To anyone who reads my blog, I apologize for being a slackard in writing. It is not for lack of things to blog about! I went on a tour about 10 days ago that really amazed me, and I want to share that with you. The place I am going to tell you about is an area called Mokkatum . This is a mountain (small mountain-there are no arabic words for 'very big hill') not too far from where I live. The conditions in Mokkatum are extremely polar; at the base of the mountain lies "Zabbalin" or "Garbage City". In 1969 the Governor decided to move all the garbage collectors to this area. At first living in primitive tin shacks, the number of trash collectors has grown to over 30,000 and now they live in brick and concrete high-rises. The photo to the right is take from the mountain top looking out over the city. This area is unique in that the garbage is brought to this area for sorting. Notice the garbage on the rooftops. It is even more so on the street. The people live amongst the garbage...
Wait, let me walk you through the garbage life-cycle as the Egyptians know it. Garbage sorting begins at the pick up locations which are really anywhere a pile accumulates. Early in the morning, young men will pass through with ginormous mesh bags. Each bag could easily fit three good sized adults-or more! They extract all the cardboard from the garbage heaps; a while later, the glass gleaners make their pass, filling their bags. Street sweepers with their green smocks and green plastic garbage cans on a wrought iron cart with wheels sweep up tree debris such as leaves and small branches, fruit and flowers. They make their own piles that later succumb to the wind and cover the street once again, or, in some instances get put in a rare, if nearby, overflowing dumpster. The 'green' garbage used to be picked up by the Coptic Christians who raised pigs and used it for swine fodder. Then came along H1N1(swine flu) and the paranoid Egyptian government (in a covert action to oppress the Coptic Christian) decided to kill all the SWINE in an effort to prevent the flu from coming here. SO, not only have the Coptics lost their livlihood, we now have 'green' stinking garbage compost on our streets. I will make a note here that it is not so bad since it has been cool and they are doing a better job of getting it off of the streets before it turns to mush. 60% of Cairo's garbage makes it to Garbage City. The other 40 % goes to 'other places' like the back streets, or it just doesn't get picked up.
The garbage trucks are not what we are used to back home! They are pickup trucks with decorative, painted wood sides that hold those super big bags I was telling you about. They have to make many trips with those bags lashed high in the beds because they just don't hold that much. I am grateful for the work these garbage collectors do. They have a monstrous task in keeping the city's garbage at bay--and they are unaided by a society that drops their trash wherever they are going.
The garbage makes its way to Garbage City where the bags are off loaded into the first floors of the apartment buildings. Here it is further sorted as to type of bottle or plastic and re-bagged to go to the recycling center!
There is an ongoing project where resources gleaned from the trash are recycled into usable gift items, providing training and jobs for some of the city's inhabitants. They recycle paper into beautiful handmade paper products like cards, gift wrap or bags, note books and many other paper items. They recycle fabrics into hand woven rag rugs, purses, bath mats, place mats, etc. The items are all processed in an area of Garbage City. It is very interesting!
The people living in Garbage City are very poor. They live among garbage, stench, flies, and mosquitos daily. Many, if not most, of these people are illiterate. They are exposed to chemical toxins in the garbage they sort so they have illnesses.
A charity operates an orphanage within the city, and there are other groups that come and hold 'school' for the kids. There are people providing health clinics and others who teach reading and writing. There are many opportunities to volunteer here in Egypt, many places to do good things, many good things being done. So much more to do.
Now for the polar opposite side to Mokkatum! One has to go through Garbage City in order to make one's way to the top of the mountain. I had NO IDEA what awaited me there! The road opens up into a bowl with high limestone walls covered with carvings of Biblical stories. The Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner covers the entire mountain top! It consists of hostels, a monastery, and seven Christian churches hidden in underground limestone caves of the Muqattum (Mokkatum) Hills! The story of
St. Simeon is a fascinating one.
Our tour of the monastery began at the bend in the road before you see all the amazing carvings and the chapel. Some years ago, a Polish artist, knowing the people living below were illiterate, wanted to make the Bible stories accessible to the common folk. He began carving the stories into the limestone hills for all to see. These carvings are amazing! To the left is Peter walking on the water to Jesus; taking his eyes off of Jesus, he begins to sink. To the right is Jesus coming out of the tomb. Below and left, is the Son of Man Coming in All His Glory. The entire mountain side is filled with these carvings! I am showing a few of my favorites!
St. Simeon was a tanner by trade; that trade involved others as well and so, he made shoes. He lived at the end of the 10th century. Legend has it that as he was fitting a shoe onto a woman's foot, he caught a glimpse of her leg. Knowing the scriptures that said if his eye caused him to sin, to gouge it out, Simeon did just that. He took out his eye.
Another legend that led to his sainthood involved a an enlightened man who enjoyed great debates for the sake of debate. During one of these debates, Pope Abram got the upper hand over a Jewish man named Jacob Ibn Killis. Ibn Killis, plotting his revenge, quoted the scripture "if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move this mountain" (my paraphrase). Ibn Killis demanded the Pope prove his religion was right by moving the Muqattum Mountain. The enlightened man saw this as an opportunity to have the mountain moved as it was obstructing his view. The people of Egypt were instructed to pray and fast for three days. Simeon the Tanner was chosen to move the mountain because he was a righteous man. It is said an earthquake spread over the mountain. Each time the people stood up to worship the mountain leapt and the sun was visible beneath it. When they sat down, the mountain returned to its foundation. This occurred three times. The mountain indeed moved and afterwards, St. Simeon could not be found. This is the entrance to the St. Simeon/ Virgin Mary Cathedral, an underground cave that has been enlarged to seat 5,000 people!
The other churches up here are beautiful too. There are two more I want you to visit with me! First is the church of St. Marcus. It is in an underground cavern and covered in beautiful carvings. It has low ceilings and is just very quaint.
Notice the carvings in the walls on the left and the stage on the right. This room seats 2,000 people.
I loved this sentiment carved into the ceiling of the cave. (on the rt.)
The last church I want to show you is the cave church they discovered while moving some rock in another church. A large stone fell, breaking a hole in the ceiling of the church below. The upholstery cushions on the rock benches and the red carpet are modern accoutrements, but the stories this cave-church could tell date back perhaps to the Roman occupation and the persecution of Christians in the early years. In the 1990s a fire due to electrical problems swept through the cave, destroying all that was in it EXCEPT the portrait of Christ. The glass broke in the heat of the flames, but the paper did not burn. It hangs there today, untouched since the fire. One thing really neat is that a group of Egyptian women were sitting on the other side of the pillar on the left of the picture, studying the Bible. Out of respect, I did not take their photo, but what a sight! Amen!
The end of January, Sam asked me if I would like to return to the US to spend some time with Sheyenne while she was still pregnant. Our plans were to return to California for Whitney's birth (due April 16th)-- and so, knowing I might just get back to Cairo from this trip and have to turn around and go again, the thought of spending some good times with Shey and Sean really appealed to me. Sam made reservations for me to leave February 10th.
God knew my heart's desire was to be with them and to be able to hold little Whitney, so it should be no surprise that weeks before I needed to be there, though MY plan was different, God was at work, answering our prayers.
