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"John
Brook with Wog ropemaker, Cairo"
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5/1/42 Thursday.
Full duty again, and I am not as fit as I was. A very interesting and entertaining leave.
John Brook, Wiff Clark and myself visited the mosques and the Mouski Bazaar. The Citadel
and Mohamed Ali mosque are marvellous places. Took a taxi at PT20 each and had to leave my
camera outside the mosque. A racket to make you buy the photos inside. Perfect view of
Cairo, and there are some big buildings. Haze in the distance hindered the view a
bit.
Mosque all built of alabaster stone. Inside are massive pillars of it,
and there is a beautiful grain running through it. The colour is a delicate cream and
brown. The main praying room is a huge place and the stone carvings and colouring are out
in their own. Carpeted in red all over. Huge circles of lights, (over a thousand) hang
from the roof. There are four big chandeliers and the biggest one is about eight feet high
and four feet wide at widest part. Praying platform built by King Farouk three years ago.
It has an engraved gold door and cost him £23,000. Prayer leader has a big platform too.
In the courtyard is a big marble water font and round it are marble blocks where devotees
have to wash their feet, hands face and head, three times before praying.
Blue Mosque not so magnificent, but has some beautiful inlaid mother of
pearl work. Huge 40' high marble pillars in one piece. Lord knows how these places were
built in the years gone by.
Visited the Mouski Bazaar and the streets are only one car wide, with
Wogs everywhere. Taxi goes at 15mph, and the Wogs just seem to melt away from under the
wheels. The shops and stock have to be seen to be believed. Every kind of thing you can
imagine and lots of it made there too. Every building is a shop and you can go way in
behind too. Miles of the same thing and you could spend hours looking round. One narrow
street was full of gold dealers and there were gold ornaments etc everywhere.Return
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