We had a brief breakfast. I was pleased to notice that Cocoa Crisps had made it to Alexandria, though apparently shrunken somewhat now doubt due to the milder climes. I had a rice pudding for breakfast while Charles had a bowl of the old CC. Unfortunately I forgot to put the memory card back into the camera or there’d by photographic evidence.
We boarded the bus and headed off to our first stop of the day, the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. The Catacombs are one of the most impressive ancient I’ve experienced. It is a burial place dating back to the Ptolemaic period. Outside the tomb are many giant stone coffins showing mixtures of Greco roman and Egyptian influence. Access to the catacombs is by a spiral staircase that circles around a 30-foot wide shaft. Mourners would descend using the staircase. The bodies and their coffins would be lowed down through the staff. Windows are cut at intervals into the shaft allowing one to see the light from above and the depths below. As we reached the bottom we saw chambers carved into the rock. The path led to a impressive domed rotunda that led to other passageways. The first one we explored was for mourners to lie down and eat as part of honoring the dead. False columns were cut into the living sandstone. The main impressive tomb was shaped like an Egyptian temple. In front of the tomb were two statues one male one female, very well preserved. Surrounding the main tomb were other passageways that led to vaults containing spaces for the remains of the dead.
It was in the catacombs that one of our team members twisted his ankle. The floor was covered with sand that caused him to slip. His ankle was sprained but not broken and had to walk with a cane for the rest of the trip.
Most archeological sites are rubble; it was odd to walk through a near intact catacomb. Frankly it reminded me of playing Dungeons and Dragons. I was expecting a mummy to come leaping out or a trap to be set off at each turn.
Our second stop of the day was Pompey’s Pillar. This was just a short distance away from the catacombs. The pillar is around 100 feet high and 10 feet high. It was carved out of a single piece of Aswan granite, similar to how the obelisks were created. The name “Pompey’s Pillar” came from the idea that an urn containing the ashes of Pompey was on top of the pillar. This is untrue. This enormous pillar was just the one remaining pillar from an enormous temple dedicated to a Roman emperor. There were also two passageways going down a hundred feet, carved into the living rock. One was closed but the other lead to a replica of the bull form of the god Serapis.
On we went to the Citadel of Quaitbay. This is a Muslim fortress that stands at the site of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria. Some of the rocks of the fortress are made from the remnants of the lighthouse. The lighthouse was finally destroyed over a thousand years ago after an earthquake finished off what years of neglect started. Inside the keep is a mosque. Lining the walk to the keep are gun emplacements.
It was more important being at the site of the old Lighthouse than seeing the fortress. We walked all around the keep, down through the seaside tunnels and walked the outermost walls. Personally, I think they should tear down the fortress and rebuilt the fortress, but no one asks me…
Off we went to the Tikka Grill for lunch. Charles and I both had grilled chicken, which seemed natural. The best part of the meal was the bread. It was actually served warm. We stopped by the Alexandria National Museum. The small museum was formerly a mansion from the early 1900s. The first floor held some objects from the Old and Middle Kingdom. The second level was devoted to the Christian period, while the third had Islamic items up to the present day.
Then it was back to the Paradise Inn. We rested for the afternoon. We were able to connect to the internets for free via public wireless. I sent an email to Ken, our brother, and told him to Skype us. We talked to Mom, Dad, Ken and Brian for an hour or two before heading to the hotel restaurant. The hotel restaurant had been recommended highly, being cheap and having more than adequate food. The restaurant’s lighting was dimmed to almost complete darkness; candles lighted the tables. We seated ourselves at a table next to the piano player using an electronic organ. His voice wasn’t too bad, but it was obvious he didn’t know English and was memorizing the lyrics by syllable. He’d start of strong on a lyric but gradually fade at the end. His rendition of Sinatra’s New York, New York was so amusing it earned him our applause and a $2 tip. We waited with anticipation for dessert, the menu having promised brownie with ice cream. We were disappointed when all they had was a rather dry black forest cake. We were even more disappointed when the very same cake was available for free the next morning for breakfast.
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