feet. [30 deg, 3.0' N 31 deg 15.9' E]

--trash city, egypt--

this beautiful dirt continued: Muqattam and the zabbaleen

I am finally posting some stories from egypt. Disclaimer: there are lots of words in this post.

the southeast district of the Cairo at the base of the Muqattam hills is home to the Coptic Christians ('Coptic' basically refers to the egyptian Christians--their theology generally follows the Orthodox Christian persuasion... ), known as zabbaleen. i wanted to visit there because (1) it's called 'trash city ' (and it looks like it) because the people there collect, sort, and recycle the city's trash (because of the zabbaleen, Cairo has had one of the highest recycling rates of any city in the world--pew pew! take that seattle) and it sounded like a scene from Baraka, and because (2) there is a huge system of Christian churches there that are carved into the side of the mountains that sounded pretty dope.

The streets in the town at the base of the mountains mostly look like this (these are all bags of trash waiting to be sorted and recycled):










As you wind up towards the mountains, you can see the churches and biblical reliefs carved into the rock walls. The largest of the churches is huuuuuge:

Three crosses stand on the hill in front:


Reliefs of Jesus adorn the rock walls above and across the rock walls where the churches are carved out:


The ten commandments in Arabic:

i met a robed man (typical garb, even in Christian areas) in front of the largest of the churches who didn't seem to have an occupation other than wandering around with his large print arabic bible. maybe he was a plainclothes preacher trying to teach the good word. anyways, i asked him to tell me about the 'miracle of the mountain,' which has to do with the Muqattam hills and seems to motivate the Coptics to take pilgrimmages there...

His eyes light up when i ask. "Ahhhh! Dee Meeraicul!"

(he begins) Over a thousand years ago, the Pope governing the Christians living around Muqattam is challenged to prove their God, or face the obliteration of their religion at the hands of the Muslims in power. In answer to fasting and praying by the believers, God chooses to use a humble tanner and his faith fulfill Mat 17:20 in the flesh--(the man lovingly turns the pages of his Bible and then reads the arabic script out loud in broken english) '...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove...' (i finish saying the verse with him. as he continues the story, he gets more and more excited.) The earth shakes and the very mountain that we stand on lifts into the air. The Muslims see underneath the mountain to the other side (he cuts his hands through thin air, as if feeling the voided space under the base of the mountain) and leave the Christians in peace. They are so moved by the miracle, they even help in building the churches.

Then bible guy tells me something very profound.

Three words are dee same in every language, he says.

"Hallejulah! "

"Hallejulah!" I echo.

"Amen!"

"Amen!" I cry, this time copying his outstretched hands.

"COCA-COLA!!!!!" (his laughter booms)

*Standing there halfway across the world, talking to this man, I suddenly feel like I am on one of those old-everyone-getting-along-give-you-warm-fuzzies Coke commercials. It's funny, I think, that the two things that me, american kid, and egyptian large print arabic bible man have most obviously in common are our belief in Jesus Christ as Savior, and familiarity with Coca Cola.
I'm not sure if that's a point for Christianity or commercialism. But they're points of commonality, nonetheless.*

"COCA-COLA!!" I shout.