SJEDS Travels to Egypt

After a vibrant Jewish community in Egypt for thousands of years, there are only a few hundred Jews left in modern day Egypt. The last members of this community are mostly elderly.
Since Egypt and many of its sites have significant meaning to the three major religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, it was understandable that […]

The first mosque we visited was Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, which was built around 1356 A.D. The mosque has a bent entrance, which helps keep out the desert sand that is ever present in Cairo.

Before entering we had to take off our shoes, since they are not allowed inside. Modest dress is required and no […]

When we entered the Coptic Christian area of Cairo, the sights were very different. Few women wore scarves on their heads or the long dresses more present in other parts of Egypt. There were no men wearing galabiyas and the most obvious difference in the local landscape was that there were crosses in abundance. There […]

St. Catherine’s Monastery was founded by the Roman Empress Helena in 330 A.D. and was built beside, what was believed to be the Burning Bush, from which God spoke to Moses.
In the sixth century, Emperor Justinian built a fortress around the original chapel and also built a monastery. It is one of the oldest continually […]

At 22:30 (or 10:30 p.m.) a new tour guide picked us up at our hotel in Sharm El Sheikh. We left in a mini tour bus, together with 11 other people, who were from England, Italy and Russia. We were so excited to finally be going to Mount Sinai, which is the mountain that Moses ascended […]

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When we first arrived in Cairo, we had noticed many beautiful lanterns displayed in business and residential areas. At first we just thought they were a common decoration, but they looked so festive; we finally asked what they were. Turns out, they are Ramadan lamps or the traditional Ramadan fanoos. Just like we have Christmas […]

Last night we were very hungry and tired and went out to find a restaurant. We walked a long way but could not find a place to eat. Everything that looked like a restaurant turned out to be a private club. We ended up going back to the restaurant in our hotel. Our waiter […]