Exploring Alexandria ... so much to see
Today we had a busy day scheduled with a packed itinerary that was to take us to a whole lot of new places to explore. We were up, fed and ready to meet with Marwa and Saad at 9.00 (a very lazy start for us) and to begin our adventures for the day.
Our first stop - via a road still in construction and then along small roads lined with cars and people dashing out in front of us (Saad is a champion driver) was the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa whose name means the Mound of the Shards. The catacombs consist of 3 levels underground accessed via a circular staircase that winds down to each of the levels. At each of level you discover meeting places, huge cut outs into the solid rock where they believe mummies were stored and chambers that lead off deep into the rock wall. Carvings that are a mix of Pharaonic, Greek and Roman origins adorn the walls. They are superb, but are a totally different experience than the temples of Upper and Lower Egypt from the 21 dynasties.
We then drove to Pompey's Pillar located at the Serapeum of Alexandria. It is a massive Roman style column made from granite standing at just under 27 metres tall that towers above Alexandria on a raised hill (in the middle of a highly urbanised area). Surrounding the column are the remains of a temple and beneath the ground is a Sanctuary which is a maze of caves and a small library (complementing the original Library if Alexandria) that would have contained papyrus rolls placed into the cuts in the rock. The pillar is flanked by a pair of Sphinx. Marwa explained the history to us and then allowed us time to wander the site, explore the caves and get up close to the pillar. We also took the time to grab the answers to an Earthcache located here that we have logged tonight when we returned to the hotel.
On to the National Museum of Alexandria which is housed in an Italian style palace that was once the home of the US consulate. Getting to the museum provided us with a drive through what would be seen as sellers of spare car parts ... bumper bars stacked high, car rims, side doors and even the odd car seat. The museum displays (over three floors) artefacts and antiquities that cover the pharaonic era through to modern times. Marwa showed us through the floor containing the pharaonic antiquities highlighting her favourite pieces before allowing us to explore the remaining floors. This gave us the chance to pause over the exquisite jewellery, the brilliantly carved wall friezes, the embroidered priest stoles, the finely carved marble statues, the glassware, wood and metal work and the interior of the building itself. The museum is not large but contains a vast range of really fascinating pieces. My favourite was the smoothly polished marble statue of the face of a woman who had the most incredible features.
Following the museum we drove to the Citadel of Qaitbay located on the end of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Whilst we were not able to go inside we were able to take photos of this incredible building as it stands tall - as if protecting modern Alexandria from any enemies. It is built on the site where the Lighthouse of Pharos once stood ... one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.
On to lunch, where unfortunately I caused a slight issue as the lunch that had been arranged was a seafood menu - and I avoid seafood. I’m not sure if I am allergic to fish or seafood but what I do know is that eating it has in the past made me very ill and so now I stay away at all costs. Marwa graciously renegotiated our menu with the restaurant and so I was served a delicious chicken that had been marinated in spices whilst Marwa and Ian enjoyed the seafood option. We loved the restaurant space that overlooked the corniche with cars jockeying for position like fish in the sea. We were able to watch the sea crash onto the rock walls, the people waving down group taxis using a series of hand signals to tell the driver where they wanted to go and we looked on in horror as a woman in an electric wheelchair joined the 5 wide stream of cars to make her way to the lights to cross the road (10 cars wide in about 40 seconds!)
Lunch eaten with much wonderful rich conversation with Marwa (who is very taken with Kookie and Koko our furry travelling companions) we headed off to the Palace of Montaza. This beautiful palace was built in the 1930s by King Faud as a summer palace. Following the revolution that removed the monarchy the palace has been used as a presidential residence. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and about 100 feral cats! The palace overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. Much of the outside of the palace is being renovated so there is extensive scaffolding surrounding the building but this didn’t stop us from enjoying the wonderful views. Marwa believes that there are plans to renovate the inside and then make it available for tours ... something we would have enjoyed, but alas not to be for us today.
Marwa left us at the palace to meet her family whom she is staying with whilst on this tour as the palace was closer to her family. We were in the capable driving hands of Saad to get us safely back to our hotel. Traffic was manic ... and Saad did another incredible job to manoeuvre the van through the steady stream of traffic and wandering pedestrians.
Back now at our hotel. My friendly waiter has arrived with a bottle of wine (unasked for but much appreciated) and Nasr the Executive Lounge restaurant manager has been over to say how much he missed us and that we were his family and that we must eat. I’m busily trying to finish the blog though so dinner will just need to wait a few moments while I upload my pictures.
Only one more day left in Egypt. Every day so far has been very memorable and we expect tomorrow to be the same. We will explore the war museum and graves at El Alamein before heading to the airport for a very very late flight to Dubai!
Our first stop - via a road still in construction and then along small roads lined with cars and people dashing out in front of us (Saad is a champion driver) was the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa whose name means the Mound of the Shards. The catacombs consist of 3 levels underground accessed via a circular staircase that winds down to each of the levels. At each of level you discover meeting places, huge cut outs into the solid rock where they believe mummies were stored and chambers that lead off deep into the rock wall. Carvings that are a mix of Pharaonic, Greek and Roman origins adorn the walls. They are superb, but are a totally different experience than the temples of Upper and Lower Egypt from the 21 dynasties.
We then drove to Pompey's Pillar located at the Serapeum of Alexandria. It is a massive Roman style column made from granite standing at just under 27 metres tall that towers above Alexandria on a raised hill (in the middle of a highly urbanised area). Surrounding the column are the remains of a temple and beneath the ground is a Sanctuary which is a maze of caves and a small library (complementing the original Library if Alexandria) that would have contained papyrus rolls placed into the cuts in the rock. The pillar is flanked by a pair of Sphinx. Marwa explained the history to us and then allowed us time to wander the site, explore the caves and get up close to the pillar. We also took the time to grab the answers to an Earthcache located here that we have logged tonight when we returned to the hotel.
On to the National Museum of Alexandria which is housed in an Italian style palace that was once the home of the US consulate. Getting to the museum provided us with a drive through what would be seen as sellers of spare car parts ... bumper bars stacked high, car rims, side doors and even the odd car seat. The museum displays (over three floors) artefacts and antiquities that cover the pharaonic era through to modern times. Marwa showed us through the floor containing the pharaonic antiquities highlighting her favourite pieces before allowing us to explore the remaining floors. This gave us the chance to pause over the exquisite jewellery, the brilliantly carved wall friezes, the embroidered priest stoles, the finely carved marble statues, the glassware, wood and metal work and the interior of the building itself. The museum is not large but contains a vast range of really fascinating pieces. My favourite was the smoothly polished marble statue of the face of a woman who had the most incredible features.
Following the museum we drove to the Citadel of Qaitbay located on the end of land bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Whilst we were not able to go inside we were able to take photos of this incredible building as it stands tall - as if protecting modern Alexandria from any enemies. It is built on the site where the Lighthouse of Pharos once stood ... one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.
On to lunch, where unfortunately I caused a slight issue as the lunch that had been arranged was a seafood menu - and I avoid seafood. I’m not sure if I am allergic to fish or seafood but what I do know is that eating it has in the past made me very ill and so now I stay away at all costs. Marwa graciously renegotiated our menu with the restaurant and so I was served a delicious chicken that had been marinated in spices whilst Marwa and Ian enjoyed the seafood option. We loved the restaurant space that overlooked the corniche with cars jockeying for position like fish in the sea. We were able to watch the sea crash onto the rock walls, the people waving down group taxis using a series of hand signals to tell the driver where they wanted to go and we looked on in horror as a woman in an electric wheelchair joined the 5 wide stream of cars to make her way to the lights to cross the road (10 cars wide in about 40 seconds!)
Lunch eaten with much wonderful rich conversation with Marwa (who is very taken with Kookie and Koko our furry travelling companions) we headed off to the Palace of Montaza. This beautiful palace was built in the 1930s by King Faud as a summer palace. Following the revolution that removed the monarchy the palace has been used as a presidential residence. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and about 100 feral cats! The palace overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. Much of the outside of the palace is being renovated so there is extensive scaffolding surrounding the building but this didn’t stop us from enjoying the wonderful views. Marwa believes that there are plans to renovate the inside and then make it available for tours ... something we would have enjoyed, but alas not to be for us today.
Marwa left us at the palace to meet her family whom she is staying with whilst on this tour as the palace was closer to her family. We were in the capable driving hands of Saad to get us safely back to our hotel. Traffic was manic ... and Saad did another incredible job to manoeuvre the van through the steady stream of traffic and wandering pedestrians.
Back now at our hotel. My friendly waiter has arrived with a bottle of wine (unasked for but much appreciated) and Nasr the Executive Lounge restaurant manager has been over to say how much he missed us and that we were his family and that we must eat. I’m busily trying to finish the blog though so dinner will just need to wait a few moments while I upload my pictures.
Only one more day left in Egypt. Every day so far has been very memorable and we expect tomorrow to be the same. We will explore the war museum and graves at El Alamein before heading to the airport for a very very late flight to Dubai!
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