Egypt
Alexandria

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    • 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

    • 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

    • 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.
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    • 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

    • 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.
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    • Day 4

      Tagestour nach Kairo

      October 17, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Bei diesem individuellen Landausflug Pyramiden & Sphinx nach Kairo wurden wir von unserem privaten deutschsprachigen Reiseleiter am Hafen von Alexandria abgeholt.

      Wir wurden gegen 06:30 Uhr am Hafen von Alexandria abgeholt.
      Nach ca. 2,5 Stunden Fahrtzeit erreichten wir Kairo.
      Weiter geht es nach Giza, zu den Pyramiden
      Nach einigen Erklärungen vom Reiseleiter konnten wir das Gelände auf eigene Faust erkunden:

      Anschließend fuhren wir zum Aussichtspunkt oberhalb der Pyramiden, um dort Bilder von den Pyramiden zu machen

      Danach geht es zum Fuße der Pyramiden, zu der großen Sphinx.
      Damit war die Tour Pyramiden & Sphinx in Kairo beendet.

      Nach der Besichtigung des Giza Plateaus ging es direkt zurück zum Schiff.
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    • Day 4

      Alexandria 1; Qaitbay Citadel / Corniche

      November 20, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

      We leave Cairo heading west, passing close to 6th October City (the date is a significant one for Egypt); this is still part of Cairo and here on the outskirts are may upmarket, gated communities. We now travel north into much greener countryside and reach Alexandria in 3 hours; this is the second largest city in Egypt and the largest on the Mediterranean Coast.

      Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and built under his orders, heralding the start of the Greco-Roman period of Egyptian history and becoming a centre of Hellenic civilisation.

      Qaitbay Citadel (aka The Fort of Qaitbay) is an important 15th century fortification system with a mosque inside it and is built on the foundations of the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World); it is possible to scuba dive here and see some of Ancient relics that are kept under water for their protection.

      We explore the Citadel and then drive along the waterfront road to our hotel; this waterfront promenade is known as The Corniche and extends for 10 miles east from the Citadel along the curved bay to Montaza.

      Later on, we walk along part of The Corniche and see Stanley Bridge with its private access beach behind it; this bridge was the first on Egypt to be constructed over the sea. There are many restaurants and areas of entertainment on the beach side of The Corniche, as Alexandria is a very popular resort for Egyptian tourists.
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    • 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!
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    • Day 5

      Alexandria 3; Bibliotheca Alexandrina

      November 21, 2022 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Alexandria was also home to The Library of Alexandria, the largest in the Ancient World. This is long gone, but the decision was taken in 1974 to reincarnate it as The Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It opened in 2002 and is now a major Library containing 8 million books, as well as being a Cultural Centre that hosts galleries, exhibitions and a museum of antiquities. It also houses The Sadat Museum, a permanent display dedicated to the life of President Sadat, which we visit.

      We stop at Carrefour in Alexandria to get provisions for our overnight train journey from Cairo to Aswan; we then set off back to Cairo. Living the dream!
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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

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Muḩāfaz̧at al Iskandarīyah, Muhafazat al Iskandariyah, Alexandria, اسكندرية, Alexandría

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