We made a return trip to Al-Azhar park last weekend, making sure our visit didn't coincide with any public holidays. No crowds or unruly children, just blissful peace and quiet. With so few people around we were able to explore the park at our leisure. It's beautiful - lots of grass, garden beds and frangipani trees. I even saw a bird in a tree, which made me realise what a rare sight that is.
Al-Azhar park is set high above Cairo, which means it catches the breeze. Even so, by 10 am it was very, very hot. We retreated to a cafe that had a beautiful view of the Citadel and good, strong coffee.
Al-Azhar was definitely worth a second look. Finn was able to ride his scooter around, much to the interest of the local kids, while we strolled behind him enjoying the views of Cairo. Twenty years ago it was Cairo's biggest rubbish tip and it took ten years to clean it up and build it. In the middle of construction they found a 1.5 kilometre section of a 900 year old wall, the Ayyubid wall, built by Saaladin - the man who finally kicked the crusaders out of Jerusalem and an Islamic hero. It's quite something to have forgotten about - it's special to be in a city where things like this can happen.
On the drive home, we drove past the Egyptian Museum, which has a distinctive pink facade. We were telling Finn about the 'scary mummies' that were inside. In response he asked, "Are there scary daddies too?". Bless.
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