Between the storm clouds

Shot during a hair-raising flight during a storm from Dhaka to Calcutta some years back. That we landed in one piece was a near miracle.

Panasonic G1 | Panasonic 14-45mm Vario

Cairo - The Citadel, The Alabaster Mosque and other pictures

The Alabaster Mosque at the Citadel of Salah el-Din sits atop a limestone hill overlooking Cairo and is the most important mosque in the city. 

Still used a place of worship today by the Muslims of Cairo, the architectural masterpiece opens its doors to visitors of all faiths. The lower part of the Mosque is clad inside and out with Alabaster, while the top part is said to be constructed from the limestone cladding removed from the Pyramids of Giza.

The Muhammed Ali mosque in the Citadel, towering over Cairo

The city of the Living dead

It is a four mile-long set of cemeteries located on the eastern side of Cairo. It is also home to nearly a million people, many of whom were forced from crowded ghettos in Cairo.

For many who live in Cairo, the City of the Dead is a mysterious, foreboding area. Many are aware of its existence but few understand this group of vast cemeteries that stretches out along the base of the Moqattam Hills.

The Muhammed Ali mosque (also known as the Alabaster Mosque) in the skyline. In the front is the city of the living dead

A silhouette of the mosque in the evening light with the sun behind the structure

The mosque in the twilight

Portraits of Cairo

Cairo is Africa's biggest city and one of the great cities of the world, where donkeys compete for road space with beaten up Peugeot 504s and clapped out Ladas.

These are some close-up and portraits of people in Cairo . . . and some interesting pictures of people and things.

Close-up of the belly dancer on our cruise on the Nile

The lady was looking at us intently from the bus window

The band leader conducting the brass band at the start of the Sound and Light Show at Giza

A musician on our cruise on the Nile

Shoppers at the Khan el Kalili Market, Cairo

A family at the Khan el Khalili Market

Shoppers at the Khan el Khalili Market, Cairo

Bedouins offering camel rides to tourists

A close up of the Sphinx

Head of the Sphinx in front of the Egyptian Museum