Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

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  • Day Trip to Alexandria

    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.

    Looking down the hole where the donkey fell

    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.

    Egyptian men chit chatting in a roadside cafe
    the sculpture of the buried roman
    the headof Medusa
    Intircatedly cared tomb
    Intricately carved tomb

    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.

    This ancient marble bath tub can easily be fitted in a modern luxe apartment don’t you think?

    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.

    Vuiew fron the battlements
    roadside view
    One of the many cafes
    The fortress reflected in the window of the restaurants we ate it
    The pillar of Pompey with a Bajaj rickshaw in the foreground

    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

  • A Tale of Two Cities

    A Tale of Two Cities

    The Citadel of Salah Al din

    As mentioned earlier. I was listening to the tales of the Ottoman Empire while getting ready for my trip. I knew Alexandria was part of that Empire but I didn’t know that Cairo was too ! My trip to Egypt was totally unplanned by me: I was just piggybacking on to Anna Shetty’s family vacation. So I didn’t pay any heed to the itinerary etc. I just decided to go with the flow.

    So when Tifa told us that we were going to visit the fortress or the walled city of Salah Al din, around 15 to 25 minutes from Downtown Cairo, I was quite excited. Since we were far out in Giza , it took us at least an hour to get there .

    On the way , we passed many houses that looked abandoned ( not the high rise ones but low lying ) which turned out to be cemeteries . These were truly citadels of the dead where families had buried their loved ones in family tombs .

    The Mokkattam Hills , the highest point in Cairo was the obvious place to build a fortification and it was only natural that Sultan Salah El-din ordered it to be built there in 1176. However , he died before it could be built and it was completed by his successor of Al Malek El Kamel . Many of the building blocks we’d taken from the stones of some small pyramids in Giza .

    Muhammad Aly Pasha, the father of Modern Egypt made many changes in the citadel, chief among them being the Alabaster mosque fashioned in the style of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It is now known as the Muhammad Aly mosque.

    The influence of European architecture is very obvious
    365 lights inside the mosque, one for each day
    The European style colonnade on either side of the mosque
    The majestic Muhammad Aly mosque
    The lighting was completely renovated
    the two mosques in the courtyard
    The water fountain in the courtyard
    The minbar
    A cannon in the fortress
    One of the massive gates of the Citadel
    A clock tower for an obelisk
    Muhammad Ali Pasha
    In the foreground you can see the tombs of recent times

    Reading several blogs upon my return from Egypt, I found that many of the facts of our guide Tifa were fanciful but I suppose seeing the children in our group, he decided to make the commentary more interesting than merely factual.

    The children loved the display of planes, tanks and cannons in the courtyard of the Military Museum but were quite scared of the exhibits in the Police Museum – they were especially disturbed with the gory story of the two sisters Raya and Sakina who were notorious serial killers. They couldn’t imagine women upto such awful acts.

    The Coptic Church

    The latter half of the morning saw us in another historic part of Cairo – the Christian part. Cairo is seems was the place where the Holy Family stayed in for 3-4 months during their flight to Egypt. They stayed in a cave over which is now a church.

    The street near the Coptic Church
    The street restaurant that we insisted on eating in
    The tiny lane in the coptic quarter
    Gobbling down a streetside lunch
    The Egyptian Mona Lisa
    Interior of the Hanging church
    Entrance to the Cavern Church
    Where the Holy Family stayed
    Where the Holy Family prayed
    a stunning mural in the courtyard
    An rexample of stained glass
    Mother Mary and the Infant Jesus
    The Bablyon Fortress
    The Hanging Church

    According to our guide Tifa, the church is normally crowded but because of the conflict in Gaza, there was a slight lull in tourism. But walking thourh the narrow alleys, we came across a priest and one could almost imagine we were back in medieval times.

    The higlight of this visit however was of a very personal nature when we three senior citizens from our group , intimidatd by the steps leading to the chapel, decided to take the lift little knowing that we would spend two minutes going up and down, bewildered and slightly terrified of being stuck and trapped till somebody discovered us! I was in a fit of giggles while the other two were itching to possibly slap me!

    By this time we were ravenous and insisted on eating in one of the roadside eateries. Of course Tifa was most reluctant to deviate from the plan but we were equally keen on trying more authentic local cuisine so we plonked ourselves on the pavement cafe and enjoyed our local fare. The kids of course stuck to the tried and tested hamburger and cola which somehow tastes the same the world over while I went for the koshyari. This delightful rice dish turned out to be vegetarian !

    The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Khan Khalili market which none of us were really keen on visiting because quite frankly it was no different from the markets at home with its warren of streets. But Ms. Papaya wanted to buy a Magic Lamp so we indulged in some bargaining which resulted in a small little lamp for her. Of course we found out that this lamp was made in China and a similar one was gifted to us from a visitor to Singapore!

    Ciao and see you soon

  • The Egyptian Museum & The Pyramids

    The Egyptian Museum & The Pyramids

    As mentioned earlier, the treasures of the Egyptian Museum are so many that if you really want to observe and absorb the minute details you would need at least 3-4 hours of focused viewing or two days of leisurely visits.

    The room dedicated to the relics found in TutAnkhAmun’s tomb itself will captivate you. His death mask, the throne, and even the coffin are all made of gold and all the artefacts are so exquisitely crafted, it makes you question whether these were made by superhumans or even aliens!

    An elaborately carved sarcophagus
    The inside of a sarcophagus with intricate carvings
    Heads of captives facing the enemy
    The smallest statue found in a tomb
    The statue of the Ka-aper
    The bust of Hatshepsut the first female pharoah
    The canopic chest of TutAnkhAmun guarded by one of the 4 goddesses
    A statue of Anubis the jackal
    The golden throne of TutAnkhAmun with detailed images on the footstool representing his enemies
    TutAnkhAmun’s favourite game of se RT
    The death masks of Yuya and Thuya
    Paddle dolls
    Mirrors to help with makeup
    The Final Judgement where the heart heavy with sin is eaten up by the beast Yummy Yummy half crocodile and half elephant
    Ancient Egyptian musical instruments
    Yummy Yummy with the crocodile head and elephant body
    A sign from the restaurant we stopped by for lunch
    Funerary bed to mummify the body
    The world’s first folding chair
    The sphinx of Hatshepsut
    The only black Pharoah to rule Egypt

    Yummy Yummy & a Tourist Trap

    The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with life after death and as soon as a Pharaoh became king, he began planning for his life after death – he began building his pyramid and collecting all the things that would accompany him in his next life.

    One of the most interesting things we learnt was that Yummy Yummy ( that’s what our guide called Ammit) the monstrous creature was actually a creature half crocodile and half elephant who sat in the court of justice on the Day of the Final Judgement where he was waiting to eat up a heavy heart full of wrong deeds.

    On the way to the Pyramids, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant which was similar to the one we had dinner at the night before.

    We realised that many tour operators have a tie up with local restaurants offering decent but generic buffets that would please every palate.

    After lunch on our way to the Pyramids, Tifa informed us that there was a Government factory on the way where we could see how Papyrus was actually made and even buy some genuine paintings. We didn’t know that we were walking into a regular tourist trap.

    The factory was far from a factory – it was a small workshop and even though we realised what it was as soon as we entered, we did oblige with a small purchase. Later on, we found several stalls at all the tourist sites selling the same kind of paintings but at least we got to learn first-hand with a demonstration of how Papyrus was made.

    The Pyramids

    It would be an understatement to say that we were stunned by the grandeur of the Pyramids. Not only were they huge, but the fact that they were constructed by people at a time when mechanical gadgets were unheard of, is simply mind-boggling.

    The Pyramids were made of Limestone which was quarried from the Giza plateau but many other rocks like granite were shipped in from far away Aswan. Each rock weighed at least two tonnes and how did the workers manage to lift them up to the highest height? Even today, the construction of the Pyramids remains an unsolved mystery and several interesting theories have been put forth.

    A view of the Pyramids from the restaurant
    Pyramid under a perfect sky
    The pyramid of Khufu
    The pyramid of Khufre
    Camel rides at Panorama point
    The Sphinx in the fading sunlight

    It was already an overcast day with Tifa informing us with the ‘good’ news that our visit to Cairo coincided with the beginning of the rainy season. Luckily the rain held back but by the time we reached the pyramids, it was hazy and close to sunset.

    The site is declared a UNESCO Heritage site and entrance tickets are available near the Great Pyramid. However, we didn’t want to venture inside so we went ahead to the Pyramid of Khufre which had lesser crowds and was the smallest of the pyramids.

    While waiting outside the Pyramid of Khufre which Anna Shetty and the Little People went to see, we came across several camel and carriage ride operators who tried their best to peddle us a ride. We found that they were equally happy to oblige us with a photo instead – obviously for a price!

    Eventually, we did succumb to the Camel ride at Banorama (Panorama) Point where we enjoyed the most beautiful sight of the three, instead of the promised six, pyramids bathed in the fading sunlight.

    Our plan was to meet up with our intrepid camel riders ( Little Po and his father and aunt) at the Sphinx. Unfortunately, this was the wrong day to visit the pyramids because the Tourism Minister was attending a function organised in front of the Sphinx and the entire area was being sanitized.

    So we just about managed a quick shot of the monument before we were shooed off by the police.

    But even though our visit to the Pyramids was short and we missed the Sound and Light show which apparently is only available from Wednesday to Saturday, I could well imagine what the soldiers must have thought when Napoleon addressed them thus

    “From the heights of the Pyramids, forty centuries look down on us”.

    Napoleon Bonaparte

    Ciao,

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