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Published: December 22nd 2008
Alex in Alex
Travelling Canucks in Alex!Alexandria Here We Are!
We arrived at Alexandria's Borg El Arab Airport at 2:00am on December 17th faced with an unbelievable scene of confused tourists and confusing airport staff who acted like it was their first day on the job. It was street theatre at its best with bumbling officials providing the comic relief. After waiting at least an hour and half in 3 lines, one for buying our visas, one for passport stamps and one for clearing customs with baggage in hand, we were hoping the prearranged driver had not deserted us in the desert.
Before exciting the terminal with all our baggage having safely followed us, we were asked “what is in our luggage?” Papa Canuck replied “clothing, toiletries, cameras and other tourist stuff. The customs official looked at Papa Canuck in shock and said “A tourist?”
Fortunately, our hotel driver greeted us at the exit of the terminal building with a warm welcome. We were so relieved to not be at the mercy of taxi drivers in a state of unconsciousness! As we followed our driver into the mayhem, it seemed like everyone that was awake in Alex was hanging out in the airport parking
lot, where Mama Canuck even witnessed a women’s large piece of luggage being driven over by a car.
As we approached our ride, a black 7 series BMW, we felt uneasy as we were the subject of gazes from a large gathering as we watched the driver squeeze our bags into the trunk. The chaos immediately vanished as we took refuge in the sumptuous interior of the vehicle where lemon scented towels, chilled bottled water and candies were at our fingertips. As we inched our way out of a parking lot that seemed like a vortex of cars and Egyptians swirling in all directions, we had a 45 minute drive to look forward to - it was that good! Coincidentally, the first jazz selection happened to be one of Papa’s favorite Diana Krall tunes. Top marks were given to Mama Canuck for prearranging transport from the airport to the hotel, even at the princely price.
Our drive to our hotel in San Stefano afforded a quiet view of Alex at night. A number of oil refineries dotted the outskirts of Alex which illuminated the sky and the lit Stanly Bridge was an impressive sight.
When we arrived
Room with a view.
Hotel room upgrade with sea view to compliment spectacular interiors. at our hotel, we were greeted warmly by an army of friendly faces after having a bomb sniffing golden retriever tour around the hotel car at the security gate. Who knew golden retrievers had it in them; golden retrievers never struck me as having the right stuff to be a security canine!
Once the sun finally rose in San Stefano, Junior Canuck who had not slept a wink since the flight, woke us up to Papa Canuck’s dismay. While we had a hint of what a lovely hotel we were fortunate to stay in, it was not until we opened our curtains to our private terrace overlooking the blue Mediterranean Sea and sky that we could fully appreciate the wonderful location and hotel we had chosen to stay in. The manager who had personally greeted us at 4am had upgraded our accommodation to a sea view which was a dream come true!
Photographs of the Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano do not do it justice. After enjoying a light breakfast al fresco in Kala Restaurant, we walked around the property and were amazed with the décor that compliments the spectacular views of the sea from many vantage
points. Hotel staff are busily dusting, misting and polishing as the hotel is not only new, but lovingly maintained. The hotel staff are friendly and warm and very attentive. Security is ever present, but unobtrusive.
Because of the prospect of fighting jetlag, a 10 hour time change and long travel day and night, we planned to take it easy on our first day in Alexandria. However, having finally set foot in Egypt, we were so excited about starting our journey by following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, we soldiered ahead despite being exhausted!
Amazing Alexandria
Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria was renowned as a beacon of culture. It gained legendary status in the ancient world as the city was the setting for Cleopatra and Mark Antony's stormy relationship, and was home to Pharos Lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as well as the Royal Library of Alexandria founded in the third century BC. Since it was once the largest library in the world, it established Egypt as the centre of learning in the ancient world.
Most of these archaeological treasures were lost or are underwater ruins
Papa Canuck Storms Fort
Papa Canuck soldiers on in Alexandria despite being jet-lagged. that are just starting to be rediscovered; however, there remains a hint of its former glory: Pompey’s Pillar, the Roman Amphitheatre and Catacombs.
Today, Alexandria is Egypt’s second-largest metropolis with over 9 million inhabitants and it is the Mediterranean gateway to the world. Known as the Pearl of the Mediterranean, the city has an ambience that feels more Mediterranean than Middle Eastern. It has a vibrant cafe culture and great restaurants, which is our kind of city. No longing for those home-cooked meals!! Alexandria's temperate climate makes it the most popular resort destination along the Mediterranean coast over the spring to fall months. December's average temperature is 21c and we enjoyed beautiful blue skies for most of our stay.
While Alexandria is considered the wettest city in Egypt, which is not difficult since 98% of Egypt is desert, it receives about 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) of rain every year. To put that into perspective, for those who live on the "wetcoast", that would be equivalent to one big winter rainstorm in the wettest regions of British Columbia that experience over 455 centimeters (15 feet or 180 inches) per annum. Hey, we are lucky to live in Vancouver where
Main Tower at Fort
First encounter with the Tourist Police of Egypt we usually are inundated from October to March with over 115 centimeters (45 inches) of annual rainfall! Don't want to gloat, but I have to admit, it's great to have escaped the rain (sometimes snow), cloudy skies and cold temperatures of a Vancouver December!
Holding on for Dear Life
Wednesday, December 17th We spent our first day by taking local taxis to and from Fort Qaitbey with an extended visit to the Bibliotheca Alexandria against the concierge’s advice. We later learned, never doubt the wisdom of a concierge! While the hotel called the taxi and arranged for a fixed price, we were on our own after that. Somehow, we managed to arrange for the taxi to wait for us to take us to the Bibliotheca after touring the Fort with Mama Canuck’s attempts at speaking Egyptian Arabic met with smiles and a look of amazement. Few westerners are found at the historical sites and streets of Alex, so we are often asked where we come from and welcomed as "Canadians are good"!
Taxis drive on the corniche that hugs the shoreline like a race track where drivers jockey for position with constant lane changing without the
benefit of headlights, seatbelts or turn signals. As the limousine driver warned us, Egyptians drive as if there are no rules. I would go one step further, the rule is survival of the fittest! With only a few close calls, we held on to the car handles and considered ourselves lucky since, if there is a sliver of light, you can count on at least two vehicles trying to squeeze in with blaring horns and flashing headlights blazing the way. Words cannot describe the feelings of utter helplessness and no doubt prayers to Allah from the agnostics could be heard!
Fort Qaitbey Fort Qaitbey, a castle that sits on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was built in the 1480s by Sultan Qaitbey. The fort was built using the remains of the lighthouse, after two earthquakes had destroyed it. Once helpful in protecting the city from attacks of crusaders, it now offers beautiful views of Alexandria and the Mediterranean Sea.
Tourist police, come tour guides and photographers, stake their territories out and as the Travelling Canucks entered their “zones”, we had our own security detail, which came
Prayer Niche faces Mecca
At oldest mosque in Alex. in handy when we were befriended by a young Egyptian who was promptly dissuaded by the police. We enjoyed the “tour of the tower and the company of our tourist police/guide!
We then headed to the Bibliotheca Alexandria after being greeted by our taxi driver outside the fort. It took longer to get to the library since the traffic thickened as the day wore on. As pedestrians dodge the traffic and wait for microbuses on the streets, there is a crush of people that overwhelms the city centre.
Bibliotheca Alexandria The Bibliotheca Alexandria, which opened in 2003, was built at a site near the ancient library, which is believed to have been destroyed by a series of fires along with its precious, irreplaceable manuscripts. The only remaining manuscript originating in Alexandria is located in Vienna, Austria.
We took a guided tour of the library and toured around independently. I would recommend the guided tour although it was very short. However, given we were all very tired, we only got a chance to see some of the main attractions covered by a combo ticket. There is so much to see, you need quite a bit of time
to take it all in.
The library has the capacity to hold more than eight million books of every language, but currently holds approximately 600,000 books. It offers six specialized libraries, three specialized museums, a planetarium, a children's exploratorium, six art galleries, a conference centre and seven research institutes.
It is a state of the art library with a price tag of 220 million US dollars. It is likely one of the world’s greatest libraries, if not the most expensive. It’s highly technologically advanced with an incredible commitment to digitizing the world’s literary resources for access via the Internet. It even has a complete library of internet web pages dating back to 1996.
We caught a glimpse of Alexandria through the ages in an exhibit of maps, etchings and photographs of the architectural splendor that Alex once enjoyed. Sadly, most of the once impressive buildings have fallen in disrepair and the city often appears to be crushed by the masses.
Luckily, the Manuscript Museum just reopened after renovations and we were treated to a private guided tour by a lovely Egyptian female guide. The exhibits were fascinating and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. We also quickly
toured the small but well-laid out Antiquities Museum before facing the challenge of hailing a taxi back to the hotel. Although the library is opened until 7pm and there was more to see, the Travelling Canucks were ready to hit their pillows having barely slept the night before!
Holding on for dear life, we finally made it back to our hotel after weaving in and out of three lanes of heavy traffic on the corniche. Our taxi driver did not use his horn as much as the morning taxi driver to our detriment, since we had a few close calls! When we were greeted at our hotel by a small contingent of friendly doormen and bellmen, we dashed past them towards the concierge’s desk to book a driver and tour guide at any cost!
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Jules
non-member comment
"I don't want to gloat" she says...
I'm looking out my window at 8+inches of snow and Mama Canuck says "I don't want to gloat, but..." grrrrrrrr