Mosque, Citadel and City of the Dead visit

No early wake up call today - yeah! We had time to enjoy a wonderful breakfast which included a number of Egyptian specialities including Halewa (like a soft shortbread cookie) and actual honeycomb! 11:00 we boarded the bus to head to the citadel and one of the largest Mosque's in Egypt, the Mosque of Mohammed Ali Pasha.  The Mosque was mostly built by Mohammed Ali, no relation to the boxer! It is made of the Alabaster stone and the Minarets are 75' tall. We followed protocol by taking off our shoes while inside the Mosque. The citadel was built to repel the Mongolians and other invaders. It was built by Salah Al-din. The citadel is very impressive with its high walls and various fortifications. It is still under military control! The view of the city was awesome. In case we forgot to mention, the population of Cairo is over 21 million!
On the way back to the hotel, we stopped for a brief overlook of the city of the dead. This cemetary is over 3 miles long and 1 mile wide! Because of very limited living space, many poor people have made their home in this area, so thus the name "city of the dead". The actual tombs are below ground and each one has a small structure surrounding the tomb, about the size of a bedroom. Very eerie to see!

Flight leaves at three in the morning, so we will be signing off for now. We have a final farewell dinner this evening at a local restaurant which features Syrian food.

View of the Citadel - a massive structure!

Outside the Mosque, again a massive building!

Note the light colored stone - Alabaster

Another view of the Citadel

The marbled floored courtyard with the Ablutions fountain - shoes off here! 

Intricate painting underneath the fountain's dome

Tomb inside the Mosque

Overlook view of Cairo

Overlook view of Cairo

View of the "City of the Dead"

Appetizer at the Syrian Restaurant - colorful and delicious!  Jani loved it!