Alexandria and the Mediterranean (Round 1)

This weekend's trip had some very high and low points. The primary low point was returning to Cairo and realizing my disappointment with this city might not actually be culture shock, but genuine dislike (this will be my next entry... gonna stick to the positive stuff today).

Alexandria was great. I loved it. It was a city, but it wasn't Cairo. It was actually a relief to realize that I could like an Egyptian city so much. Some basic background: Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 332 BCE next to a small Egyptian village. It was the first port on Egypt's Mediterranean shoal coast, so it really revolutionized the way Egyptian society functioned. Cleopatra hung out and died there. It was the capital of Egypt for almost a thousand years, and was famous for the lighthouse and massive library that once existed but were destroyed in fires, earthquakes, pillages, and/or rising sea levels. Now it's the second largest city in Egypt, but is nothing compared to Cairo.

Early Friday morning we hopped on a train in downtown Cairo - tickets are pretty cheap, as Alex is only about 2.5 hours from Cairo. After finding a cheap hotel, we did some wandering, took some pictures, and found our way to the Roman amphitheater. Outrageous. Took some more good pictures (and some goofy pictures), sang Wham's "Wake Me Up" at the echo-y spot in the center of amphitheather like true American tourists, and climbed around on the steps looking at the ancient graffiti.

They had an outdoor exhibit featuring artifacts that had been removed from the bay after thousands of years below water. You can apparently pay a lot of money to scuba dive in the ruins off the coast (and see "Cleopatra's Palace"), but I doubt I'll ever spend the money. Pretty fascinating, though. Some of the inscriptions were eroded away, but most were still legible. Included is a photo of a photo of the removal of one of the pieces.

We then wandered over to an area currently being excavated. We needed special tickets to get there, technically, but after talking with the guard a little, I got us access to the ruins of a Roman bathhouse, Byzantine village, and a famous site called Villa of the Birds in exchange for a small tip. Incredible stuff. In the background of the photo is the Roman site, at an elevation below the Byzantine ruins in the foreground. Amazing that you can actually see how time had progressed.

We grabbed some fresh juice (same delicious liquified fruit I drank in Lamu) and set off for the new Library of Alexandria. It's a really impressive structure, extremely modern, and obviously a huuuuge investment for Egypt, but doesn't have too many books yet. Doesn't stop them from bragging about it. That's the sloped roof on the right.


After returning to our hotel, we learned that an Egyptian club football team was sharing the place with us. Despite their obvious interest in making friends with the young American girls next door, we decided to keep our door closed and locked. This did not keep them from banging on our wall and talking loudly all night, however, so sleep didn't really happen.

Next morning we hit the Citadel (15th/16th century?), built at the site where Alexandria's famous lighthouse used to be. Here's the view from the seafront. It's way off across the harbor (you might have to click the picture to see it).

View of the harbor from inside the fort. The haze is sand that gets blown into the air on windy days. Egypt's "overcast".

There were hundreds of school children visiting from all over the Delta, and they were more than a little excited at the opportunity to practice their English with some Americans. We were repeatedly swarmed, cornered, and asked to take pictures. It was really fun, and reminded me a lot of the orphans we used to play with in Nairobi. My friend Jess is the one in the striped shirt, here:


After the fort, we hit the National Museum of Alexandria for a couple of hours, got more juice, and headed for a beach. The Mediterranean, though clear and blue-green and more beautiful than anything I'd seen since the Yucatan, was freeeeeeeeezing. We ordered some tea and rested on the beach for a while, anyway. Softest sand since Lamu. First picture is taken from a pier, but you can see the lovely color of the sea.

Heather's look of surprise at the cold water, with the Alex seafront behind:

The rest of the time was spent drinking juice, eating bakhlawa, meeting random people from Philadelphia, and relaxing. When we got tired we'd sit along the seawall, breathe the relatively fresh air, and enjoy the view. Our second night we ate at a lovely, moderately expensive Greek restaurant looking out over the harbor, where Heather and I split a fresh sea bass. It was a beautiful night and a great end to the trip. We will definitely be going back. Alex is too close, too cheap, too pretty, and too... not Cairo... for us not to return in warmer weather for a swim. Hence "Round 1".