One Night in Alexandria

On Saturday we left for Alexandria early in the morning. Our first stop were the Catecombs dating back to 200 B.C. which is the largest Greek tomb to be found in Alexandria. It has three floors underground and are the only Catecombs to be built in Egypt. It is very unique because it has a mix of ancient Egyptian and Greek art and is the last time that Egyptian and Greek gods were found together in the same tomb. The tomb was very intriguing inside. It was like a cave-house with many rooms and reminded me of a place that I would have loved to play in as a child.

Bus Snacks! I know my dad would be pleased to see that I'm still consuming fig bars on road trips.

We weren't aloud to bring our cameras in the Catecombs, so I didn't get any pictures, but you can see some here!

Our next stop was Pompey's Pillar which is surrounded by the remains of a temple. The temple is said to have housed the Daughter Library to the Royal Library of Alexandria.  In the temple area, the second largest Scarab was found. This is the statue of a beetle that is supposed to bring good luck. The legend is that you can make a wish and walk around the Scarab three times and the wish will come true in 3 seconds, 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 3 years, 3 decades or 3 centuries. If you wish to get married soon, you can walk around the Scarab 7 times.

Students rounding the scarab before I joined in.

 

The last sight of the day was an old fort, Fort Qaitbay, which was built in the place of where the old Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the old world wonders) was located but ruined in an earthquake in the 1300s.

After our visits we had a grand seafood dinner at a local restaurant and then relaxed outdoors. I enjoyed my first Turkish coffee and may have found a new obsession… yikes. 

We settled in to our hotel rooms then went out to another restaurant and got fresh squeezed juices. I got the pomegranate and guava juice. Soooo yummy! We also got some more deep fried dessert balls covered in chocolates and such. This is the third time I have had these and they taste just like funnel cake. Uff da.

     
      (Left) Pretty boats in the Mediterranean Sea           (Right) View of the Med from our hotel room!

 Sending love from Egypt!