home. It was a beautiful day in Cairo, always only go when the weather is cool. We were shown around and the taxi driver asked me to give them some money. I slipped the woman a 5Le note, she was happy. Later when we got to leave, the little girl asked our driver in Arabic, she wanted pencils. I always have lots of writing material with me, I gave her some of my stash. She was so pleased. If you are going to Egypt or China, bring some school supplies, some pencils, some writing paper and some pens. It will be so appreciated.

This is actually a road through the cemetery. This family that we visited are hanging outside, they live in this cemetery. It is estimated some 500,000 people live in cemeteries all over Cairo. We were to visit another family in a Coptic Christian cemetery.

Imagine looking out your back door.... to see a cemetery.

The living condition is unspeakable. We were to later on visit some gorgeous Mamluk mausoleums. Cairo is a different travel experience all together. In spite of the difficulties and problems, I will be back.