Egypt
Maydān Wābūr al Mīyah

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    • Day 29

      Alexandria

      September 16, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Mein erster Wochenendtrip ging nach Alexandria. Hier haben wir hauptsächlich die Zitadelle besucht, welche wirklich schön war und von wo aus wir einen tollen Sonnenuntergang anschauen konnten. Leider mussten wir unseren Trip frühzeitig abbrechen, weil unser Hotel voller Zecken war.Read more

    • Day 16

      More in Alexandria

      January 24, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      A few more included activities today: The Citadel at Qait Bey for photos, The El-Mursi Abul-Abbas Mosque and of course the Library of Alexandria. Those on the lookout for the Alexandria lighthouse will be disappointed as it was damaged over several earthquakes before disappearing in 1480. Today, the Citadel of Qait Bey sits above the ruins. Our tour leader is an Egyptologist and gave us the lesson on recent Egyptian history. No more pharoahs and pyramids, but rather the invasion of the Turks and another chapter in Egyptian history. At the mosque, he explained the 5 pillars of Islam.

      Next stop, Biblioteca Alexandrina (www.bibalex.org for a fantastic virtual and literary visit). The original library is no longer than but the new modern one is a sight to behold. It's part of a giant learning complex including a planetarium and numerous displays. It is an architectural beauty designed for natural light and an airiness that there is still greatness to be learned and discovered. Our visit was every too brief even though we did get 15 minutes more.

      More free time to wander around again (probably would've been good to get out to Montazah Palace & Gardens, but it was a bit of work as no transport goes though and we were tired of bargaining for anything, including taxis). No more drama today as we veered off the Monument of the Unknown Soldier and found ourselves mixing with the locals in their markets. Shoes, clothes, purses, accessories, there are stall walls, just tables and tarps in the streets and sidewalks.

      Later on, we would get to the Roman Theater (surprisingly close to the hotel), then a city park and the train station. Our walk also took us back past the football stadium we'd seen on our first day. No tourists anywhere, all locals as we followed our feet before turning back towards the water onto a street of restaurants.

      Tonight, we simply sat on the rock wall of the Corniche, looking out at the Mediterranean. The night city came alive as locals emerged and sat with us, soaking it all in. Our time in Egypt is coming to an end.
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    • Day 15

      Hello Alexandria

      January 23, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ 🌫 10 °C

      Leaving Cairo again, this time, northwards towards the Alexandria and the Mediterranean Sea. No more pyramids or ancient sites as we start hurtling through time up until the present. Named after Alexander the Great, we were looking forward to the change in pace and style. There are no tourist markets here so you get less harassed. You can even walk along the Corniche in peace.

      We only have 1 included activity today, the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. No pictures are allowed, but it was an interesting visit as we descended below ground. This used to be the private catacombs for a local wealthy family and was discovered (like in the Valley of the Kings) by a donkey who fell into a shaft. There are several chambers to explore and you can see art mixing Greek and Egyptian beliefs.

      Free time this afternoon after checking into our hotel. I rarely write about hotels, but the Misr Hotel is a hidden gem on the 9th and 10th floor of a building you would probably not walk into. There's a story to come later. But yes, don't judge this book by its cover. All our rooms had windows overlooking the Mediterrean Sea, and we also had a balcony that you could step out and look at the sea as well. The room was pretty nice, the only thing to note that the noise doesn't stay out though, and similar to other Egyptian cities, the traffic continues well into the night.
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    • Day 15

      The Quest for Ice Cream

      January 23, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      Free time in Alexandria, and lots of stories to tell - eventful, so bear with me as we get through Alexandria together. We probably had too much free time in Alexandria. I would've liked to have gone to Montazah Palace (which is included with the comfort tour), but wasn't quite up to figuring out to get there on my own. One lady on our tour would manage this the next day and had quite the adventure and fun times.

      I'd read about Alexandrian ice cream and was super keen to try it. Apparently it's only made here and Greece. It's like soft serve but "stretchy", and super yummy. The best places to try it are actually out by the citadel aka Qait Bey on the far end of the Corniche. It looked far from our hotel, but in actuality was only 2.5 km. We grabbed a quick lunch of falafels first from Gad's nearby, eating by the water. One of our tourmates joined us, but wasn't too keen on walking that distance. She would decide to take a horse carriage ride, but more on that later, while my roommate and I continued on.

      Our hotel manager was quite funny when we asked about how long it would take to walk to the citadel. He said we should go right away because it was closing soon, but when we explained we were after the ice cream, he gave us a big smile and "ah ha", yes you are smart to know where the ice cream is! It's the best and we should go to Azzaz and have the vanilla flavor. His recommendation was spot on and made it a lovely afternoon before the evening drama that would later unfold.

      The employees at Azzaz were super friendly and happy to have foreign vistors, they gave us cones on top of the ice cream we'd wanted in cups. If you're in the area, stop by. I think there are 2-3 locations, we went to the went just on a corner near Cafe Azzaz which looks quiet.
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    • Day 15

      Beware: Of Horse Carriages & Knifefights

      January 23, 2019 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Okay, drama time. Note, all's well that ended as well as it could have, but this is one evening no leader would ever want.

      Let's start with the lady who went on the horse carriage ride. It was supposed to be an hour. We left her just before 4pm and no one had seen her. Strange and worrying as she'd inquired about being dropped off at the hotel after. I had a picture of her and the driver, but it's only a false comfort. What to do...

      Then back in our room, I get a message on Facebook from another girl on our tour. She asked if we were at the hotel, which we were. She said, good. Don't go out, there's something happening in our lobby. I didn't know what was going on and whether she meant the building lobby or the hotel lobby. I checked the hotel lobby but all was calm, so my roommate and I sat there waiting for the lady who'd gone with the carriage.

      Moments later, our tour leader hurried past us. Strange we thought, what was going on? Minutes later (and some recapping) we found out what was happening. Some locals were gathered in the lobby of the building (I did say it looked sketchy looking), arguments ensued a knife was pulled. Boy, our safety travel bubble was popped. I can't begin to imagine the scene that unfolded. But it was distressing enough for the rest of the girls to call the tour leader and ask if he could escort them up. Needless to say, they didn't go out again that night.

      Time goes by, our carriage friend still had not turned up. We made the choice to knock on the tour leader's tour to voice our concern, but he has no way to contact her. We'd find out later she didn't bring her phone either. But there was little we could do but wait. When we saw her later, about 730, you cannot imagine our relief. Apparently the carriage driver had gotten "lost" and took her around the city, even trying to get her into shops, his place, and a restaurant for dinner! On top of that, she now owed him $50 US instead of the $5 US, wow, scammer! So friends, please do not get into a carriage and if your companion is considering it, discourage them like we should have done. If you want a carriage ride, it sounds like Aswan or Luxor is the place.

      In the end, our tour leader brought down 300 Egyptian pounds to the driver who was waiting downstairs because the lady didn't have that much cash with her. A good thing, so he has to take her back to the hotel if he were to get paid. 300 Egyptian pounds is about $18 US. The guy refused at first because of the difference, citing a 6hr ride (which made no logical sense) and that he had bought her dinner and beers (a lie, she paid for dinner and he the beers). Luckily we had our fearless tour leader, who talked him down starting with the discrepancy in time. We left her before 4, it wasn't even 8pm, how could it be 6 hours?
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Maydān Wābūr al Mīyah, Maydan Wabur al Miyah, ميدان الدكتور أحمد زويل

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