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    • Egyptian and Jordan Adventure
      11
      Day 5

      Beautiful Alexandria

      May 19, 2023 in Egypt

      Another early start and onward to Alexandria on the Mediterranean. First stop the Catacombs of Com el Shuqafa which has a labyrinth of burial chambers 1-4 AD. Then on to Fort Qaibey on the harbour. A delicious lunch of seafood at the Blue and White Greek restaurant. A walk along the waterfront was a relaxing end to the day.Read more

    • TravelerEgypt & Morocco
      1
      Day 5

      Alexandria

      April 23 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

      Today we left Cairo for Alexandria. We visited the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. These amazing catacombs are vertical, unlike the Roman ones and a circular staircase takes you down into the depths. They date back to about the second century. From there we went to Fort Qaitbay, a 15th century limestone fortress with great views of the Mediterranean. The trip itself was an exercise in defensive driving. There seems to be very few road rules over here and nobody seems to obey them. And the horn is everyone’s friend. Fortunately, we have a skilled driver behind the wheel. And it appears Alexandria is where beer is served in wine glasses 🍻🤣Read more

    • Opération Harissa Volante
      1
      2
      Day 110

      Alexandrie 2

      November 22, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Sans aucun doute possible, Alexandrie est la ville la plus cool qu'on ait visité en Egypte. On se promène en admirant les vues sur la baie. Petites curiosités au fil de la balade : d'antiques ascenseurs, des chiens curieux, des portes à la Numérobis et des graffitis en grec ancien. Un garçon demande à Khalid si par hasard il ne serait pas un acteur turc?Read more

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    • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then Mexico

      The Rest of Our Time in Alexandria

      January 7, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Our driver took us to a seafood restaurant, The Fish Market, that had a great view of the harbour. We think that tour guides take their groups there. Not our pick for a restaurant but not expensive
      $15 and that good view.

      On the whole, the fish dinner was served very quickly and was not the tastiest. Lukewarm and rubbery fish with undercooked rice and an okay salad. The best part of it for me was the lemon juice and the freshly baked Naan bread with 4 different dips. Overall, it wouldn’t have been a place that I would return to.

      For dessert, the driver took us to an ice cream place. He loved ice cream so he once again treated us to mango cones, sold in front of the mosque.

      We drove along the popular 10 mile waterfront corniche, or promenade, with its healthy looking horses pulling caleches. Everything that tourists see looks so clean and well-taken care of. But behind this facade, there are poorly-built, dilapidated high rises and garbage-strewn, rough streets. Lori, our cottage neighbour, wrote to us of a collapsed roof that killed 2 people in Alexandria today. We can believe it.

      We went on to the new Alexandria Library that we found out was closed due to today being a Coptic Christmas holiday. The new library is built near where the ancient library was. Along the Mediterranean shore, the modern circular, glass-covered library overlooks the same sea where Cleopatra first laid eyes on Julius Caesar.

      Most historians believe that Julius Cesar burned 101 ships that were landing on the Mediterranean Sea shore in front of Alexandria in the year 48 BC. This great fire reached the library and caused huge damage to the building of the library and its books.

      We would have liked to have had a tour of this building as it really is impressive but we can easily do a Utube video tour. The library is considered to be the first digital library in the whole world and it contains a place to include 8 million books, six specialized libraries, three museums, research centers, two permanent galleries, six halls to host art exhibitions, an internet archive, audio and visual library, a special library for blind people, a library for children, a library for teenagers, a microfilm library, a library of rare books and a conference center. It is massive!

      By now, we had seen enough and headed back to Cairo with its pyramids, the Nile, the Cairo Tower and crazy traffic. It had been a full day.      Read more

    • TravelerDie Schätze Ägyptens/Türkeis
      Day 7

      Alexandria

      April 7, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      6 Uhr klingelt mein Wecker für die Fahrt nach Alexandria, endlich lerne ich diesen historischen Ort mal kennenlernen! Die Fahrt dauerte ca. 3,5h und vor Ort lernen wir (noch ein Pärchen aus den USA und ein Mexikaner) unseren Reiseführer kennen, er zeigt uns die Bibliothek von Alexandria (natürlich die neu gebaute) und führt uns ins die Katakomben von Kom El Shoqafa, wo einige römische Herrscher begeben sind. Weiter ging es zum römischen Amphitheater und zur Säule des Pompeji (wie so oft haben auch hier die Römer ihre Spuren hinterlassen). Ein Besuch auf dem lokalen Markt mit sehr leckerem Essen und der Besuch der St. Mark Kirche und Abo El-Abbas Moschee rundeten den Besuch ab, bevor wir zum Schluss noch die Qāitbāy-Zitadelle, welche von den Osmanen als Festung erbaut wurden besuchten. Ein toller Tag mit viel Programm, sehr lohnenswert. Ab geht es zurück nach Kairo, hier wartet eine lange Partynacht auf mich, einer aus dem Hostel feiert seinen 26. Geburtstag, fast das ganze Hostel feiert mit, erst am morgen geht es nach Hause 🥳.Read more

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    • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then Mexico

      Citadel of Qaitbey

      January 7, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      After being in two dark and somber, yet wondrous, cavelike places it was really nice to visit the restored picturesque Fort of Qaitbay at the eastern side of the harbour

      It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest. Then, several disasters occurred and the shape of the lighthouse was changed to some extent, but it still continued to function.

      During the 11th century an earthquake occurred, causing damage to the octagonal part of the lighthouse. The bottom survived and it became a watchtower. Later a small mosque was built on the top. In the 14th century there was a very destructive earthquake and the whole building was completely destroyed. In 1840, a very strategic Mediterranean fort was erected over the old foundations.

      The largest stones of the citadel, forming the lintel and doorway of its entrance, as well as the red granite columns in the mosque within the walls, were probably salvaged from the huge tower that once stood here.

      It is a lovely, bright building with wonderful views over the bay.      Read more

    • Opération Harissa Volante
      Day 109

      Alexandrie 1

      November 21, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      En arrivant à la gare, on monte dans un train blindé pour Alexandrie. On reste assis dans le couloir en attendant d'avoir une place, mais bon ça va, surtout par rapport à d'autres trains qui passent avec des gens allongés dans les porte-bagages...

      Enfin on arrive, l'hôtel est complètement vintage 1930, la poussière des ans en prime. En revanche la nouvelle Bibliotheca Alexandrina est flambant neuve, magnifique, elle donne (presque) envie de travailler !

      Fin de journée dans un bar difficile à trouver mais bien fourni dont les ornements art déco jurent avec la playlist schizophrénique déroulant un motif récurrent Céline Dion / Sean Paul / Jazz manouche et flamenco. Quand on commande un whisky on nous sert un truc bizarre, coupé, qui sort d'une bouteille de Johnny WAKER. Ha, ha. Khalid râle et le serveur sort une autre bouteille de dessous le comptoir et on a un vrai whisky (enfin, ca reste du Black Label...).

      Rencontre avec Ramzi, un prof de chimie qui fait partie de la minorité copte. Il parle un français incroyable. On lui fait goûter la harissa mais nous sommes maintenant arrivés dans une région où les gens connaissent ! On sent que la mission touche à sa fin...

      Avant de rentrer, Ramzi nous emmène chez Kibda el Fallah manger des sandwichs au foie et au piment. C'est très bon! Manifestement c'est LE truc à faire à Alexandrie à 1h du matin, car le resto est pris d'assaut.

      Opération Harissa phase 5 : completed
      #HarissingTheWorld      Read more

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    • TravelerAfrican Indian Ocean
      Day 11

      Alexandria

      November 29, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      The second largest city in Egypt. It looked very industrial as we sailed in. I did a tour to Qaitbay Fort and a Roman amphitheatre. The fort was built on the foundations of Pharos lighthouse . At the amphitheater there was also Roman baths and dweiilings. There were mosaics discovered during escalation to build modern flats.
      A very busy city with terrible traffic, cars were parked 3 abreast.
      Gareth and I went to the piano bar to listen to Brad who did a 60s night. We met Dudley and Nicky there and found out that they were going on the pyramid trip. Nicky was in a wheelchair as she had fallen on the ship and damaged her knee.      Read more

    • Greece, Egypt and Jordan
      Day 22

      Citadel of Qaitbay

      January 11, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Our final stop on our day in Alexandria was at the Citadel of Qaitbay. This impressive fortification was built in 1480 by the Mamluk sultan Qaitbay on the site of the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse. He used stone and other materials from the fallen lighthouse in the construction.

      The citadel has been extensively restored in recent times. Some would say it has been over-restored! First impressions as you approach the fort today is that it is a completely new construction. Nevertheless, it is impressive and definitely worth an hour or two of your time if you're in Alexandria.

      After our visit, we drove into the city centre where we stopped for Ray to buy us all schwarma. We weren't really hungry but it was included in the price of our tour! He came back with large tubs of 'schwarma fata', a local speciality consisting of beef or chicken topped with creamy garlic sauce on a bed of fried rice and crispy fried bread. It was too much for me. Our driver didn't seem that impressed, either! 😂

      We were back at the hotel by 5.30pm, in plenty of time for a final buffet dinner. Mark wasn't impressed because the price of a beer has increased by £2 a can overnight! It makes it £7 now!! Time to move on 😂      Read more

    • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then Mexico

      Daytrip to Alexandria

      January 7, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      We are winding down and preparing to go home after an amazing month in Egypt. Our original plan included a tentative day trip to Alexandria. We weren’t sure if we would have the energy and time to add this trip in but we had a day that we could do it in, and we are here, so we did it.

      The hostel arranged for a driver to pick us up and chauffeur us around for 10 hours. Alexandria is a good 3 hour drive away. It cost us around $100, but where else can you get a good private driver for that length of time? We opted out of a guide. Between our Lonely Planet Guidebook and the internet, we were fine.

      Alexandria is a Mediterranean port city in Egypt. It was founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great and grew rapidly. It eventually became the capital of Egypt until 642 AD.

      It is best known for the huge Lighthouse of Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; it’s Great Library, the largest and most significant library of the ancient world; and the Necropolis, on of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

      Our plan was to see:
      - the Catacombs of Kom El-Shouqafa
      - Bombay's Pillar in the Necropolis
      - the Citadel of Qaitbay
      - the huge Mosque built in 1775
      - the new Library of Alexandria
      - the 10 mile long corniche or waterfront promenade

      We left at 7 a.m., picked up a couple of Costa real coffees and were on our way but … the driver Hussein wanted to treat us to some breakfast falafels and water so we stopped at his brother’s shop to pick them up. Now we were in our way.

      The traffic in Cairo is sparse at 7 a.m. so we made great time getting out of this big city, 45 minutes. The highway looks new and we just zipped along. There wasn’t a lot to see, farmland and some new ‘subdivisions’. Shortly after 10 a.m., we arrived in Alexandria and headed for the catacombs.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Alexandria, Alexandrië, እስክንድርያ, Aleixandría, الإسكندرية, ܐܠܟܣܢܕܪܝܐ, اسكندريه, İsgəndəriyyə, Искәндәриә, Горад Александрыя, Александрия, আলেকজান্দ্রিয়া, ཡ་ལི་ཧྲན་ད, আলেক্সান্ড্রিয়া, Aleksandria, Aleksandrija, Искандри, ئەسکەندەریە, Alexandrie, Αλεξάνδρεια, Aleksandrio, Alejandría, Alejandria, اسکندریه, Aleksandrje, Cathair Alastair, Alexandría, એલેક્ઝાન્ડ્રિયા, אלכסנדריה, सिकन्दरिया, Ալեքսանդրիա, ALY, Iskandariyah, Alessandria d'Egitto, アレクサンドリア, ალექსანდრია, Taskendrit, ಅಲೆಕ್ಸಾಂಡ್ರಿಯ, 알렉산드리아, Ӧльӧксандрия, Alexandria Magna, Александрий, Александрија, അലക്സാണ്ട്രിയ, अलेक्झांड्रिया, Iskandariah, အလက်ဇန္ဒရီးယားမြို့, Alessandria e Naggitto, Alexàndria, ਸਿਕੰਦਰੀਆ, اسکندریہ, Iskandariya, Lisàndria dEgittu, Alessandria dEggittu, Aleksandryjo, அலெக்சாந்திரியா, అలెగ్జాండ్రియా, อะเล็กซานเดรีย, Alehandriya, İskenderiye, Александрія, Aleksandriya, Ałesandria dEgito, Aleksandrii, Alegsàndiri, 亚历山大港, אלעקסאנדריע, 亞歷山大港, 亞歷山卓

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