The great Alexandria

On Wednesday morning we were picked up at the hotel to be taken to Alexandria. On our way out of Cairo we went past the Giza pyramids once again, and they really do stand out against the sky-line. From a number of directions the first two (father and son) are really prominent. The Grandsons is almost as big as the other two, but because it is in a bit of a dip in the landscape, it’s usually pretty hard to spot.

Above - the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria

One of the interesting things that we noticed about Egypt is the driving system. They have these legal u-turns every couple of kilometers and the driver needs to go down, do a u-turn, drive back, turn right, do another u-turn and so to eventually get to the destination. There are no turns allowed at intersections. Egyptians also seem to have a strong aversion to seat belts, and they only seem to buckle up when passing police, before unclipping. When Christine asked about this they don’t seem fond and one person actually explained that it was unsafe to wear a seat belt. They of course cited nothing scientific, but merely the “Egyptian mindset”.

The country is also almost entirely Muslim and I believe that I read somewhere approximately 95% of the population is Muslim. Interestingly our drivers name is Islam and our guide/caretaker is Mohamed. I don’t think you could find any names more Muslim than that. Everywhere we go almost every single woman has her head covered, with the clear exception of my darling fair haired wife. Interestingly no one seems to care or even give a second glance at us. This city gets way too many tourists for anyone to be interested in us. Also, my beard and modest tan make me look like I could be a fair Egyptian so some think I am local. This is challenging when I say hello in Arabic and they start chatting with me rapidly in the language and I haven’t a clue what they are saying.

Five times a day we hear the call to prayer from the minarets which are all over the city and country. We have even seen mosques in the middle of nowhere with a minaret to call people to prayer, but there is no one around. I guess they are available for the occasional traveler on the road when prayer time happens.

One of the biggest challenges that Christine is experiencing here is that she is often ignored in conversations and men will focus on me almost to her exclusion. She has been frustrated a number of times when she feels like they don’t even acknowledge that she is there. We try to get her to pay as often and express our decisions so they get a sense that we have an equal relationship, but it is difficult none the less.

The drive to Alexandria was only a couple of hours since the highway was clear and traffic is light when it is not the summer time. Alexandria itself is the second largest city in Egypt with about 5 million people and is home to the largest port in the country. Alexandria was built in about 332 BC by Alexander the Great after he somewhat peacefully took over Egypt from the Persian Empire. The Egyptians apparently were very happy about his defeat of the Persians and take over of Egypt as he was known to be supportive of local religions. When Alexander discovered the spot that would Alexandria there was only a small island and insignificant fishing village. He determined to make the city the seat of his Eastern empire. The city is famous for the ancient Library of Alexandria which is one of the ancient 7 Wonders of the World. Unfortunately the library was destroyed during the lengthy Roman occupation of Egypt. (Right - the city of Alexandria).

After arriving in the city in the afternoon we were dropped off at our hotel, in what turned out to be a very large complex. The complex has almost 400 shops, a large 24 hour grocery store and a 10 screen movie theatre. After spending a relaxing afternoon wandering around, we decided to take in a film. Now anyone who knows me knows how much I love movies and particularly movie theatres (which I get from my dad). This was the first time we went to the movies in almost 4 months, which is probably the longest stretch I have ever gone since I was a teenager. We saw the show 2012, which was a lot of fun and entertaining, on the edge of your seat, thrill a moment scenes.

Thursday morning we were picked up by Mohammed, Islam and our tour guide Mara. The day was interesting because she did not really address me directly and rarely would she look at me unless I was asking her a direct question. Her focus was almost exclusively on Christine, which was a bit of a role reversal to what has usually happened. It was nice for Christine not to be completely ignored.

Mara took us on a tour of some of the city’s famous sites and our first stop was at some catacombs that were built during the Roman times. They were chiseled out of the rock about 100 feet underground and originally designed to house the family of a rich merchant. The design and architecture was an incredible mixture of Egyptian, Roman, and Greek and they were all interwoven seamlessly throughout the structure. At one point in time the building was made public and spaces were carved for an additional 400 tombs, which greatly expanded the space, but did not add much additional artistry.

The tomb was apparently covered over and forgotten about until the early 1900’s when a French archaeologist was passing by and his donkeys hoof fell through the ground. After he extricated the hoof he went on to discover the catacombs. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures down here, so Christine doesn’t have any shots that she can share with all of you.

Following the catacombs we visited Pompey’s Pillar. As some of you may know Pompey was one of the three members of the ruling triumvirate of Rome. One of the other members on this panel was a man called Julius Caesar (perhaps you’ve heard of him). Of course old Jules couldn’t add the title Caesar to his name until he took care of his pesky compatriots and Pompey managed to escape to Egypt before he was hunted down and killed. (Left - Pompey's Pillar)

Incidentally the pillar was not built by Pompey or where he died and I am not quite sure why it was name after him. The pillar is magnificent at 27 metres high and built on the highest point of Alexandria. It is once the site of an Egyptian temple that was demolished and where a Roman temple was then built and demolished and finally a Christian church was built until an earthquake knocked it down. In the end only the pillar and couple of sphinx statues remain. The pillar was actually one of a hundred, but the others were all broken off and cast into the sea as ancient mines or a barricade against the Roman naval fleet. The governor of the city couldn’t bring himself to take down the largest and most magnificent pillar, and so there it stands all alone. (Right - Pompey's Pillar)

Following the pillar we visited an old Roman amphitheatre. The acoustics in the 800 seat theatre was amazing and that without the roof. The architecture around the theatre is simple but beautiful and they engaged white marble, green marble and granite in it’s construction. Apparently the theatre was once buried under garbage and it was until recently that the garbage was moved out of the city centre and it was discovered. Today, modern singers give performances in the summer at the same location. (Left - Roman amphitheatre)

Our final stop of the day was at a large green space that was once the gardens for the king and spanned 372 acres. There were two castles built, one that is now a hotel and the other that is a presidential palace. The castle was built in the 1930’s and has a very new and modern feel to it that isn’t experienced by the castles in Europe. The castle is built right on the Mediterranean Sea and has a magnificent view. (Right - Presidential Palace)

Today was a pretty low key day as we drove back into the city. We spent the afternoon doing a bit of shopping, browsing and relaxing. Tomorrow we are being picked up early for our flight to Luxor, which is where the Valley of Kings is. From there we start a 4 day boat trip down the Nile and will be out of contact for that time. We end our trip down the Nile at the Aswan dam and hopefully we will be in touch after that. (Left - Kings Gardens).

Best Wishes,

Christine and Hovan