Blogs from Alexandria, Mediterranean, Egypt, Africa - page 3

This was the epitome of my cruising! Since I was a child I dreamed of going to Cairo! The ship docked in Alexandria for one day and the next continued to Port Said for the second. I took a crew tour to Cairo to see the Pyramids and the Sphynx. For those who have never been here let me explain how things work. Never I repeat NEVER drink the water or eat fresh fruit. We had passengers who did even after being told not to and of course they became ill... and we all had to suffer. As soon as you enter the city you will be harassed by vendors trying to make a buck. They see you coming and they will always jack up the price. Barter down to a price that you feel is ... read more

August 8th I had decided that I would need to replace my phone and camera as soon as possible, if only to continue taking pictures for the blog. I did the most logical thing and bought a camera phone in the morning. Aanas had headed out early in the morning to meet another CouchSurfer and see as much of Alexandria as he could before heading back to Cairo to catch a plane. After getting a phone and camera I was able to get in contact with Maha, she had offered to show me more of the city. We went to all sorts of places, first we headed to the Qaitbay Citadel, built on the same site that once stood the Alexandrian Lighthouse, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was used ... read more

Alexandria is where I call home in Egypt. It’s where I spent my teenage years, graduated from High School and University and where my family still lives. There is a mysterious charm about the place and I can’t get enough of it. It has a unique mix of culture, you can still sense the European presence that once existed, the Mediterranean laid back attitude and the Egyptian hospitality. When I am in Cairo I long to be in Alexandria with my family and going for early Friday morning walks along the Corniche (sea road). It is an unspoken ritual/tradition that Fridays are family days and on that day we give our mothers a rest from laboring in the kitchen and go out to eat. My Dad loves food and I think I inherited his passion for ... read more

After a breakfast at the rooftop restaurant overlooking the sunny city, we headed off to explore the famous Biblioteca Alexandrine. It is believed that the new Alexandria library is on the site of the original ancient library (by the same name). It was the center of knowledge and learning of the ancient world and it housed a million papyrus scrolls with knowledge of the time. It was built in approximately 200BC (I need to check my dates on this) and only survived about 400 years when it burned down. Only one papyrus scroll survived the fire and is now housed in a museum in Vienna. The new library was built on the same site and finished in 2002. It's designed in the shape of a sun disk, representing the sun rising on the Mediterranean as the ... read more

My apologies for the dealy in publishing this. Here is an account of my weekend in Alexandria. Most of this was written on Saturday night, but this is the first chance I've had to get it out. -MG 5 June 2010 1927 (GMT +3) Alexandria, Egypt That’s right. I’ve ventured outside the confines of Cairo and am reporting to you now from a spot overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria is definitely a city with history, even more so than Cairo. As we all know, it was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, during the Macedonian king’s campaign against the Persian Empire. (Cairo was not founded until the 10th Century AD.) In fact, the Persians at the time controlled Egypt, and their rule is considered the 31st and final Egyptian dynasty. (We did all know ... read more