Abu Serga Church in Cairo, Egypt

On April 30, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Egypt7 Comments

Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, also known as the Abu Serga Church as well as the Cavern Church, is an important historical and religious landmark in Cairo, Egypt. The church is supposed to be built on the spot where Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus rested at the end of their journey into Egypt. The church is dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus who were soldiers in the 4th century that were killed by the Roman Emperor Maximian and achieved martyrdom and sainthood.

The church is one of the oldest in Egypt and dates back to sometime in the 4th or 5th century. It is located near the Babylon Fortress in Cairo and it was believed that Joseph may have been one of the people to work on the construction of the fortress. We visited the Abu Serga Church as part of a tour of the section of Cairo known as Coptic Cairo where there are a variety of historical sites.

The interior of the church is quite fascinating and contains a variety of ancient relics. It is a popular location for tourists to visit and you will find yourself in a line of people as you make your way through the actual cavern inside of the church. There is also a well within the church that is believed that the Holy Family drank from. With such historical, religious, and cultural significance, visiting the Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church is definitely worth doing while you are in Cairo.

The Flowers of Egypt

On February 5, 2019February 4, 2019 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Egypt, Photo Challenge8 Comments

Mention Egypt to someone and images of desert sand and pyramids immediately come to mind. However, one of the images that will remain with us as we think back about our trip to Egypt were the orange blooms of the Poinciana trees and other flowers that we saw during our visit. Perhaps because so much of the trip was spent surrounded by sand and stone temples that every flower that we did see stood out even more. The pop of color was definitely a contrast to the surroundings and we saw these vibrant trees all around Egypt, but especially in Cairo as well as the surrounding suburbs.

Blooming Poinciana Trees with a Mosque in the Distance

One of our favorite memories of the Poinciana trees was during our tour of Old Town Cairo where we saw them all around the ancient mosques. The colors were so bright and vibrant that it was hard not to focus on the trees as much as the historical buildings that we were there to see. It is amazing how sometimes something as simple as a flowering tree can bring back such vivid memories of a location that you’ve visited. The Poinciana trees will always remind us of our time in Egypt.

Another Perspective with a Mosque in the Background

Capturing Local Life in Egypt

On December 11, 2018December 11, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Egypt6 Comments

One of the things that we do during our travels is to try and capture images of local life and not just photographs of historic sites that we see. We often take tours where we drive through various areas of cities on our way to our intended destination and often these glimpses into the real lives of the people who live there are as fascinating as the tourist locations that we visit. It started with our trip to India many years ago where we took photographs of the stores, houses, and people who lived throughout Chennai. We have continued to do so during all of our trips, especially those where the lifestyle of the people where we are visiting is different than our own.

It is an interesting way to get a sense of a culture that you might not get otherwise. Clearly, any country is diverse and no single picture can capture the entire society, but it is often a window into things that you won’t find in any travel books or brochures. Taking photographs from a traveling vehicle isn’t always easy and you often have just a second to try and capture the image that you see as you drive by. Because we are taking the photographs from a car traveling through a neighborhood, the people in the pictures have no idea that their photograph is being taken. That allows us to take photographs that capture real life, unfiltered.

We were on several tours during our time in Egypt as we visited cities like Cairo, Luxor, Edfu, and Aswan. On each of these tours, we were able to catch different images of local life from these very different cities. Because we saw such a wide variety of people going about their daily lives, it did give us a sense of the overall society. Do you ever take candid photos as you travel from one location to another that aren’t about the destination, but the journey?