Hospitality in Cairo

Today we spent some time exploring the Coptic side of Cairo! We started the morning attending a Saturday service at the St. Bishoy monastery in Wadi El-Natrun. The service was a little overstimulating for me personally—the method of prayer they use is beautiful but it’s also almost constant singing or noise—but, as Christine reminded me, engaging with other cultures help us learn things about ourselves and I learned how much I value a structured service and time for silent reflection.

My whole experience at the monastery turned around with a tour of the beautiful facility by one of the brothers. Then one of the church leaders actively sought our group out to bless us, talk about unity in our faith, and break bread with us—it was just a really sweet gesture! One thing I’ve learned since arriving in Egypt is that Egyptians are the kindest, most hospitable people in the world (at least in my opinion) and our visit at St. Bishoy was no exception to that rule.

In the afternoon, we also got a tour of some of Cairo’s oldest Coptic churches—including the one where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (supposedly) stayed for the 3 years they were hiding from Herod. Both churches were just really amazing examples of Islamic architectural features with Christian purpose and structure.

Oh, and we had koshary for lunch! If you don’t know, koshary is an Egyptian staple dish, consisting of rice, lentils, noodles, chick peas, and tomato sauce and you top it with garlic vinegar sauce and fried onions. I know what it sounds like, believe me, but it was actually so good and really filling! One of the best meals we’ve had thus far!

–Kate Brown
2nd Year M.Div/MAPT