As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Some more random pictures around Egypt, this time a little further up…
Enjoy! 
Picture #12: The meeting point of the Nile and the Mediterranean sea
Picture #18: Looking out towards Majid Sultan Hasan, next to it are the remains of Salahuddin al-Ayyubi’s fortress.
Picture #22: Beautiful sunset over Cairo
Picture #23: The very nice coastal area of Ra’s al-Barr, North Egypt (no, that’s not my washing on the line!)
As-salamu `alaykum
So… you missed the famous book exhibition in Cairo this year (the ma3rad), or you have come to Cairo with a huge list of books and can’t seem to get them all at your local bookshop? Or maybe you’ve decided it’s time that your bookshelf had a new makeover
Welcome to Darb al-Atrak.
I was on the phone to a dear friend of mine a a couple of weeks back when I mentioned I needed some classic works so if she was interested in accompanying me, to let me know. She called me back some time later asking:
‘Have you been book-shopping yet?’
‘Nope, haven’t had a chance.’
‘Make sure you’re free on Monday. We’re going Darb al-Atraak.’
‘Darb eh?’
‘Darb al-Atraak, a street behind al-Azhar. I’ve never been there but was told they have a lot of books.’
‘Sounds interesting, let’s check it out. Meet you after Dhuhr insha’Allah.’
And so we set off… as we reached al-Azhar Mosque and Khan Khalili area (Sooq Husayn), we were told Darb al-Atrak street was just behind it. We got the directions, took a deep breath and went down the narrow and busy road.
Perhaps only other book lovers like myself and my friend will appreciate the scene we saw next. Putting aside the dingy narrow road lined with rubbish, cats and funny smells… we saw what can only be described as treasure – rows and rows of a lot of famous publishing houses, book distributors and maktabat! Absolutely superb.
Ok, you’re probably thinking ‘enough of the exageration and get to the point already’
Coming to the crunch of this blog post… If you need to purchase a lot of books, you need not wait for things like the Book Exhibition which takes place in Feb every year (Cairo). Instead, the best thing to do is locate the publishers around your area and visit them with your list of books.
One such area is the one I visited above, Darb al-Atrak, which houses some well-known publishers such as Maktaba al-Safa, Dar Ibn al-Jawzi, Dar al-’Aqidah, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq to name but a few. The prices of the books they stock are very decent (cheap) because it’s straight from the warehouse itself. I think I purchased Hilyat al-Awliya (10 vol.) for about £9, Sharh of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Muqaddimah in Usul al-Tafsir for about £1.30, and Tafsir Tabari which I didn’t managed to get this time round was at £25 (12 or 14 vol.). They have various tahqiqat, taba’at (editions) and the latest publications and the other good thing is that they all have contact with each other so if the store that you’re in doesn’t have what you need, they dash over to another publishers and get it for you lol.
I think I found most of my books in Dar al-’Aqidah which has another branch in Alexandria, but was able to get some of my other books from Dar Ibn al-Jawzi as they stock some of the Saudi publications too.
Any other places?
Yes. But you need to find them!
Last year, I purchased most of my books from a place next to ‘Ataba (which is about 10mins from Azhar itself). I believe it’s called Sooq (or soor) al-Azbekiyyah. Take the metro going to Giza and get off at ‘Ataba. As you come out from the Akbekiyyah exit onto the square, go straight ahead where there are many small make-shift makatabat. Last time I checked, they had some rare collections masha’Allah and again, the prices are quite decent. However they may not have such a huge range of taba’at, and a couple of months ago a friend told me they were rebuilding the area so I’m not sure if that’s complete yet.
So there you have it folks, something to keep you busy next time you go to Azhar area.
In Darb al-Atrak, I was so intrigued that I spent hours just flicking through books, requesting titles, crossing through my lists and getting lost in between piles of books (I even knocked down a couple!). The intial idea was to go, get the books and make it home as soon as possible but have you ever tried to get 2 women do any shopping in short space of time? Ha, never happens. My friend, who I was relying on to pull me out of the stores actually turned out to be worse than me… each time one of us would ask:
My friend: ‘You ready to go?’
Me: ‘Yeah sure, 5 mins insha’Allah’
20mins later…
Me: ‘I’m done now alhamdulillah, are you?’
My friend: ‘Yep, just 5 more minutes.’
Half an hour later, we’re still there reading! And to make it worse, I didn’t manage to get through my booklist! Oh well, Qaddarallahu wa maa shaa’a fa3ala… I guess that means I have to go back again lol.
As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah
I’m really glad to be spending my Ramadhan once again in Cairo this year alhamdulillah, particularly these last 10-15 days. The main mosques here open up for Qiyam al-Layl (the Night prayer) sometimes from mid-Ramadhan because they aim to complete Qur’anic recitation in prayers for a 2nd time in this month (once already in Taraweeh).
Daily routine
I was also glad to have moved apartments and settled in near Masjid Bilal Ibn Rabaah (radhiallahu `anhu) just before these awakhir (last days) set in because it meant we could go for qiyam al-layl. These days often see a total change in daily routine for a lot of people in Cairo. Shaykh Rida ‘Abdul-Muhsin is the main Imam there, he starts the qiyaam at 12am and finishes the 8 raka’at of prayers by about 3.30am, roughly 30mins before Fajr salaah. When I say it’s real qiyaam, I mean it’s real qiyaam – one time we stood praying just 2 raka’ahs for almost an hour – the Imam recited the whole of soorah Yusuf in just 1 raka’ah. It was incredible subhanallah:
“Verily, the rising by night is very hard and most potent and good for governing the soul, and most suitable for understanding the Word of Allah.” [al-Muzzammil: 6]
After the qiyaam al-layl, we eat our suhoor and recite Qur’an/adkhar until the Fajr salaah. Afterwards, there’s time to read some adhkar before setting off for home – walking in peace and transquility with the rising sun.
One of the problems I find in the UK (and other places) is that the Imams don’t always recite in a steady, melodious way that actually gives you time to contemplate and think deeply about the verses – sometimes I feel they just want to get through the taraweeh or qiyam al-layl as fast as possible lol. Those who’ve experienced these night prayers know that they are a different story altogether, the Imams and congregation break down and weep on different verses, sometimes they repeat a certain verse 2 or 3 times until there is no dry eye in the congregation of worshippers – like it’s said, حرك به القلوب - ‘… move the hearts with it (recitation).’
What was even more fascinating for me was the congregation. Forget the men’s jama’ah, the women alone exceeded 200 solid easily (on some nights, I estimated about 300-400). My previous experiences of Ramadhan qiyam was in Masjid Salam which I lived near, the congregation was roughly about 50 women, so this is a record in our areas. Young, old, healthy and crippled, I remember thinking subhanallah, these are the true slaves of Allah coming to stand before Him at a time when the world sleeps on. I just pray the gov’t doesn’t prevent the shaykh from leading, they always seem to clamp down on the a’imma whenever they begin to attract a large no. of worshippers – this year Shaykh Ibn Jibreen was told he can’t lead in Masjid ‘Amr ibn ‘Aas anymore (as the congregation would exceed the thousands which they feared).
Suhoor
The funniest thing (only my sister will understand this) is suhoor here. Back in the UK, whenever my father and sister attended qiyam al-layl at the masjid, the brothers would order pizza for the whole jama’ah as suhoor. It was a nice gesture as the local pizzeria was owned by brothers (who would donate). I love pizza anyway alhamdulillah but my dad lol, he thinks it’s crazy to eat pizza, especially for suhoor. Well, things are not much different here… my flatmates and I always run out of time to pack our suhoor so on our way to the masjid, we regularly stop by this Juice Bar and order ‘Boreo milkshake’ (the best chocolate mix I’ve ever had) then walk for 5mins and stop by the bakery to get 2 or 3 slices of pizza and zaletti (sweet dish)! We’re so regular at these 2 places that the uncle at the bakery laughs at us, saying salaam to us and ‘ahlan ‘alaa al-’aseer (welcoming our drinks) – we got him some milkshake too in the end.
To my sister: Tell dad ‘it’s still pizza for suhoor’ 
If anyone is interested in getting a look and ‘feel’ for Cairo before jetting off – these are some random pictures taken (mostly by my room mates) in the heat of summer ‘07 – click the images if you wish to englarge them.
Enjoy!
[Flying over what my sister said were the Alps... but I'm a little skeptical!] – Tabarakallah, I love mountains – a sign indeed for those who reflect.
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[Dar al-Arqam in Cairo]
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[Busy, bustling Cairo! The incidents that happen on the road can be so funny (& dangerous). We once saw a car go past and the boot was open... we looked more and there was a sheep trying to get out! lol, must've been for dinner Another time, this motorcyclist was overtaking people on the already-busy road, when this taxi-driver got really angry and tried to run him down! It was so scary, I stood watching in shock as the driver went around the motorcyclist and try to grab his shirt lol. Alhamdulillah I think although people get angry, nothing much happens in the end other than an exchange of some words. Btw, Mu7aaribah & Bint Islam, I still think the taxis look like the Police Academy cars! ]
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[This picture and the next few pictures are of Islamic Cairo - including the qal3a (fort) of Salaahuddin]
[Now you can see how populated Cairo is!]
[Beautiful... overlooking the city is just incredible masha'Allah]
[This is a picture of a notice in Masjid Sultan Hasan where the 4 madh-habs (schools of fiqh) were taught. Each had a seperate entrance and teaching ground. The next picture below shows for example, the entrance for those studying Fiqh al-Malikiyyah]
[Courtyard of the masjid - don't ask what those hanging things are! I think they're lamps]
[These ancient gates are so beautiful masha'Allaah]
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Below are a few pictures of the pyramids – yeah, they are pretty huge. One time these tourists entered one of the tombs, but the only way to enter was to walk in backwards. I saw them try to enter (was trying my hardest not to laugh) and I thought subhanallah, imagine walking into a grave backwards, lol how more ‘backward’ can things get huh?]
[Egyptian guards and patrol are so hilarious subhanallaah. One time we asked these 2 traffic wardens for the exact place a certain bus was due to arrive (there were no signs) and they start to discuss it amongst themselves! I was thinking 'please, just tell us where it usually comes, we're late for something & I know the bus is coming any second now..' So they pointed out a place just a few yards down & told us to wait there as it always stops there. We went along with some other locals, and stood there for a few minutes. Alhamdulillah the bus finally came... but surprise surprise, it sped past us fast and stopped like a good 100m-200m down the busy highway! Lol I couldn't believe it. We all looked at the guards who just laughed and shrugged. Yeah, we had to sprint for the bus - along with all the locals, men women and children (who I can't believe didn't know the bus stop either! This is a bus that comes like every 1/2 hour). Everyone was so mad and shouting, but I was in stiches because it was so hilarious, subhanallaah it must have looked so funny.
[Coming up to Islamic Cairo. This road is sooo scary - that is, when you're in a taxi 
One day we managed to get a really good fare with this taxi driver alhamdulillah, so we went down here when he suddenly just accelerated. Ok, one thing is I don't drive (other than the one time I drove a go-kart, after which my brother told me to give up after 1 lap lol), so putting me in a car and then pushing on the accelerator is a big No No. This driver then decided to overtake every single car, bus and donkey that were on this motorway in the picture. He was swerving in and out and dodging massive crater holes in the road at God knows what miles-per-hour. I started saying my shahadah because to top it off, there were no seat belts and my friend had just whispered that my door looked broken! lol, I'll never forget that ride, Allahul Musta'aan - I really thought maybe the driver was getting us back for the deal we struck with him haha.
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Beautiful city of Rahab:
It's about 25-30mins drive from Madinat al-Nasr. Such a contrast, it's really quiet, clean and somehow the air is very different (there's also existence of plush green grass & trees lol) - an excellent place for families mashaa'Allaah. Only downside is, it's pretty closed off & far from Madinat al-Nasr where all the institutes & classes are happening (but there is a bus that goes back forth - if you can find the bus stops!). As much I love Rahab & could walk from end to the other strolling and enjoying the air, Madinat al-Nasr is the place to be!
[Doesn't it look refreshing?]
Ok, I’m done – I don’t know what happened to the other pictures we took (a note to my room mates: Do you understand the amount of pictures I’ve had to sift through?! What were you guys doing! lol).
Bint Islam, if you’re around maybe you can explain what some of these pictures are (especially Islamic Cairo as you had taken them)?
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