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    • Greece, Egypt and Jordan
      Day 22

      The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

      January 11, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Our first stop in Alexandria was at the catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa.

      These were discovered in 1900 when a donkey pulling a cart full of scrap metal disappeared into the ground! They are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt, consisting of three tiers of tombs and chambers cut into bedrock to a depth of 35 metres.

      Entry to the catacombs is via a spiral staircase. Bodies would have been lowered on ropes down the centre of this circular shaft. The catacombs were originally constructed in the second century AD, probably by a rich Roman family and intended for their sole use. They would have had the principle tomb chamber decorated in a fusion of Greek and Pharaonic styles, and the triclinium, a banqueting hall where grieving relatives paid their last respects with a funeral feast.

      Over the next 300 years, the catacombs were used by other families, including Christians and Muslims. More chambers were hacked out until the place became a warren holding 300 corpses.

      Today, the lower tier of the catacombs lies below the water table. Between 500 and 600 square metres of water has to be pumped out every hour in order to keep them accessible.

      When the catacombs were discovered, the skeletons were removed and reburied elsewhere. The only bones remaining in the tombs today are those of a horse belonging to one of the dead Romans. Ray was quite shocked when I told him that the catacombs in Paris are still full of human remains!      Read more

    • TravelerEurope 2023
      Day 19

      Cairo Day 4

      May 22, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

      Today was an early start. We were doing a day trip to Alexandria, and the bus picked us up from our hotel at 6:45am. Unfortunately Sam wasn’t feeling well so he decided to stay home, but the rest of us were bundled into the bus and taken on the long drive to the coast. It took about three hours, and on arrival we were met by our tour guide for the day. We were a little hesitant after our experience at the pyramids but he turned out to be really great. Our first stop was the new library of Alexandria which is a massive, modern building with a huge collection of books. 8 million to be precise. We then went to a few different historical sites — the catacombs, the Roman amphitheatre (where they are still digging in hope of finding Alexander the Great’s tomb), the location of the old lighthouse of Alexandria, and then a trio of mosques. The day ended with a seafood lunch at a restaurant called the Fish Market, which was another really nice meal. Amy and Tegan were asked to have their photos taken on the pier and more times throughout the day. Steve had a kid pestering to buy a balloon. He was absolutely relentless. This was the only form of harassment we received.

      The day really made us realise how poor our previous tour had been, and how much we were ripped off, but no one really minded too much — it was still a great day.

      We then jumped in the car for the drive home and everyone fell asleep for a while. It was around 7pm when we got in, and the plan was to head to the markets, but after we called the airline to change our flight from 4:35am to 5:55pm the next day everyone was happy to hang out by the hotel pool and have a relaxed evening.

      It’s been so nice to catch up with friends and explore a place like Cairo. It’s so different to what we both thought it would be like. Being in a big group means people don’t pester us too much, and it obviously helps a lot that Christina speaks Arabic. Cairo is hard to describe - there are so many tall, rundown buildings, some that are empty. The roads are insane with no rules and I assume no car insurance. There seems to be a car horn language with beeps meaning many different things. There are people everywhere!      Read more

    • TravelerEgypt
      Day 6–7

      Alexandria

      December 25, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Still struggling with jet lag but had about 8 cups of coffee to address it. Went on the road to Alexandria, about a 3-hour van ride away. Alexandria is about 6.5 million large and on the sea. Alexandria, up until 1956 (due to the Suez Canal war) was a melting pot of Egyptian, Greek, and Italian cultures. much of the architecture still reflects that.

      The great lighthouse was destroyed in 30 bc, but rebuilt in the modern era. Toured the modern building.

      Also got to see the catacombs which were much more impressive from the inside vs the outside. Bodies were buried for rich and the poor due to no room.

      Had beers with Scott, Amanda and Georgie, and then a fresh seafood dinner with the fam. Surprisingly stayed up through all of it! embracing Egyptian/Turkish coffee!      Read more

    • LadyandtrampEgypt for 1 Month, then Mexico

      Catacombs of Kom El-Shouqafa

      January 7, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      The Catacombs that we visited today were just a little east of Alexandria but right in the middle of a residential area.The cemetery dates back to the 1st century A.D. and was used until the 4th century A.D. It was discovered in 1900 when, by pure chance, a donkey-drawn cart fell into a pit, and that led to their discovery. 

      These catacombs, also known as Kom el-Shoqafa or “mound of shards’’ in Arabic, are one of the seven wonders of the medieval world.

      A winding staircase of 99 steps goes around a central shaft and takes you to the catacombs and the tombs that are arranged on three levels.
      Bodies of the deceased were lowered down the shaft by means of ropes, to prevent any damages to them

      The staircase leads to a vestibule with two niches on both sides. The top of each niche is in the shape of a shell, while the bottom part contains a half round bench, cut into the rock, I assume a place to rest after descending the stairs of the tomb.

      The lowest level is flooded by groundwater so we couldn't go down to it but we were free to explore the first 2 levels. They were pretty dark and the air was damp and musty. It was kind of like going into a haunted house... eerie.

      On the first level, there was a vestibule and a rotunda. A passage lead to the triclinium - a large hall, in which there were stone benches along three walls. I guess that funeral services were organized in this room and meals eaten. At the end of the feast, all the utensils that were used were shattered because it was believed that it was bad luck to re-use the utensils used at the funeral. Tons of pottery scattered around the area gave the place its contemporary name - Kom El-Shoqfa, which means "hill of shards".

      I learned a new word today - luculi. These are grooves cut in the rock, where coffins are stored. There were lots of these down there but no coffins. Everything has been moved to a museum somewhere, I think.

      While Egypt's most famous history dates back to the time of the Pharaohs, its history didn't stop there. Egypt was also part of the Greek and Roman empires for hundreds of years. The structure of the catacombs, the way their niches are ordered, the sarcophagi and the decora­tions on the walls, show a blend of influences from the an­cient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilisations. And that's what makes these catacombs so special.      Read more

    • TravelerEgypt Experience
      Day 5

      Alexandria 2; Kom el Shoqafa Catacombs

      November 21, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      The Kom el Shoqafa Catacombs were discovered by accident in 1902, when a donkey accidentally fell into the main access shaft during some construction work. Also known as the Necropolis, the Catacombs are one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

      They comprise a series of tombs built on three levels and bodies were lowered down a central shaft by rope before being transferred to their tombs. They are thought to be for one family originally, as the highly decorated principal Tomb chamber comprises three sarcophagi with sealed lids (the bodies were inserted from below).

      In the courtyard, we visit The Tigran Tomb; this was moved here after its discovery in 1952 - the patterns in the decorations date back to the 2nd century BC!      Read more

    • skip's retirement travelEgypt
      Day 14

      Library of Alexandria

      April 22, 2021 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      This is a spectacular library with a museum below. It opened in 2002. While I knew that this is a modern, beautiful and hi tech library in it's own right, I kind of the expected some sort of remembrance of the ancient library. I did not see that, thought there are some manuscripts on display in the museum that are old enough (eg, picture 5).
      The 1st 2 pictures are of the main reading room. It really is that architecturally stunning. The 3rd picture is a replica of the Rosetta Stone that made translating hieroglyphs possible. 4th is an early gospel manuscript, and last is a coptic primer. Coptic is the language of Egypt prior to Arabic, and it is still used in the Coptic Orthodox Church.      Read more

    • skip's retirement travelEgypt
      Day 4

      Alexandrian Catacombs

      April 12, 2021 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      The catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa dating to the 2nd century is a necropolis of the pharaonic funeral cult with several cultural influences from Greece and early Rome. I confess to being surprised to find underground structures this close the the sea.
      The 1st picture is the central access shaft around which a spiral staircase leads down into the catacombs. The rest of the pictures are in the catacombs, showing structure, niches and decoration.      Read more

    • skip's retirement travelEgypt
      Day 4

      Citadel

      April 12, 2021 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      This is a 15th century fortress on the end of a peninsula where the ancient lighthouse, The Pharos, was located before it was destroyed by an earthquake. The current structure is sa reconstruction.
      The 1st 3 pictures are the building as it is now. The other 3 look at the view from the walls, looking at the east harbor, the breakwater at the harbor entrance and the Mediterranean Sea.      Read more

    • TravelerVoyager Barca Dubai May 2012
      Day 69

      My God! It's worse

      May 7, 2012 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Alexandria has taken over from Cairo as the dirtiest place I've seen.
      In it's defence though Egypt has had a revolution and the infrastructure has collapsed quite a bit, so rubbish collection etc is virtually non - existent.
      Another thing, the taxi drivers are just about the pushiest I've seen anywhere in the world, the almost try and drag you into their cabs, anyone on their own, especially women would be quite afraid.
      Once you get past them though if you turn down the side streets the people are very friendly. We had lots of them saying hello and waiving.
      Children were coming up to us asking our names and not one person tried to sell us anything or ask for money, which made a pleasant change, in fact one little girl offered to share her ice cream with me.
      So all in all despite being a grubby and dirty town, the Egyptian people we met were lovely.
      We are just transiting the Suez canal at this moment and it's quite impressive and totally different to the Panama canal.      Read more

    • skip's retirement travelEgypt
      Day 4

      Pompey's villa

      April 12, 2021 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      Pompey was an important general and rival of Julius Caesar. This is the location of his home in Alexandria. While mostly in ruins a few structures remain. The most well known is his pillar in the center of the site (1st picture). The next 4 pictures are various looks at the remains and archaeological work.
      The last picture is of a Serapeum, an underground temple of the Greco-Egyptian cult of Serapis based on the worship if the sacred Apis Bull.      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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