Many generations ago a group of Christians decided to leave the countryside where they could barely make a living and settle in Cairo. They were uneducated and unskilled and life in the city was no better. But being enterprising they started a garbage collection business. For two Egyptian pounds a month they would pick up your garbage, but they had no where to dispose of it except in the streets of their tiny ghetto. They had a source of income but were living in filth and still needed more money. Eventually they began sorting and recycling. Left over food is sold to pig farmers and paper, plastic and metal is sold to manufacturing. The area is still dark and filthy, but it has a different look. Women do not cover their hair and teen agers look almost American. Today being Sunday is market day. Farmers bring in fruits and vegetables, chickens and eggs bread and pastries for the women to buy to feed their families for the upcoming week. A lot of hard bargaining goes on before money is exchanged for a cauliflower or a mango. Our driver bought is weekly supply of bread. Coming out of the ghetto light appears and a beautifully carved church has been created in the side of a mountain. Inside and outside this church that can seat 25,000 people is covered with painted carving that tell Bible stories and stories of Christian martyrs. Outside the church is a plaza where neighbors can gather to drink coffee and tea, children can play and teen agers can impress each other. Troy and I admired the courage and dignity of these People. Our driver this week was a man of deep faith and focused on the Coptic Christian churches and areas of Cairo. After spending time in Turkey we enjoyed seeing the Christian side of Egypt. At the end of the day there were lots of handshakes, hugs and cheek kisses, a generous tip and a sweet goodbye. George taught us a lot.
