Alexandria -- At Both Ends

Leaving Siwa we caught a public transport bus for Alexandria – kind of like a Greyhound only dirtier and with smokers.
An idea of the beautiful scenery can be seen in this video Marina took: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYmrTCaPdw
Nine (9) hours later we arrived somewhat worse for wear. We were hoping to get some beer but alas, none of the restaurants we went to served it. We did see a place called “Drinkies” that sold Heineken, but we didn’t get there in time and they were closed.



We took an hour tour of the Biblioteca – the newly built library that is truly fantastic. Then we retired back to the Hotel Egypt. It’s an OK enough hotel on the waterfront but there is a very busy freeway right in front and the washroom didn't have a shower or a tub, just a shower head and a drain hole in the floor -- :-(  not exactly a perfect experience.

Out front of the Alexandria Library

Looking up the wall/roof

Ross Overlooking the student rooms

Jessie pretending to be a noble

More in the Gallery

One of our favorite lines in the movie “The Bucket List” that has become very appropriate in Egypt is “never trust a fart” and that pretty much sums up our experience in Alexandria. Anyway … it struck Matt first – a queasy stomach – and then Ross got it, then Marina, and finally Jessie. Three of us went out for dinner, leaving Ross behind. When we got back Ross was in our bed sleeping after having had several intimate experiences with the throne.

Ross' favorite room

Ross probably remembers the ceiling of the room more
than anything else in Alexandria

The next morning Marina and Jessie were afflicted with stomach issues too, so we had four people in our hotel room in various states of discomfort. Marina and I went out and got some food and drinks (plus some Immodium) and came back for a quick nap. After we got back I was the only one fit enough to eat. In the afternoon we decided to go for a walk and strolled along the waterfront to explore Alexandria. Marina wasn’t feeling very well and we walked like a couple of 80 year olds with emphysema – stopping every hundred feet or so for a rest. By the time we got back to our hotel room we walked in on our friend Samantha in the hotel room rendering comfort to Ross – who had apparently spent a good length of time on the bathroom floor in pain. Jessie didn’t know what to do so she got Samantha – a mother of 3 teenage boys, to come take a look and make sure Ross wasn’t dying. Good thinking Jess!


Well, we then got some ‘industrial strength’ stomach medicine from John, a Californian travelling with his son Matt from Boston. John and Matt are really interesting guys … both PhD’s, Matt’s owns a growing string of Frozen Yoghourt stores in Boston, John has done many things from serving in the US Airforce in Cambodia, to being an academic, to working for the State Government in California, to being a Water Commissioner in his town, to being a Scout Leader. It was always John we went to when we needed something like ‘industrial strength’ stomach medicine because he is always prepared.

Pigeon Anyone??

We went out for dinner with everyone for our final night out. Ross took a pass which was probably a good thing to do. Ebrahim took us to a nice local restaurant – the girls ordered pasta, I had stuffed Pigeon. The Pigeon tasted like a cross between chicken and duck – and it would have been better if I’d had wine or beer to get my courage up a little more. Apparently you’re supposed to eat the bones … but the thought of choking in an Egyptian restaurant (then getting taken to an Egyptian Hospital in an Egyptian Ambulance) made me pick at the bird gingerly. I reckon that I got about ½ a bite of meat out of the whole thing. Mind you, when you see what crossing the street is like in Alexandria, maybe the Pigeon was a low-risk option. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D58bhQhdTc8


We all went to bed early because of a 6:30 wakeup call … plus the fact that you can’t find a drink easily in Egypt and the TV cable was broken.

Samantha in the Catecombs

Bas Relief on the front of the Sarcophagus

More Empty Tombs -- where did all the bones go?

The next morning we got up – Ross still hadn’t eaten anything and continued to have stomach problems but we managed to make it to the bus and visit the Catacombs of Alexandria. These were discovered by one of the greatest archeologist families in Egypt: the Donkey family. This is about the 5th or 6th monument or tomb site we've visited that was discovered by a donkey … I guess their sure-footedness lets them get off track enough to find these things. Alexandria has a lot of Greek influence as you ‘d expect and the Catacombs are an interesting mix of Egyptian and Greek. The Sun Gods are there but they wear Greek dress. There was also a new god that was the son of Zeus and Isis .. a melding of the two cultures. This is apparently a trick from Alexander the Great to continue to respect the conquered culture and then slowly combine it with the Greek.


You go down a shaft that has very shallow steps into an ante-room that would hold the mourners and into the burial chambers. The coffins didn’t have lids, they were carved completely out of rock to look like they did, and then had each had a back door which is how you put the bodies in. This approach cuts down on grave robbing I guess.


The third floor is under water and the tombs have been flooded twice in the last 100 years. Interestingly enough they’ve found no human bones there, only the bones of horses. Our guide said it was the salt water that dissolved the bones – possible, but when asked why the bones of the horses survived he said they had a different chemical makeup (doubtful if you ask me ... probably better to ask a scientist rather than an historian questions on dissolving bones). So a little more research is required to figure out why the human bones are gone when some animal bones remained.


Finally we piled back into the bus and headed for Cairo. We originally planned on staying at the Pharoahs hotel downtown Cairo – another 1.5 star hotel, but while in Alexandria we decided to book into the J.W. Marriott by the Cairo Airport.

Street Scenes from Alexandria