Church of St. George in Cairo, Egypt

On April 13, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Egypt6 Comments

During our trip to Cairo, we took a day to visit Coptic Cairo, which is a section of Old Cairo with the Babylon Fortress, Abu Serga (Cave Church), and the Church of St. George. The Church of St. George is a Greek Orthodox church that dates back to the 10th century, although the current church buildings were built in 1909 after being destroyed in a fire in 1904. Sitting on top of a hill with a steep set of stairs, the architecture of the church is definitely interesting and impressive.

As you approach the church, there is no doubt as to who it is dedicated as there are several murals with images of St. George defeating the dragon, including the large relief on the front of the church itself. The church tower also has a wind-vane that features a dragon that hovers over the church. The church itself is a round building with a large dome over the center, which is quite stunning and dramatic.

Next to the church is a cemetery with beautiful grounds and a variety of crypts and tombs. Seeing a Christian cemetery in the heart of Cairo was certainly unique and it was quiet and peaceful in the otherwise hectic city. One of the most interesting features in the cemetery was a mud and stone crypt that resembled a cave. There wasn’t any signage or information that indicated its history or purpose within the cemetery.

The interior of the Church of St. George was beautiful, especially with its colorful dome ceiling. Inside of the church, there was also a gold image of St. George slaying the dragon. There is certainly plenty to see in Old Cairo as well as in Coptic Cairo and we spent a couple of hours visiting the various sites.

Huong Tich Cave at Perfume Pagoda in Vietnam

On January 30, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Vietnam3 Comments

Perfume Pagoda is a complex of Buddhist temples located about a couple of hours outside of Hanoi in Vietnam. At the heart of the complex is Huong Tich Cave and within the cave is Chua Trong or the Inner Temple. During the festival time, from late January through early March, thousands of people visit the temple and the 2.5 km (1.5 mile) path that takes you up to the cave is lined with vendor stalls selling food, gifts, and objects to use as an offering. In order to reach the Perfume Pagoda complex, you need to take an almost hour long boat ride (less if you take a motorized boat) through the beautiful countryside.

There is a cable car that will also take you to the summit where Huong Tich Cave is located and for the nominal price it is worth it. During the festival, however, the lines for the cable car are so long that it is faster to walk and even that is very slow going as you weave along the foot path. The views from the cable car are also worth it as it allows you to get above the path and see how it winds through the forest. After taking the cable car to the summit and visiting the cave and Chua Trong, we did walk down the path in order to get an appreciation of it. There were only a few stalls open during our visit and needless to say, with less visitors, they worked hard to try to get us to buy something.

Temple Building on the Side of the Mountain

From the cable car, you walk down a steep set of stairs that take you to the entrance of the cave. The opening of Huong Tich Cave is said to resemble the mouth of a dragon and there is a rock formation inside of the cave that also looks like a dragon. There is a ceremonial altar at the entrance and at the deepest part of the cave is the inner temple, Chua Trong. As we understand it, it is the only pagoda located inside of a cave and there are many different statues of Buddha in the temple. Even without the temple, the inside of the cave is interesting to see with all of the typical stalagmites and stalactites.

When visiting Hanoi, we’d definitely recommend going on the Perfume Pagoda tour, but only after doing Halong Bay and a Ninh Binh tour. The scenery is beautiful and the history, which goes back hundreds of years, and culture is fascinating. It is probably interesting to see during the festival season, but since we don’t like crowds, we were fine with visiting a couple of months before it started. The tour will take a full day from Hanoi, lasting about 10 hours from hotel pick-up to drop-off.

Wat Si Saket in Vientiane, Laos

On January 28, 2020January 28, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn LaosLeave a comment

Wat Si Saket is a Buddhist temple and museum in Vientiane, Laos. There are many wats, or temples, in Vientiane and Wat Si Saket was the first that we visited during our day-long tour of Vientiane’s inner city. Built in 1818, it might be the oldest wat as many of the wats have been destroyed and rebuilt due to the many wars and invasions of Laos. Because it is a museum as well as a temple, there are many ancient Buddhist statues on display within the temple grounds.

The Wat Si Saket was built in the Siamese style of Buddhist architecture, making it different than a lot of the other wats that we visited during our tour. The architecture and artwork were definitely fascinating with so many different details on the various buildings. As with most wats, there were stupas all around the exterior wall of the temple where important Buddhist priests and other citizens are entombed. There is also a typical drum tower, which the priests use to call people to the temple for prayer.

Because the inner city of Vientiane is so walkable, it is easy to visit multiple wats in a single day. Starting with Wat Si Saket is a perfect starting point since it is open to the public from 8:00 to 17:00 seven days a week. It might seem strange to have so many temples in a country that is communist, but as it was explained to us, the political system is communist, the economy is capitalist, and the majority of the people are Buddhist.