In the end of our Egyptian trip we had few days left to be spent in Cairo. On one of these days my hb wanted to visit pyramids in Giza one more time and I had one more place I had to see. And so I hopped into the train and after 2.5 hours I was in Alexandria.
Alexandria is the second largest city and the main port of Egypt. It was built by the Greeks at the orders of Alexander the Great. stretches along a 70 km narrow land strip between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mariut with population of more than 4 million.
In short the story of the city can be described as following:
It used to be a small fishing village Rhakotis, until there came Alexander The Great. He was young, he was ambitious, he was hailed conqueror and he also had deep respect to the Egyptian gods. Before he headed off to Persia and India, he had to visit the Oasis of Siwa to consult the Oracle of Amun. So he saw this little village, he liked the location, he envisaged the potential of having a port here. He marked the city walls outline and ordered Greek architect or to build him a capital. Unfortunately Alexander the Great never saw a single building rise there…After his death it was a “golden era” of Alexandria, which ended up with Cleopatra, when Egypt became a Roman province. After Romans there came Arabs. And since they were not sailors, but horse riders, they moved the capital to another site – Cairo…Alexandria greatly shrunk since then…And only during the 20th century, once again the city became Egypt's summer Capital. As well as the royal family had summer residence there, almost all the Arab world is using Alexandria as a summer resort.
If Cairo could be called Alladin, Alexandria presents itself as a royal lady. Everything is noble about her. The city is SO different and, perhaps, isThe Least Egyptian City in the whole Egypt. (Even such a little detail: apparently, Alexandria is the only city, where they forbid honking on the roads! After cacophony of Cairo’s streets it was almost weird to drive in silent Alexandria.)
Bibliotheca
Having read my guide book, I had in mind few sites to visit. Of course, the most important of them – Bibliotheca Alexandrina. First word that came to mind when I saw its building – WOW. Apart from being crazy about ancient constructions, I do admire a modern things too, when they’re made in hi-tech and hi-quality and with hi-style. The Bibliotheca is all of those and many more. It was opened in 2002 and the construction project was Norwegian. And I suspect, that there were foreign builders working on it as well. It was built on the site of the famous old Alexandria Library – the greatest library of the ancient world dated back to the 3rd century.
It is very modern giant cylindrical building. The circular outer wall made from Aswan granite and engraved with the letters from world alphabets. The roof is tilting towards the sea and consists of the special windows, that designed to direct sunlight into the 7-tiers reading room. And of course, inside everything is – latest technology. Just Perfect. (and I’m not saying this only because I work in library’s system myself and this was somewhat of “professional interest” to me). As a reader, I’d love to come there too, wouldn’t you?
...Most of the monuments in Alexandria referred to the Greco-Roman period. Naturally, after the gigantic temples of Upper Egypt these now looked a little bit “underscaled”. Still – it was interesting to see...
Pompey’s Pillar.
About 30 meters, red granite. It was erected in tribute to some Roman Emperor. The pillar was part of the mid 3rd century Temple of Serapis, where lots of religious texts were deposited, as in the “branch” of Bibliotheca. There is a small open-air museum around the grounds of Temple of Serapis, including some underground galleries where sacred bulls were buried…
Catacombs
It is a Greco-Roman necropolis of about 2nd century. It used to be a family burial place, but then expanded to hold hundreds of bodies. It was strange a little to see the “modern” versions of reliefs with Egyptian gods and scenes from everyday life and even the process of mummification! (I mean “modern” compare to the reliefs of Upper Egypt). Few things I’ve learned about this time in the history of Egypt: they still mummified their diseased (I always associated mummification with ancient Egypt only and to see this still was in practice during the “advanced” roman rule was somewhat unexpected for me) And also – they lost the art of making really grand monuments and they unlearnt how to make a good reliefs too :-)
Montazah Palace
A mix of Turkish and Florentine architecture. Used to be a residence of King Farouk. Now closed to the public, but the gardens and absolutely fantastic view of the coast are opened for visitors.
Roman Amphitheatre
Yet another reminder of the Roman occupation. Looks just how you’d expect the roman amphitheatre to be. Rows of marbel seats, few columns…nice, but very …”unegyptian”.
Lighthouse
Actually, there is no lighthouse as such. There is a medieval fort on the same spot where lighthouse stood. This fort was built from fallen stones and marble.
The lighthouse was built in the 3rd century on an island of Pharos. It stood up to 150 m high. Built from the limestone, it has 3 differently shaped storeys and a huge statue of Poseidon on top of it. Could’ve been such an impressive view!
Of the six vanished Wonders, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was the last to disappear. It was the only one that had a practical use in addition to its architectural elegance. There are so many reasons why the Lighthouse made it to the Top Seven, but you can choose whichever fascinates you the most. Would it be the practicality – it served for the sailors to ensure safe return. Would it be the architectural significance - it was the tallest building on Earth at that time. Or would it be scientific enigma – still the scientists are fascinated by the mysterious mirror – it’s said to reflect sun light for more then 50 km off shore! The lighthouse was so important and famous, that it was even shown on Roman coins.
Mediterranean Sea
To be honest, the elegant coastline and beaches of Alexandria could be the only reason for coming to this City Of The Dreamers.
Haven’t seen the Mediterranean Sea in my life, I was absolutely bewitched by it. But how to describe the beauty so gorgeous that words cannot say?...I can accept the fact that there are millions of other places, same amazing or even more…But still from my Egyptian journey I would like to take home a single breath of the Mediterranean breeze…
