Day 12 - Alexandria

We sleep in a little and then go downstairs for breakfast in the lobby area.  Mister has requested just croissants and jam and by golly, that is what we get -- 4 rolls each -- too funny.  The television is on and we watch it with amusement. An Egyptian soap opera comes on and we giggle during the rest of our breakfast as we watch it.  It is time to start walking and our first stop of the day is at the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

We walk up to the gates and ask permission to enter to take pictures of the exterior.  As we are doing so, another gentleman comes up and tells us that it is open and we are able to enter through the side door.  The church is beautiful inside and very well-maintained.  Around the corner is St. Catherines Roman Catholic Church and the gates are open so we go in and notice the grounds and that they are being worked on and kept nicely.

 

We enter the Church and notice the simplicity of it even though it is in need of repair.  Note to Pope:  Send money to St. Catherines.  From here, we head across town on foot and explore many small neighborhoods where we are definitely standing out. An old tram is still operating, but it looks slower than walking, and we have no idea how to tell which train to take.


More than once, Mister gets asked if he is a journalist.  People ask for their pictures to be taken again and are so friendly and warm in their sincere joy that we are there.  Our destination is the Catacombs of Kom al-Shoqofa, an ancient burial ground that was found quite by accident when a donkey fell through a chamber ceiling on a building construction site.  We think we're going the correct way, but the road is getting very narrow.

Locals in the tea shops and stores smile at us and point the way without us even asking. We can tell most tourists are shuttled here in their vans and tour buses.  It becomes quite comical to us.  No cameras in the catacombs, which is a shame because there are three levels of catacombs, all dug into the ground.around a center air/light shaft. At one time they were highly decorated as were all the tombs and temples.  We find that the images on the walls contain a mixture of Pharaonic and Greek details.  From the tombs, we walk down the street and grab a cab out to El Anfushi, a suburb of Alexandria, to visit Fort Qayt Bay - a citadel built on the site of Alexandria's Pharos Lighthouse. The lighthouse is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but the only thing that remains are the foundation stones used by the fort. 

The lower level looks out toward the Mediterranean Sea and the East Harbor and has the most wonderful cool breeze blowing through it.  I love it -- love the windows, the rooms, and the breeze.  From there, we go to the very top and look out over the sea where you can see miles and miles of coastline and serves as a place for couples to grab a few romantic moments.

The interior of the fort is dull and basic with the exception of a Mosque within the walls.  We start our journey back along the Corniche on the lookout for a restaurant that Mister read about and wants to try.  We spot Kadoura and head in for lunch. We are escorted to the fish display where you select which one you want to eat.


 Mister orders sea bass for both of us. We are sent upstairs with a wooden number to put on our table. The server brings a nice salad, soda, water, and, of course, the required bread that comes in abundance at each meal

It is all delicious and we are ready to start out again.  As we walk along the Corniche, I spot people lowering baskets from several floors up in the buildings and a person on the ground places something in them and then they are raised back up.  Is it the mail?  I am not sure.  Also, you have to watch where you  walk or you will have water from laundry hanging on lines way above you drip all over your head.  Across the road, on the shore side, the beaches are packed and it is a festive atmosphere with umbrellas and cotton candy vendors everywhere.  About two blocks from Kadoura, we come across a place called El Koubeze, a juice stand, that looks wonderful.

The place is packed, with people stopping their cars in the street and servers running out to take their orders. Mister has coconut and I order a combo of mango and peach. We sit outside and enjoy them.

  As we are drinking, we notice another drink being served and determine to come back later and get one.  It is funny to me that in this country of such abundance of fresh fruit, that it is rarely served for our meals either in the hostels or restaurants, but you find lots of fruit juices stands. We return to the hotel to cool off and rest for awhile before making a trip to the train station to buy the day after tomorrow's train tickets back to Cairo.  We walk the Corniche again after dark and soak up the romance and atmosphere and relative quiet that we did not find in other places in Egypt.  We stop back in at El Koubeze to have the Fruit "Salat", fresh fruit juice with chunks of fruit overfilling the glass.

Oh my, how good is this.  So yummy.  Then it is back to the hostel for a good night's sleep.

Day 11 - Alexandria

I slept like a rock again --- love being rocked all night on the train.  Breakfast of bread and jam while watching out the windows until we slowly come to a stop.  We sit in the middle of farm land for an hour with what is explained as a "problem with the rails". Our train is late getting into Cairo, which causes me some dismay as we want to do a quick transfer and grab an early train to Alexandria.  The train station in Cairo is very nice and very large, but the first one we have been in that has absolutely no English anywhere and so we are struggling to find our way from our train to the station, and where to get our tickets.

We finally find a ticket window and with the help of two men waiting behind Mister, are told that the trains are all sold out until 3:30 in the afternoon. We find a tourist information office (just a room with a couple of chairs and cardboard boxes) and after explaining our dilemma, the man asks us to please sit (Egypt's solution to everything) and he will see what can be done. A few minutes later a tourist policeman (the guys in white uniforms) says he can get us seats on the 11am train. I stay and wait in the information room while Mister and the police officer leave.


The officer takes Mister to the same ticket window we just went to (Mister is not looking forward to dealing with the lady again, this time with police in tow) but another officer pulls him aside and has him ... sit and wait for a few minutes. He returns with two tickets for the sold-out 11am train. Mister does not ask how he got them, he just pays the officer (the stated price has a small tip included), and Mister also tips the other officer that walked around and sat with him.  We head back into the terminal and after a few friendly people point us in the right direction, a porter shows us the platform and leads us to where we need to stand to get in our designated car --- then asks for baksheesh --- ah Egypt.

We board the train and Mister calls the hotel to let them know when we will be in.  We arrive in Alexandria to much cooler weather and are walking along the platform while keeping an eye out for our driver, thinking he will have a sign.

We are approached by a man who says he is our driver -- ah yes, two pale redheads stand out like sore thumbs. He grabs our bags and we race to keep up with him as we snake through the lobby and out to his car. We get to the Alexander the Great Hostel and check in.

The room is spacious although basic and we drop our things off and decide to head out and explore right away.  We turn a couple of corners and are suddenly in a local souk and walk through the entire place slowly, soaking in the atmosphere.

There are no other tourists here and the people are incredibly friendly, welcoming us, thanking us for coming, and asking us to take their pictures.  Not a single shopkeeper hassles us and we are never asked for baksheesh. Are we in a different country?  It is so nice -- we relax and begin to enjoy Alexandria.

Yep, that's me weaving through the cars to cross the street.  This is how it is done in Egypt.

We head for the Corniche (coast) so that we can view the Mediterranean Sea.  People are strolling everywhere as it is the weekend in Egypt (Friday and Saturday are their days off and it is Thursday night).  The air is full of mist and although it is cooler here, it is humid and my hair is starting to do it's thing.   We walk along the Corniche and come upon the Nasser Cafe (popular name in Egypt) and stop in for a snack and drink.

It is also a hookah (water pipe) bar and I am surprised to see women smoking. Alexandria is more European and has a lot of Greek history. It is also the vacation spot for Egyptians, so things are more relaxed here. Upon leaving the Nasser, we go to the Grand Trianon Hotel where there is this delightful pastry shop from the 1920's.


It's dark wood interior is beautiful and the treats most tempting.  I select a chocolate pastry and as I am getting ready to pay, the power goes out and all is dark and quiet in the shop.  The saleslady gives Mister and I a scrumptious dark chocolate candy as a sampler, we pay for the pastry, and head out the door just as the power returns.  The next stop is just down the street and it is the Brazilian Coffee Store, a great little stand-up espresso bar where Mister gets a coffee and I savor my little chocolate pastry.

The ancient roasters are right in the room and the walls are covered with a very antiquated map of South America.  As we leave the store, our next stop is Kom-al-Dikka or Roman Theater, but we get there too late and it is closed.  We peek through the gates and try to snap a picture, but it is dark and the guard is not happy with us.  We start back towards our hostel and come upon another local market.  This time it is a produce market and it is all lit up.

The place is packed as always; Egypt comes alive after dark.  It is a quiet country during the day, but at night --- wow, everyone is out until at least 10 and sometimes much later.  You can hear the horns honking way into the late hours throughout the country.  As we continue on towards the hostel, we come upon a man making small doughnut-type treats and I stop to watch.  He scoops out a few from the fryer, dusts them with sugar, and hands them to me, refusing any money for them -- once again I wonder if I have gone to a different country.


We are now all turned around in the city and cannot figure out how to get back to the hotel.  I am hot and tired and it feels like we just keep going in circles.  We ask for directions, but no one really seems to know where we need to go and just want us to sit down and have tea.

 It is frustrating to me, but I am sure I will look back on it and laugh after I am home.  Finally, we circle in on the hostel like a couple of vultures and head inside to take much needed showers (we are soaked with sweat again) and head to bed.

Day 10 - Luxor

Mahmoud serves us breakfast on the roof again and it is a repeat of yesterday but with banana juice. We go downstairs to meet the new guide and discover that Ragab is going to take us anyway.  We walk down to the Nile again and ferry over to Luxor.


Ragab hires a cab and we go to the Temple of Karnak

This place is huge -- it is incredibly complex and impressive and covers a space of 1 mile by 2 miles (247 acres).  It was constructed over a vast amount of time and was the center of government for Egypt.  It is here that we see an amazing amount of columns and even some standing obelisks.

 Even with all the exposure to the elements, there is still color visible on columns and we are able to take pictures throughout the entire complex.  We could get lost here for days and absolutely love the beauty of the Sacred Lake within it's walls.  Oh to be able to see what it truly would have been like in it's full glory and filled with activity. Adobe bricks making ramps can be seen against one wall of the temple that was never finished by the Egyptians. This is a rare look into how they raised the stones to such heights.

From here, we go to the Temple of Luxor which sits smack dab in the middle of the city along the Nile.

The Temple of Karnak and the Temple of Luxor are 2 miles apart and the Avenue of Sphinxes will one day once again go the entire distance between them.

There is a statue here of Ramses II (Ramses the Great) that is in very good condition (still has the serpent head) and accurately depicts what he looked like.

Ramses certainly did like his own image as he made sure to put it everywhere -- the logic falls apart to me though in that they are always in places where the general population cannot see them.  One would think he would have wanted it the other way around.  Hmmn.  This temple is also unique in that it has been used throughout time for religious purposes, including a Mosque built on top of the temple walls 

as well as a Christian church. The plaster and paintings that covered the Egyptian carvings are still visible. 

I am very warm and ready for a break so we ask the driver to take us to Tutti-Fuitti, a quiet little English tearoom with great scones and pastries.

After a nice break and snack, I am ready to go again.  The cab returns and we head back to the dock to grab a ferry and cross the river once again.  We return to the hotel to shower, rest for awhile, and then pack. We make arrangements for our hotel in Alexandria and head up to the roof to have some fruit and just relax.  Mister goes to settle up and the cab arrives to take us back into Luxor for our train.  The train is waiting when we arrive and we board instantly and make ourselves comfortable for the evening.  Dinner is served shortly after we leave and we climb into our bunks and crash.