Straight off the train we headed to old Islamic Cairo on foot to develop a better understanding of the culture and to see some lovely old Islamic architecture. This part of Cairo is known as Saladin's citadel which was constructed to defend the city from the crusaders. The whole area is encircled by a Great Wall. Some of the buildings are very old and we learnt a bit about the design and how they served water to the populace from within some of the buildings. We also learnt about the arabesque windows which were designed to allow the females to see out, but no one could see in and see them. We headed into an old Mosque - the Mosque of Alaqmar. Very serene. Mayer gave us an overview of Islamic culture and religion.
Back on the streets people were just going about their business, kids going to school, boys mucking around, teenage girls giggling . There was a lot less rubbish here than out in the streets which is surprising as it is a very densely populated area. We tried some fresh sugar cane juice which was way too sweet for us. We stopped and had lunch at a pizza and pancake place. These are very popular in Cairo. I much prefer the local food. The pizza was very, very bready for my taste but some of the other guys enjoyed it. We got a couple of bits and pieces at the market there and chatted to a guy there for a while.
We eventually got back to the hotel, all pretty tired after walking around after the night train. We had a freshen up then met for a drink. Gary had done some reconnaissance and obtained some beer, so we headed up to the breakfast area to enjoy the not so great view. After a while we decided to head out for some food and went to Tikka where we enjoyed some pretty good food and had a nice evening. Needed to head off to bed as had another early start coming up...4am start but of course Mike decided that we needed an extra half an hour! We were twiddling our thumbs at 4.20am!