Alexandria

We were up at the crack of dawn to drive to Alexandria from Cairo which takes about two hours.  I was excited to see the library and the ancient writings.  Of course the library had been destroyed many times (Julius Caesar burned it down and many ancient writings were lost) but some of the writings were still preserved.  When we arrived it was a gorgeous day!  The sea was so beautiful!  I now understand what "Mediterranean blue" looks like.  It is a wonderful color!  The sea was a bit rough as it was very windy.  That did not stop people from gathering and walking along shore.  It felt a bit chilly.  We first went to the Catacombs, another ancient treasure threatened by the water.  I could not believe how many spaces were there for people who had died.  The lower level is underwater but we were able to take the spiral staircase to see the remaining areas.  We then went to see Pompey's Pillar and the Roman Amphitheater, both great places.  We could see the ruins of a Roman bath and there was an active archeological dig and preservation project in process.  At the amphitheater we ran into some school children on  a day trip.  They asked if they could have pictures with us.   Shelly and I said sure and sat among them.  One little boy put his head on my chest and said "I feel like a rockstar!"  It was a fun little extra that had us all smiling!  The remains of the library was a very quiet place.  There was no Dewey Decimal system but I will bet you the scribes and librarians in charge knew where every document was....exactly!  Lunch was at another local eatery where we tried a selection of Egyptian foods.  We then visited THE library at Alexandria!  It is a massive library with many rooms and mini-museums.  There was quite a nice art collection and of course the antiquity writings.  Writings from all over the world are preserved there. It was on to Montazah Royal Gardens afterward!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montaza_Palace While enjoying the garden we came across a gazebo where some teens were having a birthday party.  They invited us for a treat and since it was a birthday we sand Happy Birthday to the birthday girl!  Well we ended up singing it several more times because each person had to get their cell phone video recording of the event!  FUN!  We went to the palace  to see if we could get a picture.  There was a guard there and we asked Waleed if he would ask the guard to have a picture with us.  He doubted he would but the guard said YES!!  World leaders stay at this palace for various conferences so it was nice to get a picture of it.  It is an interesting place.  Another long day and we journeyed home tired but very happy.  The next day is the tour of Cairo.


Christine xx