Egyptian Alexandria
Being in Egypt and not visiting Alexandria is bad manners. Our trip to Cairo was also planned with a stop in Alexandria, a city filled with history from different centuries. Around 6 am we were already leaving Cairo in the direction of Alexandria. Several checkpoints, 2 hours on the way, and now we entered the city, built by order of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. e . . Alexandria met us with a cloudy sky and traffic jams. After thinking logically and deciding that the right morning should begin with a cup of coffee, we stopped at some coffee shop overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. I have never drunk such delicious coffee in my life, real Turkish coffee in an Egyptian town.
Alexandria is located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and such a “stretch” is very convenient for independent explorers like me and my faithful friend. It is very convenient to find all the sights and not get lost. But that doesn't mean we didn't get lost, otherwise it wouldn't be us. =) The first point in our guidebook was Saad Zaghlul Square (on map No. 2), where the Cecile Hotel (now Sofitel Cecile) is located, where Winston Churchill and Al Capone once stayed. Opposite the hotel there is a monument to this very national leader Saad Zaghlul, and Cleopatra is hidden from the back of the monument. According to one of the legends, it was in Alexandria that Cleopatra took her own life.
We decided to walk a little around the area towards the tram station and the mosque seen from afar. At the tram station there were shabby double-decker cars, which amused us very much. After wandering around and taking pictures, we returned to the square. A lot of taxis were circling around, wanting to take them somewhere and happily posing for us. With every minute the number of vehicles increased, so it was decided to move quickly? so as not to get stuck somewhere in a traffic jam.
The next point was the Kom ad Dik area (map 10), where in 1964 an excellently preserved and still the only Roman amphitheater in Egypt was excavated. Excavations were carried out in the amphitheater and dozens of workers scurrying back and forth did not arouse not a drop of interest in us. They remembered the amphitheaters seen in Ephesus and Hierapolis and decided not to visit this one.
Then we wandered through the narrow streets in search of Pompey's Column. Watching the awakening city is quite interesting. A mixture of medieval white houses and typical Arab shops look very bright against each other. So wandering between the streets, we came to a high fence, behind which was the archaeological park Kom ash Shukafa (on the map 11), which is a high hill right in the heart of a residential area. Once on its territory there was a sanctuary of the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis, but now only a few household items, as well as sphinxes, which, as it were, guard the area handed over to him for supervision, have remained from it. As a symbol of the temple of Serapis, Pompey's Column rises here, a 27-meter pink granite column erected in 297 in honor of the emperor Diocletian. She got her name from Pompey's supposed tomb located here. Walking in this "park" was a great pleasure. Many ancient statues, sphinxes with crosses on their foreheads, a lonely Column. As if there is no noisy city behind the wall. Carried away by our archaeological research, we almost climbed into the bath, in which Pompey himself was probably bathing.
Having received the long-awaited emotions of the “explorer”, we went to the mysterious catacombs of Kom ash Shukafa (on the map 12). Near the entrance, we came across boys playing with a tied ram, but as soon as they saw our cameras, they stopped tying ribbons on their pet, and rushed to pose for us. Catacombs are Roman burial places of the 1st-2nd centuries. To get into the catacombs themselves, you have to go down a spiral staircase three floors down into the underground rooms. There is a funerary chapel, various passages and many niches in which the Romans were once buried. It was sometimes very inconvenient to move around because of the water that accumulates on the floors, so boards were placed everywhere and you had to step carefully so as not to fall into a puddle. A large amount of water made the air in the catacombs very humid, and some tourists, breathing heavily, climbed to the upper floors. We got out of the catacombs on a full adrenaline rush, climbing in the stone passages was an incredible pleasure.
Realizing that we had worked up an appetite very much, we entered some kind of street. Smelling the characteristic smell of Arabic cuisine, we went to a local eatery, and, going up to the second floor, made a splash. Everyone stared at us and smiled, we felt like local stars. Well, the delicious and freshest food prepared by a local chef led us to complete ecstasy.
The next item on the list of "young naturalist archaeologists" was to find one of the seven wonders of the world - the Pharos Lighthouse. But of course, we did not just go through the educational process at school, but were diligent students, and we knew that, unfortunately, the lighthouse was destroyed by earthquakes many centuries ago. But part of the building material from which the lighthouse was built went to the construction of the Kite Bay Fort (map 7). The fort was erected by the Mamluk sultan on the very spot where the lighthouse had previously stood. A photo will never convey the improbability and beauty of this fort. The very delicate color of the stone from which Kite Bay is built stands out against the background of the blue sea and it seems as if it is a fairy-tale castle and the prince is about to leave from there on a white horse, or camel. We spent several hours climbing the different levels of the fort, looking at the magnificent views through the battlements and looking for secluded places where couples in love huddled.
The embankment near the fort was filled with fishermen, you can immediately buy a catch and cook yourself a delicious dinner. Driving a little further, we saw the beautiful mosque of Abu al-Abbas (on map 6), which was built in 1943 on the site of a burnt tomb of saints of the 13th century. It has an unusually beautiful filigree decoration of the facade and four domes, richly decorated with stone carvings with geometric ornaments. Nearby in the sea stood an incredible number of fishing boats and expensive pompous yachts. All this in a strange way looked very organically against the background of each other.
Stuck in a small traffic jam, we drove to another very important place, which was reborn like a phoenix from the ashes. Naturally, this is the Library of Alexandria (on map 1), which was rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire and Christian fanatics. The new building is a circle with a diameter of 60 m with a cut facing the sea and covered with glass and shiny metal. The whole building is one big architectural marvel. By the will of fate, we got to the library at sunset, and the water in the small pool in front of the library windows played with incredible colors. There were a lot of young students around, who were either talking about their academic achievements or looking at the intricate statues around. The entrance to the library as a museum is paid, but we sorely did not have time to see everything, and we still had one more stopping point ahead of us.
Getting into the car, we headed to the small bay of Montaza (on the map 14), to the park of the same name located in it. It is very convenient that we were allowed to enter the park directly in our car, because. it is quite large and in the short time that we had left we would not have had time to see everything. It was almost getting dark, and when we drove up to the far side of the park, we saw the fabulous Neo-Renaissance Palace. The entrance to the palace is closed to the public, and you can admire it only through the fence. But that doesn't make him any less pompous. We walked for a long time through groves and gardens planted with pines and palms, chasing cats and watching Egyptian couples at a picnic, until darkness covered us. It was necessary to return back to Cairo and further recognize this wonderful city. Finally, we stopped at the same cafe from which we started the morning. We decided that if we don’t drink this wonderful coffee again, the trip will not be completed correctly.
Alexandria evokes in me memories of the taste of Turkish coffee, the smell of the Mediterranean Sea, and the rough stone of Kite Bay, which I once gently ran my hand over. A mixture of white stone and dirty Egyptian streets. I would like to come back and immerse myself in this mixture.
• Fort Kite Bay
Located on a headland at the end of the Corniche 26 Julio
Opening hours: daily from 9.00 to 16.00, on Friday - from 9.00. until 12.00 and from 14.00 to 16.00
Entrance fee: 15-20 EF
Photographing: 10 EF, Video filming 50 EF (we did not pay)
• Catacombs of Qum ash-Shukafa
Located between Ar-Rahma Street and the Mahiudiya Canal, not far from Pompey's Column
Opening hours: daily, from 8.30. until 15.00
Entrance fee: 20 EF, no photography allowed
• Roman amphitheater
Location: between Gamal abd an-Nasser and Emir Abd al-Kerim streets, not far from the mosque of the prophet Daniel.
Opening hours: from 9.00. until 16.00. , during the month of Ramadan - until 15.00.
Entrance fee: 6 EF
Photographing - free of charge
• Residence Montaza
Entrance fee: from 5 to 20 EF
PS Prices may change.
