So, did I mention that The Hotel Cecil where we're staying is said to have been built on the same site as Cleopatra's (yes, that Cleopatra) palace, where she entertained Caesar, and, later, Marc Anthony?
In any event, the guide, with car and drivr in tow, picked us up there bright and early on Monday morning, and we started at Pompeii's Pillar (which, in fact, was neither a pillar it's a column - nor dedicated to Pompeii, but, hey)
Hank and our guide Miriam....
From there, we went on to the Catacombs (no pictures allowed), which date back to the 2nd century A.D. and would have held about 300 corpses. Things underground were pretty well preserved, and were decorated with a combination of Egyptian, Greek and Roman death icons. It was, to me, anyway, surprisingly fascinating.
Tiring, though, so that, to preserve my stength, I took a pass on wandering around the Roman Ampitheatre. I rested, while Hank wandered around the marble terraces, the only Roman ampitheatre in Egypt, discovered in 1964. It had an auditoria, according to Hank, a bit unusual, and was used for a kind of a school of higher learning for the Romans. Again, according to Hank, the accoustics were astounding, and it is, indeed, still used for outdoor entertainment!
So, rested (me, at least), we headed on to the Alexandria National Museum (again, no photos allowed). It is not a huge museum, housed in an Italianate villa, but a well-selected collection summing up the history of Alexandria, well labelled and well displayed. ( It was still nice to have a guide, though!)
On to, what for me, was one of the highlights of the trip, the Library of Alexandria.. It is not, of course, the original, which was built in the late 3rd century B.C.,( and destroyed in about 48 B.C) and was the center of classical learning, and housed - was it 500,000? - scrolls. The new one, built about 10 years ago by an architecture firm from Norway, for a (cheap!) cost of $220,000,000. It has books in three languages, Arabic, English and French, not yet the 8,000,000 they have room for, but they are working on it!
There are special collections and exhibits (you can see I was entranced by the modern Egyptian art!), the whole thing wonderfully explained by a library docent, and well used by the community (could have something to do with the free Internet, but it certainly seemed like a lot more than that!)
Hank and I were both hugely impressed. Certainly, it is among the most impressive public spaces I've ever seen, and among the highlights of the trip!
We ended the day at the Citadel, built on the exact site of the famous Light House of Alexandria, which was considered to be one of the secen wonders of the ancient world. The lighthouse actually continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest. It was ultimately completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century. In about 1480, the place was fortified as part of the coastal defenses agains the Turk, It continued to function during the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period and the Moslem period, but British bombardment in 1882 put paid to its usefulness. It was restored in the 20th century by the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Antiquities.
(The dark line above was actually wood, inserted in the construction as an early form of earthquake construction to provide some "give"! Pretty state of the art, huh?)
And, after a wonderful day, back to the hotel. Hank left me to a well-deserved nap, while he went on his quest (akin to Ahab and the Whale, we agreed). He was trying to find The Spitfire, a sleazy bar he had discovered on his visit to Egypt 9 years ago. I couldn't possiby reproduce his wanderings; the long and the short of is, he found it, and was really chuffed (and has the t-shirt to prove it, or, rather, he gave me the t-shirt to prove it)! We celebrated with a lovely dinner at the hotel, and called it a very successful day!
Tuesday, car and driver delivered us back to Cairo, with another McDonald pit stop, by popular demand!
And that night, our last in Egypt, Ted, his daughter Claire, friend Kate, colleague Trish, Hank and I had perhaps the best meal of the trip, in a lovely villa called La Belle Epoch. We ate in the quiet garden, by candlelight - good food, good conversation, great company - what a wonderful way to end our stay!!
And Wednesday, April 24th, the party is over! Ted got up early and made coffee, and after fond farewells, we are off to the airport, for the gruelling 16 hour trip back to San Francisco (4 hours to Munich, an hour sprint through the Munich airport which included 5 stops for security, and 11 hours from Munich to San Francisco. It wouldn't be fun if I were well; sick, it was excruciating. Even Hank was ready to run screaming down the aisles by the time it was over.
In fairness, I should say Lufthansa fed and watered and entertained us well, but still...
In any event, we arrived home safely, as did our luggage (and yes, enough shopping was done that luggage was checked), and our exit from the airport was pretty expeditious. A quick taxi ride (no more car and driver, alas!) and we were safe at home.
I will leave final thoughts, if any, for another day. Suffice it to say, for now, I was, as always, grateful to be home. After travellng in all these exotic locations, the US always seems so - well, orderly!
In any event, the guide, with car and drivr in tow, picked us up there bright and early on Monday morning, and we started at Pompeii's Pillar (which, in fact, was neither a pillar it's a column - nor dedicated to Pompeii, but, hey)
Hank and our guide Miriam....
Tiring, though, so that, to preserve my stength, I took a pass on wandering around the Roman Ampitheatre. I rested, while Hank wandered around the marble terraces, the only Roman ampitheatre in Egypt, discovered in 1964. It had an auditoria, according to Hank, a bit unusual, and was used for a kind of a school of higher learning for the Romans. Again, according to Hank, the accoustics were astounding, and it is, indeed, still used for outdoor entertainment!
So, rested (me, at least), we headed on to the Alexandria National Museum (again, no photos allowed). It is not a huge museum, housed in an Italianate villa, but a well-selected collection summing up the history of Alexandria, well labelled and well displayed. ( It was still nice to have a guide, though!)
On to, what for me, was one of the highlights of the trip, the Library of Alexandria.. It is not, of course, the original, which was built in the late 3rd century B.C.,( and destroyed in about 48 B.C) and was the center of classical learning, and housed - was it 500,000? - scrolls. The new one, built about 10 years ago by an architecture firm from Norway, for a (cheap!) cost of $220,000,000. It has books in three languages, Arabic, English and French, not yet the 8,000,000 they have room for, but they are working on it!
There are special collections and exhibits (you can see I was entranced by the modern Egyptian art!), the whole thing wonderfully explained by a library docent, and well used by the community (could have something to do with the free Internet, but it certainly seemed like a lot more than that!)
Hank and I were both hugely impressed. Certainly, it is among the most impressive public spaces I've ever seen, and among the highlights of the trip!
We ended the day at the Citadel, built on the exact site of the famous Light House of Alexandria, which was considered to be one of the secen wonders of the ancient world. The lighthouse actually continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest. It was ultimately completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century. In about 1480, the place was fortified as part of the coastal defenses agains the Turk, It continued to function during the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period and the Moslem period, but British bombardment in 1882 put paid to its usefulness. It was restored in the 20th century by the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Antiquities.
(The dark line above was actually wood, inserted in the construction as an early form of earthquake construction to provide some "give"! Pretty state of the art, huh?)
And, after a wonderful day, back to the hotel. Hank left me to a well-deserved nap, while he went on his quest (akin to Ahab and the Whale, we agreed). He was trying to find The Spitfire, a sleazy bar he had discovered on his visit to Egypt 9 years ago. I couldn't possiby reproduce his wanderings; the long and the short of is, he found it, and was really chuffed (and has the t-shirt to prove it, or, rather, he gave me the t-shirt to prove it)! We celebrated with a lovely dinner at the hotel, and called it a very successful day!
Tuesday, car and driver delivered us back to Cairo, with another McDonald pit stop, by popular demand!
And that night, our last in Egypt, Ted, his daughter Claire, friend Kate, colleague Trish, Hank and I had perhaps the best meal of the trip, in a lovely villa called La Belle Epoch. We ate in the quiet garden, by candlelight - good food, good conversation, great company - what a wonderful way to end our stay!!
And Wednesday, April 24th, the party is over! Ted got up early and made coffee, and after fond farewells, we are off to the airport, for the gruelling 16 hour trip back to San Francisco (4 hours to Munich, an hour sprint through the Munich airport which included 5 stops for security, and 11 hours from Munich to San Francisco. It wouldn't be fun if I were well; sick, it was excruciating. Even Hank was ready to run screaming down the aisles by the time it was over.
In fairness, I should say Lufthansa fed and watered and entertained us well, but still...
In any event, we arrived home safely, as did our luggage (and yes, enough shopping was done that luggage was checked), and our exit from the airport was pretty expeditious. A quick taxi ride (no more car and driver, alas!) and we were safe at home.
I will leave final thoughts, if any, for another day. Suffice it to say, for now, I was, as always, grateful to be home. After travellng in all these exotic locations, the US always seems so - well, orderly!
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