Day 7
On Sunday October 31, I was up at 4:45 to catch the 06:30 bus to Siwa Oasis. It was a 17-minute walk to Cairo Gateway ((Torgoman) Bus Station. The bus line was Western Delta to Marsa Matruh (5 hours, 500 km, 105LE). From the Internet, I thought there would be an ongoing bus south to Siwa but was told it would be a taxi.
The bus all the way to Siwa apparently leaves at 22:00 from Cairo.
Cairo – Alexandria Desert Road. In the NM Roads, Road Bridges and Tunnels series, the initial route followed this road.
Egypt – Nile Valley – Lower Egypt (Alexandria, Gharbia, Damietta) Nov 2-4, 2021
WADI EL NATRUN is a depression in northern Egypt located 23 m (75 ft) below sea level and 38 m (125 ft) below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt deposits, salt marshes and freshwater marshes.
It is one of the three early Christian monastic centers located in the Nitrian Desert of the northwestern Nile Delta.[3] The other two monastic centers are Nitria and Kellia.[3] Scetis, now called Wadi El Natrun, is best known today because its ancient monasteries remain in use, unlike Nitria and Kellia which have only archaeological remains
The area is one of the best-known sites containing large numbers of fossils of large prehistoric animals in Egypt, and was known for this in the first century AD and probably much earlier.
Wadi al-Natrun is the common name for a desert valley located west of the Nile Delta, about 10 km west of Sadat City on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road. It falls below the level of the plateau surface surrounding it about 50 meters. The length of this depression ranges between 5, 55 and 60 km, while its average width is 10 km, and its deepest point reaches 24 meters below sea level. It is a depression and not a valley, because the region is a closed depression that has a beginning and an end, and it has no source, estuary or tributaries, so the launch of the word “Wadi” on the depression is not topographically correct.
The Wadi contains 12 lakes, the total surface area of which is 10 km square and their average depth is only 2 m. The color of these lakes is reddish blue because its water is saturated with the Natron salt.
History. The importance of the Natrun valley dates back to the Pharaonic era, as the ancient Egyptian and the Libyans fought their many battles. And this ended up with the Egyptians overcoming them and annexed the eastern side of the desert, which still belongs to Egypt.
This area was considered sacred as early as the year 2000 BC. Among these discoveries is a bust of black granite dating back to the era of the Seventeenth Dynasty of the Pharaohs, and there is also a granite gate and stones from the lintel of a door bearing cartridges for King Amenemhat I, in a place called the backbone.
The alkali lakes of the Natron Valley provided the Ancient Egyptians with the sodium bicarbonate used in mummification and in Egyptian faience, and later by the Romans as a flux for glass making.
Monastic history. The desolate region became one of Christianity’s most sacred areas using the desert’s solitude and privations to develop self-discipline (asceticism). Hermit monks believed that desert life would teach them to eschew the things of this world and follow God’s call. Between the 4th and 7th century AD, hundreds of thousands of people from the world over joined the hundreds of Christian monasteries in the Nitrian Desert, centered on Nitria, Kellia and Scetis (Wadi El Natrun).
Saint Macarius of Egypt first came to Scetis (Wadi El Natrun) around 330 AD where he established a solitary monastic site. His reputation attracted a loose band of anchorites, hermits, and monks who settled nearby in individual cells. Many of them came from nearby Nitria and Kellia where they had previous experience in solitary desert living. At its peak the place contained 700 monasteries. The monasteries flourished during the Muslim conquest of Egypt (639–642), but in the eighth and ninth centuries taxation and administration concerns led to conflicts with the Muslim government. Nitria and Kellia were eventually abandoned in the 7th and 9th centuries respectively, but Scetis continued throughout the Medieval period. Although some of the individual monasteries were eventually abandoned or destroyed, four have remained in use to the present day: Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great, Paromeos Monastery, Monastery of Saint Pishoy, and the Syrian Monastery.
To this day Wadi El Natrun remains the most important center of Coptic monasticism.[12]
Saint-Exupéry’s plane crash. The environs of Wadi Natrun have been identified as the likely site of where the plane of French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry crashed on December 30, 1935. After miraculously surviving the crash, he and his plane’s mechanic nearly died of thirst before being rescued by a nomad. Saint-Exupéry documented his experience in his book Wind, Sand and Stars.[13] The event is thought to have inspired his most famous work, The Little Prince.
The monasteries of the Arab Desert and Wadi Natrun Tentative WHS: (28/07/2003)
Paromeos Monastery (Monastery of Our Lady Baramus)
Syrian Monastery
Egypt – Matruh (Marsa Matruh, El Alamein)
EL ALAMEIN
As the bus drove through this city, this is a booming town – many new, stylish apartment buildings and an incredible wealth of new construction everywhere. Here was a row of at least 12 high-rise hotels on the beach. It was little more than a tiny village 2 years ago.
El Alamein World War II Military Museum
El Alamein War Cemetery
MARSA MATROUH
Rommel Museum. A short 10m long tunnel leads to a small “office with a desk, Nazi flag, gun, maps, and other memorabilia. Very missable. 20
Great Desert Landscapes Tentative WHS: (12/06/2003).
1. The Qattara Depression The Qattara Depression in the northern part of the Western Desert is the largest natural closed depression of the Eastern Sahara. A common origin by wind deflation to a base level controlled by the groundwater table, is the generally accepted explanation. It is a closed inland basin bounded from the north and west by steep escarpments, an area of 19,500 sq. km, and an average depth of 60 m below sea level (bsl); the lowest point, lat the SW part, being 134 m BSL. Within the Depression, cones, towers, mushrooms, and plateau-like hills, ranging in height from 5 to 30 m, are common, especially near the western scarp. Sinkholes and caves are also common in the northern Diffa Plateau, separating the Depression from the Mediterranean frontal plain. The northern and western escarpments are dominated by large mass-wasted blocks and complex dune belts are in the southern part. Near the SW, the dunes are black, named El-Ghorood El-Sood (= black dunes), due to their high content of black shale fragments, derived from the Dabaa Formation. Since the Qattara Depression forms the deepest point in the Western Desert, groundwater flow in all aquifers bordering the area is consequently directed to this final base level. Most of the groundwater comes from the Moghra Aquifer system, recharged from four sources: the Nubia Sandstone aquifer in the south, Nile water in the east, saline water from the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and rainwater. The near-surface groundwater ranges in salinity (mostly sodium chloride) from 3.3 g/l around the Moghra Lake, to 38.4 g/l at the center, to about 300 g/l in the sabkha area to the west.
2. The Great Sand Sea The Great Sand Sea is one of the largest unbroken mass of sand dune areas of the world, and home to not one living soul. It spans 650 km between Siwa Oasis in the north and the Gilf Kebir Plateau in the south. Its average width is about 300 km from the Libyan border to the west and Farafra Oasis Depression to the east. Parallel dune ridges run north-south for hundreds of kilometers. There is not a single water point in the whole area. Totaling the size of England, the sand accumulation varies in shape, color, and geologic origin from one place to another. In the northern region of the dunes, south of Siwa, there is minor greenery, with calcareous outcroppings that reveal the marine origin of the strata. Further south and towards the central parts of the dune field, is a land of pristine sands with undulating whaleback dunes and minor crest dunes. Through this central region patrols of the British Long Range Desert Group made their way to attack German posts in Libya, during the early years of WWII. There are more than 60-year old tire tracks are still visible on certain surfaces.
In the west is enigmatic silica glass – ultra-pure glass, 98% silica – believed by some to be the result of a meteoritic impact. It lies about 50 km from the Libyan border, between two dune ridges 200 m high. It is the world’s only known field of silica glass. Some chunks weigh 5 kg, half-buried like icebergs in the reddish sand. Some lying windblown on the desert floor, scoured by millennia of sand storms, into lustrous prisms of glass. Over a thousand tons of it are strewn across hundreds of kilometers of bleak desert. Some of the chunks weigh 26 kilograms, but most exist in smaller, angular pieces looking like sherds left when a giant green bottle is smashed by colossal forces.
3. Wadi Sannur Cave Wadi Sannur Cave was discovered during blasting for alabaster in the famous alabaster quarries, 70 kms southeast of the city of Beni Suef, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. These quarries produce some of the finest alabaster material the world has ever known, and it is from these quarries that the Ancient Egyptians fabricated the wonderful alabaster ware, like those found in King Tutankhamon’s tomb. It contains stalactites and stalagmitic formations. Such caves are extremely rare in arid environments and are therefore useful for understanding the geological history of these regions and the evolution of their paleoclimatology, their geohydrology, their geomorphology, and their biota.
The bus arrived at Marsa Matruh at 1:25 and the bus to Siwa departed at 1:35, as advertised on the Internet (3.5 hours, 80LE). This bus was full of fully veiled women with all their kids.
Pancake flat forever, the desert changed from sand with “sagebrush” sized plants, to less and finally none. There were no dunes.
SIWA (Oasis town) The Siwa Oasis is an urban oasis between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mi) from Cairo. About 80 km (50 mi) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wide, Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt’s most isolated settlements with about 33,000 people, mostly Berbers, who developed a unique and isolated desert culture and a language called Siwi; they are also fluent in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic which is called “Masry” meaning Egyptian.
Its fame derives primarily from its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Ammon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction that gave the oasis its ancient name Oasis of Amun Ra. The Siwa oasis is in a deep depression that reaches below sea level, to about −19 metres (−62 ft). To the west, the Jaghbub oasis rests in a similar depression and to the east, the large Qattara Depression is also below sea level.
Although the oasis is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, the earliest evidence of any connection with Ancient Egypt is the 26th Dynasty, when a necropolis was established. Ancient Greek settlers at Cyrene made contact with the oasis around the same time (7th century BC), and the oracle temple of Amun took the image here of a ram. During his campaign to conquer the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great reached the oasis, supposedly by following birds across the desert.
The Siwans are a Berber people, so demographically and culturally they were more closely related to nearby Libya, which has a large Berber population, than to Egypt, which has a negligible Berber population.
Siwa was also the site of some fighting during World War I and World War II. The British Army’s Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was based here, but Rommel’s Afrika Korps also took possession three times. German soldiers went skinny dipping in the lake of the oracle, contrary to local customs which prohibit public nudity. In 1942 while the Italian 136th Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti occupied the oasis, a tiny Egyptian puppet government-in-exile was set up at Siwa.
The ancient fortress of Siwa was built on natural rock and made of kershif (salt and mud-brick) and palm logs. After it was damaged by three days of heavy rains in 1926 it was abandoned for similar unreinforced construction housing on the plain surrounding it. Only one building in the Shali complex has been repaired and is in use, a mosque. Gradually eroded by infrequent rains and slowly collapsing, the Shali remains a prominent feature, towering five stories above the modern town and lit at night by floodlights.
Other local historic sites of interest include the remains of the oracle temple; the Gebel al Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead), a Roman-era necropolis featuring dozens of rock-cut tombs; and “Cleopatra’s Bath”, an antique natural spring. The fragmentary remains of the oracle temple, with some inscriptions dating from the 4th century BC, lie within the ruins of Aghurmi.
The traditional culture of Siwa shows many unique elements, some reflecting its longstanding links with the isolated Oasis life and the fact that the inhabitants are Siwi Berbers. Until a tarmac road was built to the Mediterranean coast in the 1980s Siwa’s only links with the outside world were by arduous camel tracks through the desert. These were used to export dates and olives, bring trade goods, or carry pilgrims on the route which linked the Maghreb to Cairo and hence to Mecca.
As a result of this isolation, Siwis developed a unique natural culture manifested in its crafts of basketry, pottery, silverwork, and embroidery and in its style of dress. The most visible and celebrated examples of this were the bridal silver and the ensemble of silver ornaments and beads that women wore in abundance to weddings and other ceremonies. The best known of these pieces is a huge silver disc called ‘adrim’ and a torc, called ‘aghraw’ from which it hung over the breast. A girl would give up the disc at a special ceremony in the Spring the day she was married. The jewelry, which was made by local silversmiths, consisted of silver necklaces, earrings, bangles, hair ornaments, pendants, and many rings. For a wealthy woman, the full ensemble could weigh as much as five or six kilos.
Siwi people are very religious so on Ramadan, they tend to close all the shops and stay at home for the whole month.
The Siyaha Festival (Eid El Solh – Eid El Hasad), in honour of the town’s traditional patron saint Sidi Sulayman, is unique to Siwa. Siwi men meet together on a mountain near the town, Gabal Al – Dakrour, to eat together, sing chants thanking God, and reconcile with one another; After Dohr prayer (12:00 PM) all Siwian youth gather to set the banquet, nobody is allowed to eat before the caller announces to start eating so they can all eat together, the women stay behind in the village, and celebrate with dancing, singing, and drums. Celebrations last for 3 Qamari days, and in the early morning of the fourth day, siwian men form a big march, while holding flags and singing spiritual songs, march sarts from Gabal El – Dakrour and ends in Sidi Solayman square – in the center of Siwa – declaring ending of festivals, and beginning of a new year without hatred or grudge, and with love, respect and reconciliation.
Siwans are preferentially endogamous, only rarely marrying non-Siwans. Nonetheless, Bedouin brides command a higher bride price in Siwa than Siwan ones.
Siwan homosexual tradition. Siwa is of special interest to anthropologists and sociologists because of its historical acceptance of male homosexuality and even rituals celebrating same-sex marriage – traditions that the Egyptian authorities have sought to repress, with increasing success, since the early twentieth century. The German Egyptologist Georg Steindorff explored the Oasis in 1900 and reported that homosexual relations were common and often extended to a form of marriage: “The feast of marrying a boy was celebrated with great pomp, and the money paid for a boy sometimes amounted to fifteen pounds, while the money paid for a woman was a little over one pound.” Although Siwan men could take up to four wives, Siwan customs allow a man but one boy to whom he is bound by a stringent code of obligations.”
In 1937 the anthropologist Walter Cline wrote the first detailed ethnography of the Siwans in which he noted: “All normal Siwan men and boys practice sodomy…among themselves, the natives are not ashamed of this; they talk about it as openly as they talk about the love of women, and many if not most of their fights arise from homosexual competition. Prominent men lend their sons to each other. Most of the boys used in sodomy are between twelve and eighteen years of age. After an expedition to Siwa, the archaeologist Count Byron de Prorok reported in 1937 “an enthusiasm [that] could not have been approached even in Sodom… Homosexuality was not merely rampant, it was raging…Every dancer had his boyfriend…[and] chiefs had harems of boys”.
In the late 1940s a Siwan merchant told the visiting British novelist Robin Maugham that the Siwan women were “badly neglected”, but that Siwan men “will kill each other for a boy. Never for a woman”, although as Maugham noted, marriage to a boy had become illegal by then. In 1973 that “While the Siwans were still living inside their walled town, none of these bachelors was allowed to spend the night in the town and had to sleep outside the gates…Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that homosexuality was common among them….Up to the year 1928, it was not unusual that some kind of written agreement, which was sometimes called a marriage contract, was made between two males. However, such agreements continued, but in great secrecy, and without the actual writing, until the end of World War II. Now the practice is not followed.
Agriculture is the main activity of modern Siwa, particularly the cultivation of dates and olives. Tourism has in recent decades become a vital source of income.
I walked the 1 km to my hotel, the Dream Lodge. Siwa in this part of town is a little depressing: dirt roads, garbage, lots of little kids saying “hello mister”, and not very attractive houses. I had booked a shared bathroom (450LE/nite) but was given a nice room with a bathroom and AC. The mistake was realized and I was shown the other room. Wow, what a difference. The other was the size of my bed, and bare except for two nasty single beds and no AC. So I paid 200LE/nite extra and moved up in the world.
Day 8
Siwa archaeological area Tentative WHS (01/11/1994). Contains the temple of Oracle and the temple of Amun “Ubaydah” together with the different archaeological areas and monuments.
On my second day at Siwa, I walked about 2 km from my hotel to the Amun Revelation Temple. Sitting on top of a large rock jutting out of the oasis, it dates to the Pharaonic Era (26th dynasty 663-535 BC). The visit by Alexander the Great in 331 BC gave it historical significance.
Walk up the dirt steps through a “tunnel” framed by logs and palm planks. The temple is constructed of dressed limestone blocks, has 4 rooms, and has signs of some reconstruction in the door frames and corners.
The mosque has been totally finished inside. The log/plank ceiling is supported by 3 large columns. Six small windows view out to the village. The tower can’t be accessed.
There are great views of the Salt Lake to the north, buttes, and ridges to the southwest and to the south, Siwa with the lake behind it. The entire area is a sea of palm trees.
I walked north to the edge of the Salt Lake, here a dry bed with water a long ways away. Seeing as I had no idea where the swimming areas were, I turned around and went to Cleopatra Springs. A kid on a cart pulled by a small donkey offered a ride. He kept whipping the donkey who had a big sore covered in flies on his back. We stopped at the Temple of Om Obaideh, with a ruined wall. Built in the reign of King Nectandro II (359-341 BC) for the worship of Arun. It has Pharaonic/Greek/Roman elements.
I finally got tired of him, go off and he demanded 50LE. I gave him 5 and walked the short distance to the springs. Cleopatra Springs is a large round pool enclosed in stone walls. Several were swimming. I talked to two young German women and one of their fathers who had rented a car and drove here from Cairo. They were going to swim in Salt Lake and offered me a ride. We followed a guide in another vehicle. Skirting the east side of the lake, the road then crosses a causeway. We entered a large area of salt mining, bucket loaders, trucks, and piles of salt everywhere. The extraction process produces many rectangular lakes with salt crystals on the edges and extending into the pools. We all went for a swim although swimming is virtually impossible with the high buoyancy. The best is to lay on your back and backstroke. The water was surprisingly cool.
We then drove back to town where I saw Old Siwa.
Siwa Archaeological Area (Shali – Old Siwa). Close to downtown, this sits on top of another small hill. Take stairs up through a few functional houses to the top, all melting mud-brick structures except for the 4-6 foot perimeter wall that has been maintained. It is a warren of small paths through the disintegrating walls. There are nice views of the entire town.
I had a shower to wash off all the salt and spent the evening writing, reading, and getting ready for my bus ride to Alexandria at 7 am (155LE). It was 4 hours to Marsa Martuh and another 4 to Alexandria.
==============================================================
Day 9
Egypt – Nile Valley – Lower Egypt (Alexandria, Gharbia, Damietta) Nov 2-4 2021
ALEXANDRIA
At 7 am, I took the Western Mid Delta bus from Siwa to Alexandria (9 hours, 155LE) via Mursa Matruh arriving at Moharram Bus station, a full 5.8 km from my hostel, Ithaka in downtown Alexandria. For the first time in my life, I took an Uber cab, and it was a great deal at 50LE.
The hostel sits directly across from the water and is lovely with a large, high-ceiling lounge area.
I went out for a walk to these three Hospitality Legends, all close to the hostel.
Cecil Hotel. Run by the Steigenberger chain, this 1934 hotel has Italian Baroque architecture. I went up to the Montgomery Bar. Prices in the restaurant were relatively expensive by Egyptian standards.
Trianon. A lovely pastry/coffee shop/restaurant, it has high, coffered ceilings and is quite roomy. Also has a wide selection of reasonably priced food.
Délices. Established in 1922, it is best known for its famous pastries and desserts, but also has a full menu and all kinds of coffee, milkshakes and drinks. Started by Cleovolous Moustakes, it is still run by his family. I had chicken alfredo – a large portion that was quite good (70LE ~4E)
Day 10
This was the first of two big walkabout days in Alexandria.
Get around. Alexandria has no metro. There is a dated tram system that runs the length of the cornish. A double-decker tourist bus also runs the entire length of the cornish (15LE). But most people use one of the literally thousands of white minivans that also go the entire length of the cornish (1 LE). It is best to get in one that is relatively full to avoid frequent stops picking up people.
Abou El Abbas El Morsy Mosque (Sidi Morsey Abo Al Abass Mosque). It is dedicated to the 13th century Murcian Andalusi Sufi saint Abul Abbas al-Mursi, whose tomb it contains. It is located in the Anfoushi neighborhood of Alexandria, near the Citadel of Qaitbay.
Abul Abbas al-Mursi died in 1286 and was buried here. The mosque was first built in 1307.
The mosque was designed and built in today’s current form by Eugenio Valzania and Mario Rossi in the years 1929/1945, and was highly influenced by Egypt’s Old Cairo buildings and architecture. It served in turn as a key source of inspiration for the much larger Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, completed in 2007 after more than a decade of building work.
Alexandria Aquarium. A mediocre aquarium and like most, it is really suited for children. 200LE
Qaitbay Maritime Museum. Many stuffed fish and birds, shells, fish in jars, also alligators, a dugong and maybe the highlight an entire whale skeleton. In the citadel. 25 LE
Citadel of Qaitbay is a 15th-century defensive fortress located on the eastern side of the northern tip of Pharos Island at the mouth of the Eastern Harbour. It was established in 1477 AD (882 AH) by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa’it Bay.
The Qaitbay Citadel is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century AD.
It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest, then several disasters occurred and the shape of the lighthouse was changed to some extent, but it still continued to function. Restoration began in the period of Ahmed Ibn Tulun (about 880 AD). During the 11th century, an earthquake occurred, causing damage to the octagonal part. The bottom survived, but it could only serve as a watchtower, and a small mosque was built on the top. In the 14th century, there was a very destructive earthquake and the whole building was completely destroyed.
About 1480 AD, Qaitbay fortified the place as part of his coastal defensive edifices against the Turks. The Citadel continued to function during most of the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period, and the Modern period, but after the British bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, it became neglected until the 20th century, when it was restored several times by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, the last in 1984.
It has high double walls and a square, 3-story tower on the west side. 80LE
Ras El Tin Palace. It is one of the official residences for a serving President of Egypt and as such, can’t be visited. Ras El Tin Palace is the oldest royal Egyptian palace still in use.
It overlooks the city’s Western Harbour sitting on a promontory which in antiquity had been the site of the island of Pharos. It was constructed between 1834-45.
it is a large Italian Renaissance palace on a foundation of 4.2 acres, surrounded by 13 acres of elaborate gardens. It was totally reconstructed in the 1920s. The palace has been used for hosting state guests and events in recent years. There is no public museum.
It is impossible to visit. Guarded by a naval base, entry even close is not permitted.
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (Vestiges of the Past). Considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages, the necropolis consists of a series of Alexandrian tombs, statues and archaeological objects of the Pharaonic funerary cult with Hellenistic and early Imperial Roman influences.
A circular staircase, which was often used to transport deceased bodies down the middle of it, leads down into the tombs that were tunneled into the bedrock during the age of the Antonine emperors (2nd century AD). The facility was then used as a burial chamber from the 2nd century to the 4th century, before being rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey accidentally fell into the access shaft. To date, three sarcophagi have been found, along with other human and animal remains which were added later.
Another feature of the catacombs is the Hall of Caracalla, which contains the bones of horses which were the tombs created for the horses of the emperor Caracalla in 215 AD.
A carved Agathodaemon in the form of a snake is flanking both sides of the entrance to the inner tomb. Figures of a man and a woman are carved into the wall. There are three huge stone sarcophagi with along the sides of the chamber. There is a hallway with 91 inch deep walls in the central tomb chamber, with carved recesses, each providing burial space for three mummies. Each sarcophagus has associated a relief panel. The central panel shows the wolf-headed Anubis wearing Roman soldier garb, who mummifies a body lying on a lion bed. Below the bed are three canopic jars. The lateral panels show the Apis-bull receiving a gift.
Serapeum and Pompey’s Pillar (Vestiges of the Past). Is a Roman triumphal column in Alexandria, Egypt. Set up in honour of the augustus Diocletian between 298-302 AD, the giant Corinthian column originally supported a colossal porphyry statue of the emperor in armour. It stands at the eastern side of the temenos of the Serapeum of Alexandria, beside the ruins of the temple of Serapis itself. The erroneous name and association with Pompey stems from historical misreading of the Greek dedicatory inscription on the base. In 297 Diocletian, augustus since 284, campaigned in Egypt to suppress the revolt of the usurper Domitius Domitianus. After a long siege, Diocletian captured Alexandria and executed Domitianus’s successor Aurelius Achilleus in 298. In 302 the emperor returned to the city and inaugurated a state grain supply.
The sanctuary complex dedicated to Serapis in which the column was originally erected, the Serapeum, was built under King Ptolemy III Euergetes in the third century BC and probably rebuilt in the era of the second century AD emperor Hadrian.
The column was the largest of its type constructed outside the imperial capitals of Rome and Constantinople. The monument stands some 26.85 m (almost 90 ft) high, and originally would have supported a statue some 7 m (23 ft) tall. The only known free-standing column in Roman Egypt which was not composed of drums, it is one of the largest ancient monoliths and one of the largest monolithic columns ever erected. The monolithic column shaft measures 20.46 m in height with a diameter of 2.71 m at its base, the socle itself is over 6 m tall. The column and socle are of lapis syenites, a pink granite cut from the ancient quarries at Syene (modern Aswan), while the column capital of pseudo-Corinthian type is of grey granite. The weight of the column shaft, a single piece of red granite, is estimated to be 285 tonnes.
The porphyry statue of Diocletian in armour is known from large fragments that existed at the column’s foot in the eighteenth century AD. From the size of a 1.6 m fragment representing the thighs of the honorand, the original size of the loricate statue has been calculated at approximately 7 m tall. While some fragments of the statue were known to be in European collections in the nineteenth century, their whereabouts were unknown by the 1930s and are presumed lost.
Muslim traveler Ibn Battuta visited Alexandria in 1326 AD. He describes the pillar and recounts the tale of an archer who shot an arrow tied to a string over the column. This enabled him to pull a rope tied to the string over the pillar and secure it on the other side in order to climb over to the top of the pillar.
In early 1803, British naval officer Commander John Shortland of HMS Pandour flew a kite over Pompey’s Pillar. This enabled him to get ropes over it, and then a rope ladder. On February 2, he and John White, Pandour‘s Master, climbed it. When they got to the top they displayed the Union Jack, drank a toast to King George III, and gave three cheers. Four days later they climbed the pillar again, erected a staff, fixed a weather vane, ate a beef steak, and again toasted the king.
Cathedral of Evangelismos (Greek Orthodox Church). The highlights were the nice stained glass windows and frescoed sidewalls.
St. Catherine’s Cathedral. A catholic church across the road from Evangelismos.
Attareen Antique Market. Several small shops in a localized area. The shops are crammed with furniture, lights, and statues.
Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library Tentative WHS: (28/07/2003)
Ancient Roman Theatre. This is a double semi-circular theatre. Most is in ruined condition with galleries containing rooms for more spectators along with 700-800 marble seats around the stage.
It was discovered in the excavations of the Hill of Rubble – a Muslim Cemetery and slums above the Roman street. Dating to the 2nd century A.D, this Roman theatre had a large auditorium, which measures 42m in diameter. Later the theatre was rebuilt and the massive auditorium was decreased to 33.5 m in diameter. It then counted 16 rows of marble seats. 80LE
Cavafy Museum. Constantine Cavafy (1863-1931) was a Greek poet inspired by Greek history and mythology. He lived in this 2nd story apartment for the last 25 years of his life. Many of his possessionts are here but most of the original furniture is gone. There are no English labels so is not very worthwhile. 20LE. There was a poor dog sitting on the landing between the 1st and 2nd floors, the stairwell was dark and the banister covered in old carpet.
St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral. Unusually the ceiling is one large barrel arch with decorated ribs and stars. There are several modern mosaics on the walls and ornate capitals on the columns. There was more security here than anywhere else I have visited: two bag checks, held passport, no shorts allowed.
Day 11
I took the red double decker bus the 18kms out to the end of the line, visited these sites in order returning by mini van.
Montaza Palace is a palace, museum and extensive gardens in the Montaza district east of central Alexandria overlooking a beach. The extensive Montaza Palace grounds first had the Salamlek Palace, built in 1892 by Khedive Abbas II, the last Muhammad Ali Dynasty ruler to hold the Khedive title over the Khedivate of Egypt and Sudan. It was used as a hunting lodge and residence for his companion. The larger Al-Haramlik Palace and royal gardens were added to the Montaza Palace grounds by King Fuad I in 1932, as a summer palace. It is in a mixture of Ottoman and Florentine styles, with two towers. One of these towers rises distinctively high above with elaborated Italian Renaissance design details. The palace has long open arcades facing the sea along each floor.
President Anwar El-Sadat renovated the original Salamlek Palace as an official presidential residence. It was most recently used by former president Hosni Mubarak and is now used by Sisi. There is no public access and the public museum of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty family history and objects d’art is not open.
Elmontaza Garden is the former expansive royal gardens of 150 acres (61 ha), are open as a public landscape park and forest reserve. It is primarily rows of palm trees with minor gardens, presently with a lot of construction happening. Access to the gardens is 25 LE.
Alexandria souq (El-Souq). Near Montaza this is a number of shops lining streets and surrounded by many tall buildings. It is not very attractive.
Royal Jewelry Museum. The guady jewels, snuff and candy boxes, egg cups, watches and various other precious items of the Royal family. The highlight was a jewelled chess set (castles were camels, knights were elephants and the bishops were horses) with rubies, emeralds and diamonds. The bases were small ivory egraved scenes.
More interesting was the lovely mansion built between 1919-23 with 10 Italian stained glass doors, wood floors, tiled side rooms, marble staircases, painted ceilings, wallpaper and the main bathroom with mosaic floors and tile scenes of European beaches. 100 LE
Tamr Hena Museum. In the NM Bizzarium series, this museum has been closed for 3 months and is for sale. It took me five encounters to find this information out. Apparently there was a live alligator and monkey outside when open. The facade is very interesting with two ships wheels draped with bodies.
Originally Nasser ElSherbini’s Shoe Store, it was converted into the Tamr Hena Museum. At first this eclectic museum seems like a random if entertaining collection. But after a cup of tea with the owner, visitors will learn how it all ties together to represent the peoples’ struggle and the unfortunate survival of corruption throughout the various ages and regimes. A former athlete and hunter, ElSherbini operated his small shoe store for many years before an itch to do something different led him to begin sculpting clay and paper-mâché figures and monsters to entertain the children who came in for new shoes. Soon, his artwork began to take on a sociopolitical meaning, when the Egyptian economy suffered extreme setbacks after the political revolutions of January 2011 and June 2013. Immediately upon entering, you are faced with a scaly Hydra descending from the ceiling, with its many serpentine heads representing racism, ignorance, and other social woes. A melancholy statue sits by the door, selling jars of lies and betrayal. The caged monkeys and free-roaming snakes are a unique Orwellian-Egyptian metaphor, as well as a fun photo opportunity. Without directly insulting any powerful figures, ElSherbini has transformed his shop into a fascinating little world for creative criticism.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria). In the NM Architectural Delights series this is a modern major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is both a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, and an attempt to rekindle something of the brilliance that this earlier center of study and erudition represented. Construction took from 1995-2002 and cost US$220 million. In 2010, the library received a donation of 500,000 books from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). The gift makes the Bibliotheca Alexandrina the sixth largest Francophone library in the world.
The library has shelf space for eight million books, with the main reading room covering 20,000 square metres (220,000 sq ft). The complex also houses a conference center; specialized libraries for maps, multimedia, the blind and visually impaired, young people, and for children; four museums; four art galleries for temporary exhibitions; 15 permanent exhibitions; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory.
The facade is composed of 6,000 granite blocks from Aswan in 120 languages. The roof is inclined at 51 degrees with “skylights” shaded by eyelashes to prevent direct sunlight. 68 columns with lotus capitals support the roof. It is built with great sound proofing. 70 LE
Library of Alexandria Museum. The new library has as section called Impressions of Alexandria.
Planetarium Science Center. The second part of the Planetarium, this has a permanent exhibition that highlights the historical aspect of science in Egypt during three major periods: ancient Egypt, Hellenistic Alexandria, and the Arab-Muslim World by reviving the scientific discoveries and great achievements of the ancient scholars and their translators. It is not a traditional museum; it offers a variety of activities targeting school children in particular. 50 LE
Alexandria National Museum. Has sections on Pharaonic Egypt, Ptolemaic/Hellenistic/Roman and Coptic/Islam. 50 LE
Museum of Fine Arts. Two floors of art, mostly paintings. On the bottom are European painters mostly from 1700s to early 20th-century. The second is Egyptian. I didn’t much enjoy the art presented. Free
On Nov 4, I caught the night Go Bus from Alexandria to Sharm El Sheikh (9.5 hours)
Vestiges of the Past
Behbeit El Hagar
Ruins of Tanis
Tal Basta
Taposiris Magna
Tell el-Daba
African Cities
DAMANHUR
DAMIETTA
DIKIRNIS
ZAGAZIG
TANTA
Museums: Tanta Museum
MANSOURA / TALKHA World City and Popular Town
RASHEED *
Tentative WHS: Historic quarters and monuments of Rosetta/Rachid (28/07/2003)
Castles, Palaces, Forts: Fort Julien (Fort of Qaitbey
