The city of Alexandria is a good 219 km by road but is definitely worth visiting. Whlie it took us around four hours to get there, the ride was comfortable because of the beautiful 8 lane highway. The road was well made with a separate road for trucks and heavy traffic. In addition the motorists were extremely disciplined and this made driving a pleasure.

There was greenery all around with fields of sugar cane and other crops. What surprised us most was a huge walled compound with lookout towers and lots of car parking space. We were quit amazed when Tifa told us it was the new prison!

As we neared the city, we could smell the sea air and were looking forward to a fishy meal that we had been dreaming about ever since we managed to convince Tifa to allow us to choose our own dining spots.

The Donkey found it

But there was plenty to see before lunch chief among them being the Catacombs.

Donkeys seem to play a key role in discovering archeological treasures as we found out in several cases. For instance the Greco Roman Ruins of ancient Egypt were covered in layers an layer of sand which already had houses built over. So fo years no one knew that there existed a complete underground labyrinth of tombs under the very homes that were occupied by people.

And it probably would have remained that way if it hadn’t been for the donkey that fell into a hole. In the process of extricating the donkey, the rescuers found an ancient well and with one thing leading to another, archeologists discovered a treasure trove of Greco Roman underground tombs.

The Catacombs are another UNESCO Heritage site and had several tourists braving the hot sun to have a look . This is truly a site worth visiting becuase it has remains of three cultures and civilisations – the Greeks, the Romans and the Ancient Egyptians.

The Citadel of Quaitbay

This magical fortress stands on the very same spot where the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World, that had guided sailors to the safety of Alexandria port, for years. It was built by Sultan Quaitbay in the 15th century AC as a defence against the Ottomans. Sadly, this proved ineffective and Egypt did become part of the Ottoman empire. Subsequently, the original fortress was greatly damaged during various conquests and was restored and rebuilt to what we see now in 1904.

It looked truly splendid, like the sandcastles seen in picture books with turrets and flag. While we senior citizens waited downstairs for the rest of our group to visit the empty rooms upstairs, we were surrounded by pretty young girls who wanted to practice their English.

The city of Alexandria is a fascinating city . Its waterfront promenade reminded me greatly of our very own Marine Drive with many elegant buildings and fancy hotels alongside.

We did not go that far to dine, preferring to have a quick bite at a local eatery reviewed by Trip Advisor. The Zephyr , one of the oldest sea food restaurants in Alexandria was a fishy place after our dreams. Even though it was on the second floor we got an elevator to take us there.

It seemed quite a popular place by the number of well dressed ladies who had come there to dine. A balladeer was serenading them with a pretty seemingly tuneless song but the ladies clapped and danced to the beat.

And of course we binged on the prawns, cuttle fish and fish delicacies along with the salads and sauces that went with them.

What a memorable meal it was ! At a table overlooking the bay where the boats were anchored under an angry rain filled sky.

The Library

By the time we drove into the city to see the Library, the sky had cleared up without shedding a drop! The seafront looked somewhat like Marine Drive, lined with old fashioned buildings that had definitely seen better days. When we reached the new building, we were struck by the grandness. Unfortunately it didn’t appeal to the children and even the fact that the complex boasted the largest telescope in Africa didn’t impress them in the least.

The Library, then is definitely worth a miss, especially if you have just the day unless of course you are an academician or scholar in which case a cursory visit just won’t do!

We returned home quite late and completely exhausted. The next day we were scheduled to catch the morning flight to Aswan from where we were going to board our boat for our Nile Cruise.

Ciao