Alexandria

Our last port of call in Alexandria was the library. The original one burnt down 48 BC and the world lost many treasures in that fire. The new one is a striking, modern building that holds over 8 million books over 11 floors. After the library, we headed back towards Cairo, stopping at Wadi El Natron Coptic monastry where we had a tour given by one of the monks of this 4th C fortress . We then headed back to Cairo for a papyrus making demonstration before heading to the railway station for the overnight train for Azwan. It was a surprisingly comfortable ride, although like on the roads, excessive use of the horn was a little disruptive to sleep.Read more