Alexandria

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Marhaba!

This past weekend I ventured to Alexandria, Egypt's beautiful Mediterranean coastal city. The drive took approximately three hours, and was not that bad since I slept most of the way (I had to get up 5:10 to leave at 6 in the morning!)

The first thing we did while in Alexandria was venture through the narrow streets with our big bus to go to the Roman Catacombs. The Roman Catacombs in Alexandria were found only in 1900 by a donkey since an excavation started in 1892. Wait a donkey? Well, according to legend, a donkey pulling a cart unfortunately fell through a hole in the ground and voila there were the catacombs!

The catacombs, or Kom el-Shoqafa, date back to the first century AD. Most likely these tombs were originally private, but later became public. After our descent down 99 steps we saw the tunnels in which the bodies were taken through to go to their final resting places in the tombs. Different drawings of gods adorn the inside, but sometimes the Egyptian gods are dressed in Roman soldiers' outfits, which is quite funny to see!

The catacombs still remain a mystery because no bones of humans were ever found, and people don't know what happened to them. Some speculate they could have been taken away by the water that is still somewhat present on the second level and completely submerges the third level to this day. Presently all the bones displayed there found to belong to deceased horses. Nevertheless, walking through the empty tombs and over tunnels covered only by wood made me feel like a tomb raider, and it was a really awesome experience!

Our next stop was the Roman Amphitheater in Alexandria. This was also found by accident by an archaeologist who was trying to find the tomb of Alexander the Great (which still has not been found). The theater dates back to the second century AD and was last renovated most likely around the sixth century AD. It is used to this day as a backdrop for local concerts during the summer, but you can't climb on it, therefore, the actual concert seats are located in front of the ancient ruins.

After our two historical visits in the morning, we ventured off for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Lunch was at a Greek restaurant, and I had calamari which was delicious. Almost at the end of our lunch we started hearing people shouting outside and looked out the window to see a Friday demonstration. It was very exciting! The protesters were calling for the ouster of the Minister of the Interior. When they realized that we were foreigners, they stopped protesting and started posing for pictures and yelling that they loved tourists and America. For them, seeing tourists after the Revolution is a rarity, so we were also quite a spectacle to behold.

After all the excitement died down, we took a bus down the Mediterranean coastline to our hotel. The rooms were very spacious and it was great for one night's stay. After we settled in we went for a walk along the beach. As we were taking pictures, a guy came up to us and started talking. Our first instincts as Americans and girls was to just ignore him, but he turned out to be very nice. He wanted to make sure his English was still good since he hadn't been able to talk to tourists recently, because, well, they're not generally around anymore. His English was really good and he even pointed out his family in the water and made them wave to us and say hello. Then he wished us well as he left, and we felt very happy about our cultural exchange. After that we got mango and strawberry ice cream for 3 pounds (50 cents) which was delicious and just hit the spot!

After a quick rest we took our hour and a half bus ride to dinner (traffic was crazy, mainly because there was a soccer game between Egypt and Tunisia) and had a wonderful dinner of rice, pita, humus, and Kofta, which is a type of Middle Eastern meatloaf, but nothing like the American meatloaf we are used to (imho). During our meal, the football match was on TV and everybody was intently watching as Egypt was down 1-0. About sixty minutes into the game Egypt finally scored and the place went crazy. The manager had to come out and tell all the employees to go back to work and after they did, he stood and watched the match...

We got back late and were extremely tired so we went to bed. The next morning we had an incredible breakfast at the hotel consisting of pastries, eggs, potatoes, and peach juice. After breakfast we went on the bus to The Qaitbay Citadel. This fortress was built around 1400 in the spot where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood and was later destroyed by an earthquake in 1307. The fortress has some pretty awesome views of the city itself and the Mediterranean Sea. Apparently, in a few years, they want to open an underwater museum scuba type program to view some of the remnants of the lighthouse which are underwater near the fortress. This would definitely increase tourism, but this could take decades considering the way Egypt "renovates" some of their historical artifacts.

To end our historical tour of Alexandria, we went to the new Biblioteca Alexandrina, built not far from where the ancient library of Alexandria once stood. The library is not that old, only nine years, and is very impressive. There are eleven floors and numerous museums inside. One of the museums is The Anwar Sadat Museum which holds his military uniform and watch still stained with his blood from the day he was assassinated in 1981. Looking at those artifacts while staring at the pictures of that fateful day next to them was extremely powerful and very eerie.

After walking around the library, we ate lunch at a restaurant that had an Italian name, served Egyptian food, and played American techno music. It was definitely interesting and the food was great. Then we started our 5 hour bus trip back home. Yes, 5 hours! Once we hit outside Cairo the traffic was almost at a standstill because there were just so many cars. To say the least, we were extremely happy to arrive back home at AUC and stretch out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Alexandria and seeing the contrasts to Cairo. I would very much like to go back and visit downtown, as we were advised not to do so on Friday because of the demonstrations. Hopefully, within the year, I will get this chance. Until next time, I hope you enjoy the pictures (none of the catacombs, sorry no photos allowed).

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Photos

Alexandria
Amphitheater

Alexandria
Friday Demonstrations

Alexandria
The Beach

Alexandria
Qaitbay Citadel

Alexandria
A view of the city from the Citadel

Alexandria
Biblioteca-Inside

Alexandria
Biblioteca-Outside