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Alexandria

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    • 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

    • TravelerEgypt
      Day 6

      Xmas in Alexandria & night train!

      December 25, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Christmas Day! Had a lovely brunch with the family on the rooftop. I finally am acclimating and got better sleep, thank goodness.

      We visited the citadel built in 1476, so impressive! The ventilation and heat dissipation were so well thought out.

      I also visited a Coptic Orthodox Christian church and learned more about its history.

      You can't escape Christmas in Egypt, it's everywhere! Christmas music is played all around the city, our group leader told us that Muslims and Christians celebrate their holidays together!

      Snuck in a video pretending to record our guide but secretly showcasing the "influencers" in the world. It's amazing how people hunt for the best photograph while not staying present with the more beautiful works of art around them!      Read more

    • 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

    • TravelerÄgypten
      Day 2–3

      Auf ans Meer - Alexandria

      May 14, 2023 in Egypt ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

      Lust aufs Meer gehabt und knapp 4 Stunden mit dem Taxi nach Alexandria gefahren. Unterwegs noch einen Platten gehabt mitten auf der Autobahn in der Wüste. Das Meer hat auf uns gewartet und wir hatten es bitter nötig 😅Read more

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    • 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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    • 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

    • 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

    • Viking World Cruise
      Day 128

      Alexandria, Egypt

      April 21, 2018 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

      Today we saw Alexandria, Egypt the way the locals see it. While we were in the Valley of the Kings, Chuck had an eye issue develop. His right eye suddenly had lots of floaters on one side. We waited to see if they would clear up and when they did not, he went to the medical center onboard. While the doctor onboard did not see anything obvious, he could not check for a detached retina. Since we have two sea days coming up, today Viking arranged for us to be picked up by a driver who took us to an ophthalmologist in Alexandria. Our driver Mohamed took wonderful care of us as he got us to the doctor, translated questions and answers, took us to the pharmacy and then delivered us back to the ship. It was fascinating in the waiting room. A child was there whose eye had swollen shut. Another kid looked as though he had been kicked in the eye by a horse. And while we all waited to be examined, we looked at a TV screen that showed a live feed of pilgrims circling the Ka’aba at Mecca. It was great. The young ladies working at the front desk all giggled demurely when I commented, through Muhammad’s translation, that I loved the many different, beautiful ways they had tied their head scarves. All is well and there are no serious issues. Just more floaters for a while. Everyone from Viking and in Alexandria was absolutely wonderful to us.Read more

    • Rita YeeInto Ancient History
      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.      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:

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

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