A friend of mine, one of the 5 Muhammeds with whom I regularly work with, comes from Alexandria. He constantly tells me how wonderful the city is. When my colleague visited there and also highly recommended it, I decided to explore the city myself.
I arrived at Cairo railway station early Saturday morning. I bought a ticket to 'Al Iskandria', as the Arabic-speakers call it. All the first-class tickets had been sold out, so I booked a seat in the second class later that morning. Another colleague had advised me to admire the Nile delta scenery along the way. According to her, the train ride is the best part of the journey. I studied some history of the cities and the map along the way – Benha, Tanta, Damanhour. Vast corn, aubergine and sugar cane field extended on both sides. I saw cows, watering channels, electric water pumps and more green fields that I had seen during my whole stay in the massive sand box known as Egypt.
I had 24 hours to explore the highlights of Alexandria, so I wasted no time hiring a cab to the Kom al-Shuqafa Catacombs. These tombs named as 'hill of treasures' date back to 2nd century AD and house underground library and tombs. The taxi drivers fight vigorously for clients. The first driver didn't agree on the price I offered, and when another taxi picked me up, he informed the second one how much I would pay. But this was not an issue for him, so off we went.
Qaitbey fortress used to face one of the ancient seven wonders of the world, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, but the latter collapsed in an earthquake in 1303 AD. However, the sturdy Fort still stands, posing against the brisk winds and mighty wawes of the Mediterranean. I climbed to the top of the fortress to capture a panorama view towards the city and the sea (picture). Then I sat down on the wave breaker near the sea, nibbling cotton candy and watching sea shell seller lure clients. The day before my journey a friend of mine told me how he had sat on the same spot as a kid, watching the waves pound the rocks.
What suddenly stroke me was the absence of tourists, or any kind of foregners even at the most popular places of interest. Flocks of locals; young families with children, and couples walking hand in hand milled around the fort and the promenade, but I spotted only five other foreigners. I was keenly aware of the Egyptians peeking at or directly staring at me, a white woman travelling alone. A group of young lads followed me while I captured snapshots, and made some comments about me. They were quite astonished and amused when I responded to them in Arabic. I was growing weary and annoyed to being noticed everywhere, even though the friendly and naive interest that the Egyptians show towards foreigners is common everywhere. Here they obviosly were not used to us. When I said Good aftenoon in Arabic upon entering a shop, the girl clerks gave a shy smile and giggled with each other.
I took a ride on the minivan-microbus to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The bus driver was confused because I didn't understand if I had given him too much or too little change, and he didn't charge me anything when I exited. The original library doesn't exist any more, of course, but the new one, inaugurated in 2000 and featuring 8 million books in 11 floors, could rightly be called one of the modern wonders of the world.
On the way to the hotel we passed Stanley bridge, another symbol of Alexandria. The taxi driver slowed his vehicle down so I could make some sunset snapshots. We drove along the coastline lined with sandy beach and parasols, and high-rise hotels on the other side. I felt like I was in Riviera. Finally we arrived at huge park, featuring Montaza Garden & Royal Palace. My hotel, Helnan Palestine, was inside the park, nestled in a sandy harbor. The Neo-Gothic summer palace is one of the presidential residences.
I had gotten sick during the overnight voyage because of freezing air conditioning. All I wanted was to get some rest and soothe my flu. There was a big surprise waiting for me in my hotel room... I was been given a special room from the top floor, with a fruit basket and all the trimmings. It was such a treat... The view from the balcony was gorgeous. On the left side I could see the president's palace, the Mediterranean sea stretched straight ahead, and a small islet and the lighthouse appeared on the right. There was so much beauty gathered in one place that I could only take a deep breath, watch in awe, and then bounce for joy like a child for discovering it. This became one of the top 10 the places in the world where I want to return.
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti