We slept like babies on the overnight train from Luxor and
to be honest the bed on the train was the best we’d had since leaving Cairo to
begin with. After our super bread breakfast we disembarked and got on another
minibus to head up the motorway to Alexandria. What on the map looks like a
relatively short drive took 4 hours due to a few Egyptian innovations. Many
enterprising Egyptians have taken it upon themselves to set up roadside stands
selling everything from tissues to ice-cream and to further business they have
laid concrete speed humps, usually 3 of them, across the entire highway. This
is not isolated to one or two but dozens along the route. The motorway is also
under constant road works and reworks so getting up to an actual motorway speed
is rare. We did stop and have the best coffee we had in Egypt in a Californian
coffee house chain at a petrol stop though, so it wasn’t all bad.
Coming into Alexandria there is lots of heavy industry
involving chemicals, petroleum and for some reason massive salt pools which
were tinted red and purple. These artificial lakes were really bizarre to drive
past giving such a weird surrounding to an otherwise uninteresting drive.
On arrival at our hotel we draw straws for the rooms as two
have a view, we draw the short straw but at least we have nice beds. I say
beds, the plural, because getting an actual double bed in Egypt would turn out
to be impossible until we got back to Cairo. We dump our stuff and head out
with the group for an orientation walk.
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Alexandria is the largest city on the coast of the
Mediterranean and has a long history dating back to its founding by Alexander
the Great during the Greek conquest of Egypt in the centuries leading up to
Jesus. A lot of the old city is under the water now in the bay where the
fishing boats now anchor and new finds are constantly being fished out of the
sea. It was along this ancient bay that we walked towards the old Citadel of
Qaitbay a 15th century Muslim fortress that has been recently
restored. It stands on the exact spot of the ancient wonder of the World, the
Lighthouse of Alexandria that was destroyed by Earthquake in the 14th
Century.
The walk to the citadel was a slightly different ‘out in
public’ experience than in other parts of Egypt. People were friendlier, less
conservative, many people approached and spoke to us but not to sell us
anything! The biggest let down of the promenade (of Egypt as a whole really) is
the litter. The rubbish situation is out of control and even with public
awareness campaigns to try and reduce littering there is no infrastructure to
support that campaign, ie: bins. Along the way Ahmed bought us Egyptian
ice-cream which was simple, delicious and fruity. Apparently though we should
not buy from the sellers on the streets, it is not clean.
That night we went out for a group dinner at a local nice
restaurant and had the usual meat and rice. It was good meat and rice
nevertheless.
The next day we took taxis to the Alexandria catacombs. For
some reason once again there are no photos allowed on site. So I’ll do my best
to describe for you. The catacombs are the underground burial chambers of early
Christians who for unknown reasons buried their remains deep under the earth in
what was originally a single family’s tomb. To get in you descend via a winding
spiral staircase of very shallow steps that takes you down a wide shaft to a
cold and damp basement. Going through a narrow passageway takes you to a very
nicely carved and painted original tomb for a family of three. Leading off to
the side there are lots of empty holes in the walls which bodies have been
placed. The catacombs were lost for hundreds of years until a donkey fell
through the access shaft in the early 20th century and they were
excavated and opened to the public.
Ascending the winding low step staircase we leave the dank
and cold behind and emerge into the bright seaside sunshine. Our official
activity is over so the group splits three ways but we all get in a tiny Suzuki
minivan and buzz back across town dropping people off along the way til we get
to the library of Alexandria. Before we go inside though it is time to lunch. A
fairly standard affair with the addition of introducing Ahmed to Cinnabon. Needless
to say, another life changed.
Just across from us is the modern library of Alexandria.
This massive library was built as reflection of the glory of the lost library
of Alexandria from antiquity. It is controversial locally as a huge white
elephant and vanity project of the government. It is predicted at current
funding levels it will take another 80 years to fill the library’s shelves.
That’s because it is huge but also Egypt doesn’t have a lot to spend on books
and relies heavily on donations. We did attempt to go inside but the entrance
for non-students was ridiculously high! The
whole area around the library and in the courtyard was tightly controlled by
security, we were not allowed to loiter anywhere even when we were waiting for
two of our group who did go inside. There were men with guns patrolling
everywhere and we asked in a not-too-friendly manner to move along whilst we
were sitting. So we went for a walk around the building to admire the
architecture which from a distance is beautiful but up close it was hopeless,
the high fence around it makes viewing the details impossible.
So after our library non experience we regroup and head off
to the local market and had a simply amazing experience. Everybody was very
friendly we were getting high fives, waves and smiles from locals as we moved
though the throng and it seemed like everyone was genuinely happy to see some
tourists. Walking through the local markets we see stalls with salted fish
(yuck!), open butchers and all sorts of miscellaneous goods and fresh produce.
During our stroll we got picked up by a man (you come to my store?!) and we
thought, why not? He proceeded to walk us through the half closed bazaar to his
jewellery shop. We did not buy and set off back through the markets and turned
down a few backstreets to find ourselves in a proper local neighbourhood.
On our wander we got to see the ‘real’ Alexandria. The main
central garden is a sty and completely trashed with garbage, litter and torn up
ground. In the neighbourhood there are goats in the street, piles of garbage,
ridiculously cute stray cats and genuinely nice people. Amy was very popular
with the girls who would say hello and have chats. Went back through the
markets and into a local mall with the girls looking for a dress. We all found
the customer service curious, all the female staff were laughing to themselves
and darting glances at us, not sure why. Ahmed later suggested they were just
nervous and not sure how to handle us. Laughing and looking at someone in our
culture is quite rude so it was hard to accept they were nervous but you never
know.
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After our full on walk of the city we went to nearby
bakery/patisserie with Ollie and Nathan. Something of a hangover from the
colonial days you can still find incredible cake shops in Egypt. We had the
most delicious cake and chillaxed.
Later after dinner Ahmed took us to a local coffee house for
tea, backgammon and shisha. We spent hours playing games, drinking tea and
laughing. Whilst there Simon finally got his boots cleaned by a bootblack. He
did a stellar job and the usual fee is 7 Egyptian pounds, around $1AUD. We gave
him triple because 1. The job was so good, he spent about 30 minutes on it and
2. $1 for 30 minutes work is just appalling. The whole place was packed with
Egyptians doing the same thing as us, and whilst we did stand out for being
white and having women in our group, we just relaxed and had a super great
time.
Walking across the road from the hotel we discover a wedding
is going on inside so we peek in the window to get a glimpse but the couple
were eating privately. A little later on Alex from our group crashes with Ahmed
to see the couple dancing later on.
Before turning in for the night we purchase a pile of food for
the 8 hour bus ride to Siwa Oasis the next day, there is no food on the way so
we load up on complete rubbish but there is no alternative. It’s not like there
is a McDonalds on the side of the road or anything.
One last piece of drama the morning of our departure. We
exit our room to find a staff member from the hotel jimmying the door to the
boy’s room with a large screwdriver. We call out to them and turns out their
door is jammed and they can’t get out! Probably 15 minutes further go by with
the staff working the door with every sort of implement they can find to
eventually free them and just in time, Nathan couldn’t hold on much longer!
Looks like the room without a view wasn’t so bad after all!
Lessons Learnt:
- Getting off the tourist track and into the sidestreets and local neighbourhoods is by far the best way to get a feel for how people actually live and operate.
- Get a student card whilst travelling, everything is so much cheaper.
- Cinnabon can truly change lives.
- If you’re going to build one of the largest library’s in the world, fund it enough to fill it up with books.
- Stray cats whilst really cute should not be touched, you just don’t know where they’ve been.
- Cake is delicious in every culture.
Parting Thoughts:
Alexandria has the potential to be an incredible sea side
city it just needs some cleaning up and little more relaxation. That said the
locals were by far the most chilled out of all Egyptians we have met thus far.
It is so frustrating that we cannot take pictures in many places.
We really enjoyed the coffee house (even if we drank tea).
Playing backgammon and chilling out, laughing and having a good time with
everyone was so much fun.
Simon and Amy xoxo
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