Other Destinations in Egypt, Cairo

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Mostorod, place of miracles, is only 10 km away from Cairo.

On the way from Sinai to Cairo, the Holy Family arrived to Mostorod and stopped for a rest after a long way.

Here can e visited the Saint Mary Church, the cave where the Holy Family rest and the fountain built in 1st Century AD where Jesus caused a water spring to well up from the ground.

This area is also known as "Al Mahamma" which means "the Bathing Place", a name given to the town because the Virgin Mary bathed the Christ Child and washed his clothes.

According to the church's history, in 1185 AD on this place was an important church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The current church has been recently restored and has a nice collection of icons.

Everything around is poor, the church being hidden behind a gang.

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A remarkable thing is that everything around Mostorod is called after Virgin Mary's name: the church of the Virgin Mary, the mosque of the Virgin Mary, the fountain of the Virgin Mary and even the block of flats have Virgin Mary's name.

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After giving a bath to Jesus, the Virgin Mary tippled the water on the land and on that place God made turn up a tree - "balsam", with a special blossom.

The essence of that tree is still used in the preparation of the scents and perfumes of which the holy Chrism is composed.

This place is known today as "Mary's Tree".

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Near the Virgin Mary's Tree, on the right side of the road, is a small chapel.

The wooden doors are not isolating the inside and even if these are closed you can still admire the fresco presenting the Holy Family resting under the tree.

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Buildings on the outskirts of Cairo vary from skeletons of partly built apartment to villas, to partly dilapidated dwellings. Some arein the barest of surroundings, others surrounded by trees. All fascinate me,

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In Matariyah, the Holy Family stopped for a rest under a tree.
Here, too, the Infant Jesus caused water to flow from a spring, from which He drank and blessed, and in which the Virgin washed His clothes.

not in Cairo but it is in Aswan.Do not forget to visit the Island of Trees.Best known as Kitchener Island.Its an amazing place,like a oasis.An island full of life in the midlle of the Nile.U can see many egzotic flowers,plants and birds.This botanical garden contains the rarest examples from Africa and Asia.U take a Felucca (typical boat) and enjoy the Nile while it take u to the island of trees. And if you are really lucky like me, the gardener offer you couple of lime directly from its tree.

Wadi Rayan consists of two large - artificial - lakes, connected by a small river and Egypt's only permanent water falls. The place was made to drain the excess water from the Lake Qaroun and to reclaim land. Because the high level of salt, this is only partly a success and now they're in the process of converting it into a national park. It is about 20 minutes drive from the lake. It takes about half an hour to tour the road on the western half of the lake. For the eastern side, you need four wheel drive.

Egyptians seem to love the place, and have trips for both school children as well as adults. The 3 metre high water falls is not spectacular, but the setting is quite nice. The water has a deep blue colour, and there are a lot of birds. Near the water falls is a visitors centre that gives an overview of the region. If you visit it, please give my regards to Dan.

Near the south of the lake are nice, yellow sand dunes, one side mildly sloping with a nice pattern of sand and the other side steep and even. The sand is 'hyper critical' and when you touch it, it slides down hill in a large wave. There are some natural springs, one is quite near the road, which harbour some greens and animals. There are some barren rocks, sculpted by the sands, near the Western shore of the lake, that you can climb: beautiful views.

For the nearby %vvalley of the whales, a world heritage site of the Unesco, you need a four wheel drive.

All in all it may be not very spectacular yet, but if you love nature and want a taste of desert: this is a nice place. You can stay at the Guesthouse Zad al Mosafer in Tunis or one of the hotels near the lake Fayoum.

I've visited the guest house 'Zad Al Mosafer' in the village Tunis, part of the town of Fayoum on Lake Qarun. It has a very nice atmosphere, very rural, and good comfort. The rooms - single upto four persons - are clean and well kept. A restaurant room on the first floor profits from the wind from the lake. The meal we had was very good, great chef. There is even a small swimming pool in the shade.
They can arrange local trips, tours and guides. They promote local handicrafts and Folk Art.

Mother insisted that we take a trip to FAyoum, so the driver took us out to the Oasis. There wasn't much to see except a water wheel, lots of farmland and trees. It was strange to see black buffalo walking along the road among the traffic.
Probably because the driver didn't know the area, we only went to the lake where we sat and played on the sand. Mother let us rent a boat for a while. I think it cost a small amount or she wouldn't have let us go!!
It had a sun canopy and the owner took us out onto the lake which was fun.