A day in Alexandria!

23rd December 2008

First thing first... the most important word everyone needs to learn and add to their vocabulary after reaching Egypt is "la Shukran" meaning... "no thank you"... trust us this would be the most used and valued word during your stay in Egypt ;)

What a day we had in Alexandria! Where do I begin... the rain washed away most of our plans and we could not see everything as planned :( but we still made the most of our day and had a great time! Once we reached Alexandria we got out of the station and dodged all the cabbies running after us, as we wanted to walk and explore the city on our own :) Lesson learnt - do not trust the scale of the map printed in guide books ;) we were not aware how far things were... and to add to it, they don't have many street signs and very few locals speak or understand English or are willing to help you out. We met this fellow foreign tourist during the trip who said..."like any local knows anything here or would help out"... well it's a different case if you are willing to give some bakshish ;)

Standing outside the station wondering where to go next! We started walking in one direction hoping to get somewhere and came across beautiful old buildings which were now ruins as no one lived in them... but I could not help admire and hope someone would take it up to restore them and convert them into apartments for holiday letting or a small boutique hotel... Everything around has a thick coat of dust on it... there is so much dust and smoke in the air (inside & outside) that Sunny and I got husky smokers voices after our first day there... we were so shocked at the amount of dust and pollution in the air, and on everything around that I personally just wanted to take a water pipe and hose everything clean ...

We walked around, got lost and by mistake found the Mediterranean Sea! It was beautiful and we could see quite a few places around we wanted to visit, starting with the famous Cecile hotel, which is now called the Sofitel hotel and during the Second World War it was used by the British secret service, and hosted politicians and writers such as Winston Churchill, Somerset Maugham & Noel Coward... sadly the restoration has not quiet captured its past grandeur...

But first we decided to walk down Al Corniche ~ the drive along the Mediterranean sea leading up to Fort Qaitbey... half way there it started drizzling and soon the drizzle converted into torrential shower... we were just stunned at the amount of rain falling... aren't we supposed to be in desert country... Alexandria is an exception being so close to the sea! So we took shelter close to a building to ride out the rain and that is where we met Ahmed & Baseen, two young Egyptian boys, who tried their best to get their hands on our camera to take our picture... we are too Indian to fall for that trick ;) After a few jokes and some conversation with the boys we caught a cab to Cecile hotel, we thought we might as well get some lunch while it rained... so we hailed a cab and paid him 5 LE (this was again a very high price and needless to say we got ripped off and learned about it later when we enquired at the local tourist office... something to keep in mind, always check to get an idea on rates before you hail cabs and always bargain). After reaching Cecile hotel we got a table at their restaurant and some food, only to be disappointed, it was by far the worst meal we have ever had... it made us sad to see such wonderful historic hotels being mismanaged and run so poorly. 

While we were eating the rain stopped, so we quickly forced ourselves to eat a little and headed out to visit the Roman Museum & the Roman Amphitheater... we had lots of fun finding our way to the Amphitheater... no one seemed to have heard about it and kept directing us in different directions, when we finally reached  the place, we found the place by mistake... and learnt that the Roman Museum was closed, but instead we could visit the National Historic Museum. At the Roman Amphitheater site dear hubby befriended a stray cat and had a jolly time playing with it :) (highlight of the day :D) 

At the Amphitheater we found a young female guide who was kind enough to give us directions to the National Museum... so we ventured out into the busy streets of Alexandria yet again on foot to find a place no one had ever heard off...LOL... luckily this time around it did not take us very long, as we stumbled on the place much quickly... the museum was small yet very interesting and we were impressed by their presentation and display especially when we compared our experience to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (which is Egypt's pride). We even got to experience a dummy Pharaoh burial chamber and see a few real mummies at the National Museum. Once we were out it was getting late and it started to pour down yet again... so we decided to head to the railway station which was close by, to sit down at the cafe inside and plan what to do next!

At the station we learnt that Fort Qaitbey was closed and we would not be able to visit it that day, and since it was still pouring and getting dark we thought it was not a very good idea to just walk around town anymore. Since we had return tickets for the 7.15 train and it was only 5... we had some time to kill. After enquiring with the ticketing office and the tourist information office we learnt we had no choice but to wait for the last and only train back to Cairo at 7.15. So now we were wet, tired, sleepy and hungry... we decided to sit it out in the cafe and go through our guide book and the additional information we got to plan out the next few days! People here smoke so much and everywhere... there were groups of men and women smoking and since it was pouring outside we had no choice but to ignore it and continue sitting in the cafe. My feet were wet, I was cold and I could only think of a hot shower and a warm bed... and yet I know we won't be home till after 11 pm!!!

What a day... I will never forget our visit to Alexandria, getting lost and feeling so lost, yet exploring the city in our own unique way, having a good time and laughing a lot! Sunny and I simply loved it all despite everything that happened during the day. I guess coz we both were together and it was so much fun regardless :) We would like to think... today we walked in the foot steps of Alexander the Great! We only wish we could have explored a bit more had it not rained so much. We simply loved the old building all over town with beautifully carved balconies and stunning inlay/engraved shutters & doors... with restoration written all over them!

Alexandria we came, we saw and were conquered!!