Falling for Alex

Upon our return to Cairo, we spent our last day touring the Islamic sector. A maze of old streets, filled with mosques and local people. One highlight was an unexpected tour of a local mosque organised for us by a friendly student. The doors leading to the highest minaret were specially unlocked, affording spectacular views of the Cairo skyline.

Our student guide then insisted we join him for traditional tea and a sheesha at his local cafe. He even sweet-talked a nearby stall owner into letting us take a group photo wearing the stall's traditional crimson felt Fez hats. Afterward, we offered him a tip but he fervently rejected it. He genuinely just wanted to showcase his part of town to a bumbling bunch of tourists.

The following day was a rest day. I caught a train to Alexandria with another member of our tour group, Patti, a Canadian soldier on R&R from the Afghanistan front line. She's in the white Fez hat in the opening images of the post. While we were off exploring, Garry chilled out in our hotel. Alex was certainly worth the visit if only for a break from the dust and dirt of Cairo. 

The Express Train took about 2.5 hours to reach the coast. We then spent the rest of the day walking from one end of Alexandria to the other, taking in many of its most popular tourist sights, including Polmey's Pillar and the extensive Roman catacombs. By the time we were done, we'd walked more than 11km.

On the reflection, the sights we saw told a great story of the city's heritage as a frontier port and a major crossroad in the ancient world. The city reflects all manner of cultures that have shaped its turbulent history. For example, Polmey's Pillar is a triumphal column celebrating the Roman emperor Diocletian. It originally supported a colossal stone statue of the emperor dressed in armour.  

The statue has long gone but the column remains. At its base sits a classic Egyptian sphinx. However, this isn't an original feature. The Romans relocated it from Heliopolis, an ancient city located where the northern outskirts of Cairo reside today.

Imagine if you can, the contrast of this barren monument with that of the intricately carved white domes capping Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque. This stunning building is dedicated to the 13th-Century Murcian Andalusi Sufi saint Abul Abbas al-Mursi. His tomb resides inside. Sadly, as infidels we could only view the mosque through a grilled gate.

Toward the end of the day, I took an unscheduled plunge into the Mediterranean Sea. I slipped on a slimy rock while capturing just one more digital memory. The camera took a solid whack and never focused quite the same again. You can see me taking this final photo below, moments before my feet disappeared from under me. That image I was trying to capture? The Citadel of Qaitbay which you can see above.

Aside from this unfortunate incident, the only regret regarding my day in Alex was the fact that we didn't make time to visit the Bibliotheca Alexandria. It’s a modern day library and cultural centre commemorating the ancient Library of Alexandria, once one of the largest libraries worldwide. The original complex was destroyed by Palmyrene invaders almost two thousand years ago.  

Bibliotheca Alexandria sits on the coast about 1 km northeast of the main train station while most of the city’s tourist attractions are situated to the west. It was near impossible to cross from one side of town to the other without being seriously pushed for time. 

In the end, we settled for a distant waterfront view of its extraordinary profile from across the bay. Even from a distance, this post-modern building's sweeping curves were impressive with the late afternoon sun glinting off its glass facade. The image above, sourced from the web, gives you great sense of what we saw.

For more on our adventures, follow this link as we cross the Suez Canal and make our way towards Jordan.