Alexandria – Adrian's Got The Moose

Alluring Alexandria Part IV

After the congestion of the catacombs, I decided I would simply walk the streets for a while. I stopped ten minutes later at a coffee shop. The place clearly didn’t see many tourists, but the lovely staff member knew enough English to understand coffee, little sugar, and I enjoyed myself, watching the other customers play backgammon and pass the time.

“What’s that creepy white dude doing here? “Never mind that, it’s your turn”

After a few chapters of Ian Fleming, I continued to walk, with the vague aid of Google Maps, towards the Mediterranean Sea. Purely by accident, Google sent me to Saint Mark’s Cathedral, and I decided to have a look. I went through a metal detector, and then was approached by a policeman who asked for my passport. After a cursory check (Australian? Yes) I was informed I could collect my passport when I left. Nervously- never like having my passport out of sight or not locked away- I continued on through another metal detector in case I managed to acquire a weapon in the last fifteen seconds, and entered the secure compound.

A nearby wall explained all the security. 9th of April 2017, an ISIS suicide bomber fufilled his title at the cathedral- the seat of the Pope of Alexandria, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church- killing seventeen and wounding forty-eight, as part of the Palm Sunday Church Bombings.

Largely understated explanation compared to the security presence.

A pretty alleyway featured a display explaining the pilgrimages of Saint Mark, and I took delight in knowing I had been to some of these places in my own travels. Considering that Saint Mark was born in what is now Libya, travelling to places such as the Holy Land, modern Jordan, and Turkiye would have been a considerable undertaking.

I had a quick look in the cathedral, which like most modern churches, I didn’t find particularly interesting. But I did put the US dollars the police officer foisted on me in their collection box, thinking that the Copts would have solid arrangements to take advantage of international currencies.

Modern churches tend to all look the same to me.

On the way out and collecting my passport, I had a good chat with the police officer about the bombings and the security. I shook his hand and told him I hope he always gets home safe. It was a nice moment of sincerity.

Alluring Alexandria Part III

The next day I embarked to visit some of Alexandria’s lesser known sites. The first being Kom El Deka, more commonly called the Ancient Roman Theatre. The area was an upper-class residential area in the first to third century CE, by the fourth to seventh century it was much changed, and featured numerous public facilities, such as the theatre and a bathhouse.

Ancient Roman Theatre, modern neighbourhood in the background.

Oddly, I soon discovered statues and blocks of stone that appeared to be have been part of the lighthouse, and transported from the ocean floor to here.

Tucked into the corner of the site was a partially restored villa, which contained several amazing mosaics and decorations.

After a lap around, there was nothing further to keep me here, and I was about to leave when a machine-gun-wielding policeman offered me a cup of tea, that I accepted. We had a nice chat, and while he declined payment for the tea, he immediately hit me up to exchange some USD for Egyptian Pounds. Caught, I complied and made a mental note to be more careful about this in the future.

I kept my promise of not posting this on Facebook.

Next I visited the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqufa. Believed to have been created in the second century CE for a single family, it was expanded greatly for unknown reasons. It was rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey fell through a shaft-perhaps considering the way animals are treated, it was a deliberate act of protest. The catacombs consist of three levels, multiple chambers, and two large circular shafts that may have been used to lower the deceased into the catacombs.

shaft with a staircase wrapping around it

Many of the corridors and chambers feature simple stone ledges for a body to be laid to rest.

The main drawcard here is an elaborate chamber, perhaps the original families, featuring ornate carvings, and a blend of Roman, Ancient Egyptian and Greek art styles. Between the hordes of tourists and the limited ability of my phone, I struggled to document this chamber, so I will include this one from Wikipedia.

The catacombs also featured benches where mourners could sit and rest, and perhaps even eat meals close to their deceased loved ones, something that would seem very odd to modern Western eyes, but I suspect was very normal in the ancient world.

There were many impressive carvings, but I was drawn to this statue, perhaps carved in place, which is considered by some to be the original owner of the catacombs.

Of course, without a guide, many features were not clear to me, which is something I should be used to by now, but is still frustrating.

Perhaps a font for holy water? Did the Romans even do that?

Once I was sick of bumping into my fellow tourists and trying to suppress the urge to hum the Indiana Jones theme, I made my way back to the surface, and took a few pics of the sarcophagi outside, and went for a walk.

Could you imagine having to move that around?

Alluring Alexandria Part II

The Great Library of Alexandria was one of the greatest centres of learning in antiquity, and scholars from every corner of the known world in the second and third centuries BCE made pilgrimages to study there. While history still lists some of the head librarians and some of the manuscripts that were held there, the actual site of the library is unknown. The importance and the contents of the library had been in decline for years before the supposed destruction by Julius Caesar in 48 BCE. Now, only the legend remains, which may be more interesting than the real history.

AI prompt was “Dusty library filled with scrolls with a creepy gnome wanking”

With the lack of concrete facts, and considering the remains of the Great Library of Alexandria could easily now have a Starbucks built on top of it (it’s a nice Starbucks, filled with pretty medical students when I visited), the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is much more a spiritual than a practical one, but it’s very impressive nonetheless.

By Shivani Singh04 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81243664

The library was officially opened in 2002, at a cost of two hundred million USD. Its main reading room sprawls over eleven levels and covers twenty thousand square metres.

In addition to its main library, it contains six specialised collections, including one specifically containing Braille books. Even forgetting about the books, the Bibliotecha is home to nineteen art galleries, a planetarium, a conference centre, two gift shops, two cafes, and a restaurant.

I accepted the offer of a free tour, where a stunning woman walked us through areas and explained that for a fee equivalent to two coffees, an Egyptian student can gain access to all this, in addition to internet access, catalog access, study space, and more. She explained the symbolic aspects of the architecture and answered our questions faultlessly. Her (I neglected to jot down here name) delivery was a masterclass in public speaking and interpretation, and I wished I had a tenth of her ability. I was also incredibly smitten.

I couldn’t help but think what a balancing act these incredible, smart, and beautiful women working here must perform. Trying to keep to an authentic and self-determined life, working in such a modern institute of learning, while living in a culture that insists on a tradition of women being dependent on the men in their lives. All I could do was thank her for the tour and walk away.

On the way out, numerous security types and police seemed to be milling around, waiting, and so I waited to see what would happen. Soon, a convoy of conference attendees exited the grounds in chauffeured Mercedes and BMWs, while police shut down traffic outside the library to allow them to stay together with their escorts.

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After a quick stop at a cafe for coffee and journalling, I discovered a small group of young ladies selling stickers. After walking past them I doubled back to buy some stickers and have a chat. 50 Egyptian pounds later, I asked if I could get a photo, which they were good-natured enough to consent to, with one of them offering to take the photo.

When I looked back at the photo, I said “Awwww, beautiful Egyptian ladies” which seemed to make them very happy as I said thank you and departed.

One day, when these amazing Egyptian women become a powerful force in Egyptian politics, Egypt will experience a rapid improvement for all its people.

Alluring Alexandria

The first thing I noticed on the Uber ride from the bus station to my hotel was the considerable number of medical supply shops. The next was the women. I had gotten used to 99% of Egyptian women wearing headscarves, and often the full hijab, with some covering even their eyes with black cloth, leading to them walking into the kind of people they wanted to be isolated from. Now, I was seeing at least half the women with fully exposed heads of perfect hair. If I were a poet, this would have caused me to write pages and pages of overwrought, terrible verses.

As it was, I almost gave myself whiplash. My tired brain finally put it all together after a quick Google search; Alexandria is host to numerous universities, including at least one exclusively for both medicine and dentistry. I suspect that very few women embarking on such studies were willing to submit to society and religious pressure. Later, while walking towards the ocean, I discovered the Egyptian version of punks in a small group of mixed sex youths (itself unusual), which also made me very happy.

Alexandria, founded by its namesake Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, is famous for two great structures- The Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Great Library of Alexandria. I was, of course, centuries too late to visit either of them. Screwed by my birthday again.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built in the third century BCE and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was damaged by a series of earthquakes a thousand years ago, with much of the lighthouse ending up in the Mediterranean Sea.

By Philip Galle – https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/vuurtoren-van-alexandri%C3%AB-galle-philips/xQG_r1IGU9hKEw, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116950381

In 1480, the remainder of the lighthouse was used to build the Qaitbay Citadel, on the same site. Qaitbay Citadel was built by the Sultan of Egypt by the same name to defend the harbour of Alexandria, at the time having extreme military importance. It changed hands a number of times, and left in ruins after the British made a pointless and misguided attack.

The Citadel has been rebuilt, renovated and then restored, with 1984 being the restoration to its current state.

Qaitbay Citadel, from the main car park.

My camera took this oportunity to die entirely here, so all my photos here on in are from my phone. While I have no idea how historically accurate the restoration was, I was impressed how light and airy much of the fort was on the inside.

In one second floor corner, a monitor is set up playing footage about the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and efforts to document the remains.

Cleaning ladies pointed me towards good areas to take photos, in an effort to get baksheesh from me, which I have to say was successful as at least they were pleasant about it.

From the highest points I could not help but try to imagine how incredible it would have been from the top of the Lighthouse, and the sheer majesty of such an endeavor. Now when we conduct public works they tend to feel sterile, replaceable and generic, instead of the stuff of legends.