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Walking along The Corniche in Alexandria, you could be forgiven for thinking you're in the French Riviera.
Alexandria is like a beautiful woman of late middle-age who has let herself go. All she needs is a good scrub and a lick of paint and she could rival any Mediterranean city. The architecture is stunning at every turn. Graeco-Roman, French, Italianate, Colonial, Islamic revivalist - its all here under the grime and peeling paint and unhinged shutters. It would have been wonderful to see her in all her glory.
I wish I could be as enamoured with the people. All the girls on the tour have struggled here. Everywhere we go we are ogled and subject to overtures by adult men, young men and even pre-teen boys!! We've all had a gutful.
It also seems the security situation in Alex isnt ideal either. Mohamed is as surprised by this as we are. The police and army presence is the strongest than anywhere else we've been. There is still a curfew in place from 2-5am (we were hoping for 12-6am to try to get 6 hours of unbroken sleep - the traffic is relentless all through the night!!!), we have witnessed fisty-cuffs between locals ( which we havent seen as yet), and many of the tourist attractions are closed or on reduced hours. It also seems that the situation in Alex during the Revolution was more serious than was reported back home. And there are very few westerners here. But that being said we dont feel "unsafe" in a security sense and, despite the leering and overtures we havent been touched or threatened by anybody.
In terms of sightseeing we havent had much time here. Alex is famous for its fresh seafood so I was a bit disappointed when my lobster came out all mushy from being thawed out at the supposedly top restaurant here. The two Canadian girls and I ventured out to the Citadel this morning, which was built on the site of the old Pharaohs Lighthouse (one of the ancient wonders). The fort is a beautifully preserved building, but these days seems to be the spot for all the young people to come and hold hands and hang out together (public displays of affection and public "dating" are no-no's so they "meet up" in small groups then pair off! But at a fort!? Really!?)
The highlight of my day was without doubt spending the afternoon in the Bibliotheque Alexandria. Rebuilt on the site of the Great Library of Alexandria, its location is to die for, far out on the point of the harbour along the Corniche (esplanade). The ocean breeze ushers me in. As if it needs to - Ive been dying to come here since I heard it was being built last decade. The building is a very modern and very high tech monument of concrete steel and glass. Clean, crisp. A world away from the rest of Egypt. Two worlds away. Step inside and the madness of Alexandria is left behind. You are instantly met with tranquility, space and warmth.
Ive never thought of myself as "bookish", but I will freely admit the library is my place of solace. This library is a physical and emotional experience. It is designed as a circle, stretching over eight tiered levels from below ground soaring up to the sky under a canopy of glass. It is instantly expansive and uplifting. The shelves are designed to hold one million books, though they have a ways to go to fill them all. Each set of shelves is lit, like little beacons, directing you towards what this building is all about BOOKS!!
But the library is only the beginning. This site also houses the Planetarium (closed), art gallery, antiquities museum, and my personal favourite - the Rare Books and Manuscripts Museum. Entering this space is like entering the Holy of Holies. It is dark, housing dimly lit cabinets of the most precious pages in the world. The oldest manuscript is a 978AD version of the Quran, though there are a couple of facsimiles of ancient egyptian scrolls. There are religious texts, medical, mathmatical, astronomical, astrological, literary, social commentary, all dating from medieval to renaissance periods, and mostly in sublime arabic calligraphy. They are beautiful artworks in their own right.
Im so glad I have this experience of Alexandria to take away with me. I had intended to return here at the end of the tour before going to Morocco, but decided to go to Siwa when that was cancelled from the tour. Im glad it worked out that way now. Though I would love to return to the library I think, no I know, I need the tranquility of the desert more. Speaking of which, thats exactly what our next two days will be about - Bahariya Oasis and the White Desert before returning to Cairo. Bring it on.
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Julie Cant wait to hearabout the next trip!! xxx j