Mummification vs. crappy taxidermy

**Lots of pictures of dead animals ahead, obviously**

Included on my long list of places to see in Cairo is the Agricultural Museum, with its notoriously awful taxidermied animals and...well, that's actually the only thing worth seeing there. Also on my list is the Galabaya Fish Park, a place that, like the name, makes no sense whatsoever. I decided to knock both off the list today, starting with the museum. 

According to the plaque on the front, the museum was built in 1930 and the poorly-maintained specimens inside are likely even older. Hundreds of African birds are displayed in the museum and they are all in dismal condition. To me, collecting (i.e. killing) birds for scientific study is objectionable, but seeing case after case of disheveled and dismembered specimens of everything from parrots and kingfishers to falcons and bee-eaters is truly enraging. What a waste. 

Below is the most orderly collection on display.

Of course, there were dozens of other, non-bird animals in the museum. They were displayed in such a way that made them seem like trophies from the ever-popular African hunting safaris. 

I still couldn't help finding some of the taxidermied animals hilarious. They're just so bad.

The whale skeleton was one of the most impressive pieces in the museum, but what I was really taken with were the posters. There were dozens like the camel skeleton one below, and many of them included all the Arabic bird names (something usually deemed unimportant in Middle Eastern bird guides).

The nearby Ancient History collection had slightly worse taxidermy than the first museum, but I guess that's to be expected when all the specimens on display are older than Jesus. The mummified animals ranged from 2500-5000 years old.

Below are mummified ibises. It is unclear how many of the animals were actually killed in order to act as sacrifices. Some animals were mummified because they were pets who needed to make it to the afterlife to eventually be with their owners again, while others were given a proper burial because they were sacred and represented various gods (as is the case with the ibis). 

There were also interesting papyrus cards on display (not ancient) that described the usefulness of local animals: "Hoopoe gets rid of Insects" and the geese and ducks "eat mosquito eggs and Bilharzia snails." Bilharzia is the disease you get from swimming in the Nile. In ancient times, before the illness was understood, men would see blood in their urine and believe themselves to be menstruating, leading them to consider it a rite of passage for young boys.

My next stop was Galabaya Fish Park in Zamalek.

I didn't know what to expect. A park? An aquarium? It was actually a series of incomplete excavations for various ponds. Only one had water in it. The rest of the park was nice, but mostly empty.

I thought I had seen everything the fish park had to offer, but then I came across a man-made grotto on the south side of the ponds. It was an empty cave, with fake stalactites and stalagmites. As soon as I went inside, I heard strange chirps above me. Once my eyes adjusted, I was able to see the dozens of balls of fur swinging slightly from the roof of the cave, clinging to the rock with their tiny feet. 

They were incredibly hard to photograph. Partially because it was so dark, but also because they're always moving, facing away from the light, and they are the exact color as the stone behind them.

Bats (khafafeesh) are the coolest. Egypt has a few species--including the Egyptian Tomb Bat--but these are Egyptian Fruit Bats. I don't know if they're supposed to be there, or if this place was made to attract them, but they seem to have a perfect home in the middle of Cairo. 

Eid al-Fitr

Today is the beginning of the end of Ramadan. This month has passed by at an excruciatingly slow pace. In fact, Ramadan seems to last for so long that for weeks afterwards I will still hesitate before drinking water in public, as if I've trained myself to believe that Arabs simply never eat or drink during the day.

The next few days will be packed with street parties to celebrate Eid. A lot of people, especially foreigners, leave the city to avoid the hassle. Trying to get anything done over this weekend is hopeless and even making one's way through the crowded streets is near impossible at times. I found, however, that at the right time, with the right atmosphere, it can be really exciting.

 This is especially true in Islamic Cairo after Iftar, when everything is lit up in brilliant colors, small concerts are playing on each corner, and children are setting off deafeningly loud fireworks. Everyone is drinking coffee, smoking shisha, and eating teen shawki (or spiky figs, which are really cactus fruit) that are carted down the streets in large green and yellow piles. In moments like those it's easy to see the charm in Ramadan, but that is only a glimpse into a month full of inconveniences and absurdities. As a non-Muslim westerner, do you want to grab a beer at your favorite bar? No such luck. How about watch a movie with some Muslim friends? You better make sure it doesn't have any sort of nudity or even the tamest of sex scenes. Do you want to order a hamburger at a major restaurant? Too bad, they inexplicably do not sell 100% halal hamburgers at any time during Ramadan. And, finally, after about 15 hours without food or water, in 100+ degree heat, the very first thing many Egyptian men do at sundown is light up a cigarette. 

Probably the strangest Ramadan experience this year was when I ventured to Coptic Cairo, figuring that I could explore the area and not worry about eating or drinking in public in this Christian neighborhood. It was true that others were eating and drinking freely, but as soon as I arrived I was told to leave--the churches, museums, and gardens were closing at 2pm for Ramadan. Instead, I wandered around the houses and some graves for a little while until I felt out-of-place enough to just head back home. 

The Greek Orthodox Church and Monastery of Saint George (Mar Girgis Church)

For many Muslims, Ramadan is a time to be with friends and family, socializing in large groups on an almost daily basis. For non-Muslim foreigners, it may be the exact opposite. Aside from the occasional Iftar, most time is spent alone or at work since there is nothing to do or to explore unless you reverse your schedule by sleeping at 5am and waking up in the early afternoon. For non-Muslims, Ramadan is definitely worth experiencing once, but not three years in a row. Maybe I'll have the foresight to leave the country next year. 

Some other pictures from the last month include street graffiti, a trip to al-Azhar Park, and my first somewhat official interview with the owner of L'Orientaliste book shop downtown.

 Mohamed Mahmoud street right before Iftar.