August 31, 1943.

CAIRO - August 31, 1943.
I got up early this morning and had breakfast in bed! Had a fresh egg omelet, coffee, toast - butter and marmalade - rolls and cantaloupe. After breakfast, we headed to town.
We picked up a Guide, and took a taxi to the Bazaar and Mosque. The blue mosque is inside a British fortress overlooking the city of Cairo. I can see the native quarters; the new part of the city; the winding Nile river; the Pyramids; and the quarry from where the stone for the Pyramids and Sphinx were quarried. The internal structure of the Mosque is of alabaster taken from the outer covering of the large pyramid. It is a beautiful tan and white marble, coming originally from quarries which are 500 miles away! The ceiling in the mosque is all hand-painted in blues, gold and red. The names of the four Moslem prophets are inscribed on the ceiling many hundreds of feet high! There are beautiful stained-cut glass-windows, coming from Italy, in the domes! There are over a thousand fine glass chandeliers, and beautiful carpets.
The building is 500 years old! A semi-circular cut in the wall, constitutes the altar, and faces due East towards Mecca. The prophet prays there, while the congregation sits out front on the carpet. They have a pillar that can be rotated towards Mecca. The person ,“wishing” for something, grabs iron rings that are fastened to the wall, and makes his petition - believing that whatever he asks for, he will receive. They then go out the door to the right called the “Good Luck Door”.
(to be continued)