Good morning Day 3! Today we had to get up extra early to have a quick breakfast before we start the 3 hour journey to Alexandria! Thankfully breakfast started at 6am so we had enough time to eat, get ready, enjoy some delicious food, and be ready to meet Ahmed and Ramy at 7am.
Lots of veggies to balance out the breakfast pastries, both were delicious
Hunter enjoyed getting omelets from the omelet station
At 7 am we started the drive to Alexandria. Driving north brought us through some interesting places and the further out of the heart of Cairo we got, the more modern developments we saw as well as a lot of military bases. After getting on the toll road from Cairo to Alexandria, about 45 minutes into the drive, we saw a few SA-2 missiles on trucks and we saw an F-4 fighter jet which was a gate guardian outside of an Egyptian Air Force base. The Egyptian Air Force is one of the largest in the world and uses a mix of American jets like the F-4 and Soviet and French aircraft. The SA-2 missiles were originally unveiled in the 1950s and were used to shoot down Gary Power's U-2 by the Soviets during WW-2. They seemed much more like a museum item than an active weapons system, but the Egyptians were using and maintaining them nonetheless. Eventually we got to a half way point where we stopped at a gas station for a snack, a bathroom break, and finally, after searching high and low this trip in 3 different countries, I found the cookies I longed for! My Milka cow cookies! It was crazy that after striking out in multiple European supermarkets and convenience stores that we finally found them at a roadside gas station in Egypt!
The F-4
Ramy and our driver Ahmed in our MG, a Chinese built car
Views on the drive
More developments that are more modern than the old brick high rises in Cairo
A cool old Mercedes, these are very reliable and quite popular in Africa
The gas station that had my cookies!
Of course, there's always a McDonalds, but we didn't go because Ramy had the best food options planned for us!
Once we were done with our break, we continued towards Alexandria. As we got closer, Ramy told us our itinerary and some of the history of Alexandria. Our first stop would be to the catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, then to Pompey's Pillar (column), and finally the Citadel of Qaitbay before having some local food and returning back to Cairo. Some of the best facts Ramy provided include that the catacombs were found by luck with a donkey falling into a hole that lead to them, Pompey's Pillar's real name is Amud El-Sawari but the tourism group doesn't want to change the name because its famous as is, and that the Citadel, or castle as Ramy called it, is built on the location of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that sadly doesn't exist anymore. Ramy continued his explanations and told us that Alexander the Great and his army of 20,000 soldiers were passing by and found that Egypt was having some issues. There were some people trying to take over, and the Egyptian priests were not happy with those people. The Great Alexander decided to show his appreciation towards the Egyptians which gained interest and respect from the priests who then asked him to take over by getting rid of the people they didn't like and making an empire in Egypt. He was crowned in the temple of Ptah at Memphis and restored many temples that were neglected as well as making new monuments to Egyptian, including the god Ptah who was the deity in Memphis. Alexander visited Hamilton and Siwa, and on his way back to Cairo, he stopped at a nice area by the sea called Rhakotis, which he then developed into what is now known as Alexandria. Ramy said the city took about 80 years to be built, but the Great Alexander never saw the city built as he only stayed in Egypt for 1 year and then left. This was typical of Alexander's expansion across the region, he was a wise leader who knew when to fight and when to negotiate, basically being able to take over Egypt by being a nice guy is a perfect example of why he was able to control so much territory.
Gray sky
Rain! A rarity in the desert.
Then the sun came back out.
Alexandria has a tram system, with bright colored trams both new and old.
As we got near our destination, the sky turned a dark gray, and it began raining! It usually doesn't rain much here, so it was a nice treat, although driving in the rain is a bit scary, but Ahmed did great even getting us through some light flooding and finally after traveling 3 hours, we arrived at the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. Ramy showed us this little white structure and explained that in a moment we would be going down there into the catacomb, which was found by a donkey falling into it when the ground above caved. It is a 10 meter (32 ft) deep hole! When the hole was excavated, they found the catacombs, but they didn't know what region it was for. With the art and carvings inside, researchers were able to date it back to the first and second centuries with ancient Egyptian and Greek-Roman art/carvings. Inside there are 92 small steps that spiral around the center shaft. We headed down the stairs and Ramy explained that the deceased person was lowered down the center shaft and there were windows for the family and friends to give their last goodbyes. Once we reached the bottom of the shaft, Ramy snapped a few pictures of us from above. We then joined back up with him at the middle level that is still accessible as the lowest level is flooded and inaccessible. Ramy showed us the seats carved into the stone where visitors would rest. He also pointed out that the half circle carvings were one of the items that initially perplexed researchers in determining whose catacomb this was because it wasn't traditional Egyptian style. Just off of these seats, there is a banquet hall where relatives would have ceremonial feasts to honor the dead. Interestingly enough, rather than carry out the containers of food they would just smash them, so there were a lot of pottery shards found. On the other side through a passage, there is a rotunda room which has a case with some horse bones in it that were found here. The origin of the horse bones is unclear and there are various theories involving either sacrifices or burial to explain their inclusion. Ramy seemed to lean towards them having been a sacrifice similar to the mummified animals we saw yesterday at the Egyptian Museum. Finally, the main part is laid out very much like a Greek temple. Off each side there are additional passages where more tombs are. Ramy told us there were no remains found here most likely because it was all washed away as the place was flooded extensively, as seen from the erosion everywhere. Inside the main tomb you can very clearly see the blend between Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art styles making this catacomb extremely unique. After learning all about the combination of history right in front of our eyes, we headed back out to see the other items here. The volume of history in this one tiny spot just blew us away.
Sarcophagi
The white cover over the catacomb shaft
The stairs inside
The shaft and Ramy in a window
Looking up the burial shaft from the very bottom
The tunnel at the bottom where they brought the dead person
The semi circle carving above the seat
It was sp very thoughtful of the ancient Egyptians to provide us with seating
The feast room. Ramy told us that the table was very wide because the funeral priest wasn't supposed to be near the living relatives, but he was responsible with distributing food.
Its always rare for Hunter and I to have this many pictures of us side by side since we are typically alone, but Ramy was a great photographer for us!
Looking back towards the center shaft I previously pictured
The ancillary burial chambers, these were likely added as an afterthought to the main tomb some time after its consecration. Ramy's theory was that the original tomb builders were looking for supplementary income which would make sense as they had dug a long ways down already
These columns include Egyptian motifs like the papyrus but are done in a Greco-Roman style, showing the blending of cultures that occurred in Alexandria
Anubis, the god of the afterlife, is pictured here going through a mummification ritual, which is an interesting choice for tomb decor. Ramy explained to us that the Egyptians lost/refused to explain all of their mummification techniques to the Greeks and as a result they were not able to replicate the amazing preservation found in the earlier mummies. There are examples of this in art as well where the newer art is more crude than the older art, which is an interesting concept as we are used to technology moving continually forward.
In front of the main tombs
More fusion of Greek and Egyptian artistic elements
Looking up at the white cover
Us and the horse bones
The white cover
A heart shaped column
Heart column base
A later above ground painted tomb
Painted fusion scenes
A cobra with eyelashes
There are always cats in Egypt
When we were done at the Catacombs, Ahmed picked us up and drove us to Pompey's Pillar. It was originally a granite triumphal column like Nelson's monument is today in Trafalgar Square in London. Like Nelson's Column it originally had a statue on top of it of Roman emperor Docletian. The original statue may have been another 20ft tall on top of the column thats currently visible according to modern estimates. It had nothing to do with Pompey but originally Europeans misread the ancient Greek inscription at the statue's base leading to this confusion and the name persisting to this day. Originally, Ramy explained, there was a giant temple next to the column dedicated to Serapis, the Greek fusion version of the ancient Egyptian bull deity Apis. However, the temple was knocked down over centuries of earthquakes and unrest and while there are ruins scattered around the pillar is the only ancient monument in Alexandria still standing at its original location in more or less its original form. We continued walking and Ramy took us to another tomb called the Sanctuary and Sarapeiona. Inside we saw a historic Apis bull statue which had a life-size status of Apis in black basalt at the back. The original version of the statue is now in the Graeco-Roman museum in Alexandria, but they have built a replica to leave in its original location. Originally, there were also a lot of other archeological finds in these passages but they have mostly been moved to museums for study and safekeeping. Once we exited we continued walking back to the entrance, seeing many remnants of columns and various hieroglyphics inscribed on stones just lying on the ground.
This was a Nilometer an ancient measuring device that received a stream of water from the Nile, it had specific different heights to it that were used to determine the river level and therefore if taxes were due. Ramy explained that in times of lower water and therefore low production the rulers did not want to overtax people so they only would levy taxes when the river was over a mark determined to be equivalent with bountiful production. This type of differential taxation is very clever and another example of Alexander's skill as a leader
Marveling at the pillar
Us with the (replica) Apis bull
The original is in the museum in the city
There are apartments built right on the edge of this historical site
The pillar framed by sphinxes from the now destroyed temple
We met back up with Ahmed and made our way to the Citadel. On our way there we finally started to see the Mediterranean Sea, and of course, I tried to take pictures out the car window even though we were going to get much closer.
Alexandria has a tram system thats almost 100 years old including these charming Wes Anderson -esqu trams that Hunter greatly enjoyed. Some of the lines closer to the beach and the more touristy areas have newer trams like those in SLC and AMS
Dates on a date palm
The Sea!
I was in love with the Mediterranean climate and for once enjoyed driving with the windows down
When we finally arrived we go out and entered into the grounds of the citadel. As Ramy was explaining things we had 3 people come up to us asking for pictures with me. I heard about this while reading online that at popular tourist spots people would ask to take pictures and then want money for it. I had to decline each time because I didn't want to create a mob effect. One child was basically crying when I said no, but we quickly left that spot before we got any more requests. Once we entered the "castle" Ramy shows us the various defenses of the keep where hot oil could be poured on invaders through a hole in the roof and a slot just in front of the main door that was about 6 inches thick. Ramy then showed us the millstone where they were able to make their own flour from internal grain stores in the event of a long siege, as well as the well, and the mosque on the first floor. We then climbed some increasingly massive stairs and Ramy explained that the higher you go, the taller the steps get which was a tactic used to slow down enemies incase of an invasion. We also saw the hot oil holes from above and a model of the castle. We continued up another level of the castle to the top where we found beautiful views of the ocean from the ballistrarias. We also saw where food was prepared for the Sultan in a small upstairs kitchen. We then headed out to the courtyard where we walked around to see the ocean. It was so beautiful and the ocean breeze was amazing just to relax. It was another spot Hunter and I could have spent hour just relaxing at similar to the Mosque of Sultan Hassan Yesterday. Thankfully Ramy was there to keep us on schedule!
The approach to the castle
The castle is still technically a military instillation and there was an Egyptian flag flying on the roof and some soldiers around, this is only recently an Egyptian place again, the British had soldiers based here until the 1950s!
Cannons and the castle
The extremely thick door to the keep
The hole for pouring oil on invaders if they made it through the door
The arrow slots are designed to give the defenders a wide range of angles of fire while preventing them from being exposed to the attackers
Reservoir for storing water and also an escape method
Looking up in the mosque's courtyard
Beautiful floors always indicate a mosque it seems
Looking out at the ocean
A model of how the castle appeared historically before the removal of the minaret
Modern Alexandria, as seen from ancient Alexandria
Enjoying the view
The ovens
After a successful day packed with so much history, we were ready to make the long drive back to Cairo. Before starting, we stopped for some snacks. Ramy found me amazing chocolate cookies he knew I would like after hearing my Milka cow story and then he found a shawarma place where he bought Hunter and I TWO crepe rapped shwarmas each, one beef and one chicken each. They were piping hot but delicious and we were both full! Once we had our food, we were ready to start driving. It wasn't too long before Hunter and I both were falling asleep after our busy day. We both tried to fight it, but failed and had a bit of a nap. As we got closer to Cairo, we started hitting traffic. As we were waiting in traffic, there were people selling all sorts of things weaving in and out of the traffic on foot. It was crazy and there were items from water, to snacks, to blow up frog balloons. Ramy and Ahmed found someone selling sesame snacks and got one for Hunter and I to try and OH MY, it was delicious. We ended up having Ramy get us a few more.
Waiting for lunch
The giant delicious shawarma crepes
Nap time for Stormy
Finally at 4pm we made it back to the hotel where we were went to the lounge to get a drink before they started serving evening snacks (aka supper). We thought about trying the Indian restaurant here, but given the vast options on their menu and our tiredness, we stuck to the plentiful and yummy lounge food. We then returned to our room where I did some work things trying to get caught up a bit so I didn't have such a massive back log when we got back on Monday. After a while once it was dark Hunter and I went for a walk around the hotel and came across some interesting art pieces as well as fascinating historical photos. This hotel is pretty incredible and I am a bit sad the most historic part is under renovation, but its been amazing so far. When we got back we showered and got ready for bed, but both of us got incredibly hungry, so we ordered a delicious curry dish off the room service menu from the Indian place, and it was a perfect snack before easily falling asleep. Thankfully, we have a 9am start tomorrow so we can sleep in a bit.
Curry shrimp and cream cheese salmon, as usual some "western" and some "local" foods were on offer
Amazing deserts, Ramy gave us a much more authentic version of the one on the right at one point but it basically tasted like pecan pie filing and we loved it. The waiters also recommended it to us the first night in the lounge.
More shrimp and more desert
Walking the grounds
Some of this furniture is undoubtedly 100s of years old
An ancient view of when the Nile flooded much closer to the pyramids
A USAAF P-38 over the pyramids likely during WW2
Camels in front of the pyramids before all the development, unfortunately there was a lot of glare but this art was truly amazing
This photo is probably less than 200 years old but it could be 2000 years old based on the scene
An amazing chandelier in our hotel's more historic parts
A interwar German Zeppelin over the pyramids, conveniently the giant swastikas that was most likely on the tail seems to have been airbrushed off (although it also could have been taken before those were included)
Late night Naan
Finishing our night with delicious veggie coconut curry
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