We were on our way to Alexandria very early, so we could have a full day here. Last time I was here, we only toured the catacombs and were dropped in a local market. At one point, we came across a truck hauling tomatoes. The driver said if you can grab some, they are yours. Our driver tried, but couldn’t get one. One of the passengers reached up and grabbed two and passed them to our driver. The driving here can still be daunting.
We started with a park and palace that belonged to the last king of Egypt, King Farouk. We could not tour his palace, because it is for the president and visiting dignitaries. The beaches were packed with locals. The beaches looked nice and I wish we would have had time for a swim.
We then went to the Library of Alexandria. Luckily Salma gave us some information before we went in for the tour. Our library guide only showed us the layout of the library and the library Web Site. I actually thing we may look at it when we get home.
Our next stop was Fort Qaitbey. It is supposed to be built on the foundations of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. An earthquake in antiquity brought down the lighthouse. It is another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. The museum that used to house the remains of Napoleon’s fleet that was destroyed by the British moved a few years ago. It would have been nice to see it.
Our last stop was the Greco-Roman catacombs. Driving from the main road next to the beach to the catacombs was like navigating a crazy maze. Or a better analogy would be a drunken rat in a maze. We had no idea what direction we were going. The catacombs were tucked into a poor-looking residential area. In fact, we could not drive up the street to the catacombs, because a house had started to fall down and there was debris in the street. Once in the catacombs, we were led into several tombs. One was decorated with Egyptian gods and motifs. Even we recognized some of the mistakes that the artist made in representing some of the gods. The Greeks really didn’t know what the gods were and tried to make their version of how they should look.
We had an emergency on the way to Marsa Matruh. We got a flat tire. It took over an hour to get it changed and a replacement tire. Most of the time was bargaining for the tire. Our driver had to leave the facility several times before they settled on a price.
We were supposed to stay in Cairo tonight and then drive to Siwa tomorrow morning. It didn’t make sense, so Salma found a cheap summer flat for $20 a night. It is nothing special, but it will save us about six hours tomorrow morning. The woman that greeted us was very friendly; so many people along the way have asked us to think of them as family. She had picked us fresh flowers and supplied us with a bottle of Sprite and water. We are on the fifth floor and there is an elevator. However, it doesn’t work. As we started up the steps, it reminded me of the TV show, The Big Bang Theory. I suspect we are the only foreigners in this area. We are living like the locals who vacation in this area!
At the club/restaurant/non-alcoholic bar next door, there was very loud Arabic music blaring. We were hoping it would end so we could get some sleep. We had noticed that the locals like to stay awake very late. They do not drink alcohol, so Jon does not see the point of being out late!
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