I can understand why Alexander the Great created this city of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt and why Queen Cleopatra lived in her palace here. The views are spectacular and the city is invigorating and beautiful. Alexandria was the capital of Egypt for nearly a thousand years around the 600AD when it was moved to what is now known as Cairo.
Today’ started with an early morning rise to take the road to Alexandria. This time my driver was Mustafa and my very knowledgeable guide was Rehab that works with Mohamed by tour guide guru. Rehab, is a lovely young woman that knew the history of Alexandria inside and out. The trip from Cairo is 3 hours and the drive is through the desert so there is not much to see on the way there.
Once there we first drive through the sea side road or the “Cornish” as it is called and the modern part of Alexandria. We head to the Palace of Egypt’s next to the last royalty ruler of Egypt, King Farouk who was deposed and forced to abdicate in the revolution of 1952. The Palace and the gardens are magnificent but what was most interesting is that King Farouk was a ladies man and very generous too. He built his beautiful summer palace in Alexandria as many other wealthy people do; they have summer houses in Alexandria. But King Farouk, the ladies’ man, built a second palace for his harem, …..yes u heard right, he built a 2nd palace , The “Harem Palace” within the Palace grounds…what a guy!...LOL
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| The Harem Palace |
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| Sea Wall by the Old Fort |
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| Javi, the water is soooo clear here, you would have loved snorkeling here!!! |
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| The new Library of Alexandria |
We later visited the new Library of Alexandria. The old fabled Library of Alexandria perished when it was burned by Julius Caesar when they conquered Egypt. It was said it housed the rarest and oldest books, manuscripts and written treasures of the ancient world. Alexandria was considered the most vibrant and energetic city of the old world. The sad thing about the city was the nearly everything was destroyed in a Tsunami caused by an earthquake. The famous lighthouse was destroyed along with all other temples and ruins. Very few items have been found to date.
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| One of the oldest mosques in Egypt |
A big discovery was the Roman Catacombs accidently found when a donkey fell down a shaft and lo and behold they found all these tunnels and graves. The place can be seen today, and we went down and saw the tunnels. Unfortunately no cameras are allowed so I have no pictures of them. But it’s 3 stories down in the ground and it goes on and on. Incredible labyrinth of tunnels and graves are in the catacombs. After viewing the catacombs we also saw the old fort in Alexandria.
The trip was well worth it and I fell in love with the city, the atmosphere and the life the city has….Cleopatra’s spirit is still there!!!
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| Olgy!! They have a Ritz Carlton...you guys can come to Alexandria!! |
Traveling Redheaded Lady (TRL)
Awesome! You are right. That beautiful, clear water looks very inviting!
ReplyDeleteJavi
So spectacular! Thanks for the daily updates :)
ReplyDeleteTreasure every second of this amazing trip! Daisy
All the places sound wonderful but this might be one of my favorite so far! Sounds like there is an endless amount of history and beauty there. Keep it up with all the great posts and can't wait to read more :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. That is a beautiful photo of you in your header!
My friend I think I am will be doing this trip thru your pictures and all your comments it is beautiful, but I dont know about going there even if there is a Ritz LOL, love you keep having a good time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Daisy, I'm glad you are enjoying my posts!
ReplyDeleteKristen it is an amazing city, I wish I would have planned to stay more its definitely a place to come back to....and TY for the photo compliment!
Olgy, You would truly enjoy some of the places I've been too...I know you would!
Thanks everyone for all your comments!