Alexandria rocks!

The thing I need to impress about Alexandria is 1) the Mediterranean Sea and 2) the clean fresh air of the sea. This is what you will notice about Alexandria if you live in Cairo as I do. (Actually this is what I noticed.)



We had a great trip. We (150 American students) left at 9 am Egypt time (about 10:15ish) and drove for two hours to Alexandria and arrived. Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa which means the Hill of Pottery (that is what they were discovered under). We went in, there were lots of people and it had that damp sweaty sticky feel of underground plus lots of bodies. It was incredible that all of the rooms had been carved out of rock and that many of the carvings were very intricate. There were lights down there but the people who lived in the early century's would have used oil lamps or torches. I tried to imagine that and could just barely; the lights flickering off these two columns with serpents wavering in the shadows. Intense.



We departed from this sight and made for the Bibliotheca Alexandria. One word: it was incredible. It was big, modern, and big. They had lots of books, a really nice atmosphere, and lots of room. It is designed to look like a sun coming out of the sky and is built over the original sight of the first Alexandria library. It was only completed a couple of years ago.



Leaving this place of learning we went to this resturant called something I don't remember. We ate rice with raisins and nuts, bobaganoush, hummus, fish paste, and a plate of meat-kofta, chicken, and beef. It was delicious, it was very well done and spiced.



After that we checked into our hotel called The Regency Hotel. I got paired up with some guy I didn't know named Pat who turned out to be a decent guy thankfully. I hung out with him and his friends 4 guys and 4 girls total. It was a pretty good night, we went and got ice cream and walked around. Then we walked down the corniche (along the sea). We went out onto some rocks where the the water would crash against the rocks and shoot up into the air. It was something but it was kind of sketchy as it was only guys here and all the guys in our group went off ahead and left the girls. I stayed behind protecting the girls with my presence. (I felt very noble and protective) :) Then we went back to the hotel and some of them smoked hash. Not me though and some of the other people in the group including my roommate. I was told later that hash is really easy to get in Alexandria and it is flooded onto streets because that is where it is exported. I noticed a very different interaction between the girls and the guys. The Americans have not been able to have the normal guy girl interactions they are used to back in the states. This refers to the segregation and lack of physical interaction that takes place on campus. I could really feel the honestly the sexual tension between everyone. Just an observation. Oh and this was the first time that I have hung out with more than three Americans at one time and the first time I have hung out with girls since getting here. The American group was nice but the girl part was even better.


The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was a very nice spread lots of cheese bread and hummus and fruit. Then we departed 9am egyptian time (1000) and went to Pompei's Pillar. It really is not about pompei but about a guy named Diocletian. Who saved Alexandria from starvation by diverting food from the tribute to rome back to Alexandria. All that was left of this temple was a 90 foot pillar. It was one of forty and part of a three temple complex. It was pretty magnificent and mind boggling to think that there were forty more of them.

After the pillar we went to the totally awesome fortress called qait bay. It is on the arm of the eastern harbor at the spot where te Pharos Lighthouse stood. It is even made with some of the materials that were in the lighthouse. It is big stone structure high celings and very cool inside. It was a nice repsite from the heat and sun. On the second and third story there were lots of windows affording magnificent views of the sea. We also went out onto the walls and looked out to the sea. I stood in the shade of the stone and let the breeze blow over my face. It was peaceful relaxing and cleansing. I wish I could be there now.

After the fortress we went this place called fish market. I had read in the guide book about it and imagined a market where you pick the fish you want from a table on the street watch them grill it on a dirty grill and then eat it at a dinky table. This was not the case. It was a very nice restuarant and you still got to pick the fish you wanted. We all the got the same thing and it included a spread of delicious dips and then the main course. A whole fish (head and tail) fried calimari and rice. All great. The calimari was the best I have ever tasted and the fish was cooked in a butter sauce and came right off the bones.

We left sated and chilled at the beach talking to some kids for a little while before taking an arduously long bus ride home. I can't wait to go back.

The only downside was that it was with a large group and that large group included Americans. One large groups make you stick out more than if you were alone. I generally don't mind being with Americans, my roommates are good representatives of our country. However there were some in our group, the loud obnoxious guys at you school (you know who I am talking about) who fit the American stereotype to the T, the capital T. They were loud, obnoxious, crude, and had a sense that they could do anything they wanted (going into restricted areas, mouting off to guards and such. It sucked I am proud to be an American and I am happy to tell those in Egypt that I am no matter what their reaction. But I was embarassed to be with them that day. I also had the unfortunate luck to sit next to them on the bus. The worst example was on the bus ride home. One of the guys bought a two foot statue that was generously endowed. generously. He bought it for this reason not knowing what it really stood for. It was part of the roman culture that celebrated this in many different manifestations. (Thank you Alex and Mike for this knowlege.) But one guy who bought it put it up to the window and acted like it was his genetalia and then banged on the window to get attention from passerbys. Some laughed on the street but many were offended. And they did this on an Alexandrian street in downtown think slow moving traffic lots of shops and people and a very big coach bus. I will admit that I did not say anything to them I failed in this to stop them, and I credit it to peer pressure and cowardice. It is something I need to work on always.

But all and all it was a great trip and I can't wait to go back to Alexandria with a small group of people.

fish market

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