May 13

Amr has nicknamed our group “Mangos.” We are now conditioned to respond to “Mango, Mango” whenever we he needs to get our attention. We have also learned that “yalobena” (not sure how it is spelled, but that’s how we hear it anyway!) is Arabic for “let’s go.” So, “Mango, Mango, yalobena” is our rally cry.


The Mangos ventured into Islamic Cairo to see the Citadel, Sultan Hussan madrassa and Ibn Tulun mosque. The 12th century Citadel sits atop a hill and is a very impressive mosque that can be seen over a large area of Cairo. During the visit to the Citadel, Martin provided a presentation covering some of the history of Islam. We were then off to see the Sultan Hussan madrassa (an 8th century mosque). While there, Tom provided a presentation on Koran as Scripture and our guide shared some of his personal insights on Islam. Having such open discussions about our faiths has been one of the highlights of our trip and has helped build a lot of understanding.

After a short break for lunch, we headed into the markets of Khan to test our negotiating skills (or lack thereof as the case may be!). It seems all of the shop keepers have just what we are looking for. And, they also all have a special price (just for us, of course). Some of us decided to extend the shopping adventure and return later to the hotel. The remainder of us took the bus back to relax, repack and prepare for our journey to Luxor.