Alexandria, Egypt - Pompey Pillar (Amud El Sawari), Roman Theatre, Roman Catacombs (Kom El-Shuqafa)
(text by Chris J., Kim G. and Chris M.)
We had an early star of 7 am for our 3 hour van trip to Alexandria. We met our guide in the city. Traffic was light since Friday and Saturday are considered the weekend in Egypt. Our guide was female and she was quite good. Her previous employment was giving VIP tours in the Greek Museum.
First stop was the Pompey pillar. This was a column raised in 300 A.D. in honour of Emperor Diocletian, who saved the city of Alexandria from a frightful famine. On the western side of the column is engraved, "To the just Emperor, the god of Alexandria, the invincible Diocletian." The monument is 22 meters high (72-feet) and 9 meters (30-feet) in diameter and is made of polished red granite brought from Upper Egypt across the Nile! Nearby we also saw a small sphinx.
Second stop was the Roman catacombs which was one the most interesting sites yet. It was a large underground burial chamber believed to have been built by a rich man in the 2nd century. It was constructed with an interesting blend of Egyptian, Greek and Roman influences. Since Alexandria was founded by the Alexander the Great, the presence of the Greek influence was obvious. At the time the catacombs were built, Rome was the ruling influence, but the builder liked to keep the Egyptian images of power to denote his stature in life (and the hereafter). One writer describing the catacombs said, "Its vast, intricately decorated interior spaces cut at so great a depth into the rock present an enormity of experience outside the normal human realm and tell us of a level of technological expertise equaling enterprises of modern subways and tunnels while far surpassing them in aesthetic response."
The catacombs included a dining area where visitors would eat and drink during their visit. They would never bring plates or anything else back from the cemetary ("the place of death"). It was it considered bad luck, so they would break them in the dining hall after eating. The entrance was full of dish shards when originally discovered. The Arab name for the catacombs, Kom El-Shuqafa, means "Mound of Shards".
Another interesting site was the Roman Amphitheater. Built in the 4th century AD, it remained in use until about the 7th century AD, or about the time of the Arab invasion. The seats of the amphitheater were still in great condition, you could still be read the seat numbers on them! There was also a "sweet" spot on the floor of the amphitheater where even a whisper could be hear by everyone in the amphitheatre and would also be echoed back to you.
Next we stopped by the citadel located right on the Mediterranean. The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria 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 A.D. 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, but the lighthouse was destroyed by several earthquakes.
Our guide showed us a nice seafood restaurant for lunch, but we wanted something easier and cheaper, but still on the water... so we ended up at a Pizza Hut, of all places. Not quite what we were looking for, but nice and easy.
It was also market day... lots of fruits and meats along with all sorts of live birds. Pigeons are a popular meal entre and you can actually see brick towers erected to house and catch them in various parts of the city.
It was vacation day for school kids, so there were big groups at each of the sites, they all liked to yell "Ello, what's your name?" Our guide said that was the only English they learned at that age. We ran into a big group of school kids when visiting the King's Palace as well. It was a very nice location right on the waterfront with good boat harbor. We saw an older man coming out the harbor in his flashy Lamborghini Dialo. Our guide recognized him and confirmed the impression that this was rich man who used his wealth and flashy car to pick up women.
First time we really noticed the Muslim calls to prayer from the loudspeakers at 4:30 am... a little early for us!
Last stop was at the Alexandria library, the world's second largest after the Library of Congress. We didn't go inside, but took pictures from the outside. One of the outside views is designed to look like the sun setting into the water.
(text by Chris J., Kim G. and Chris M.)
We had an early star of 7 am for our 3 hour van trip to Alexandria. We met our guide in the city. Traffic was light since Friday and Saturday are considered the weekend in Egypt. Our guide was female and she was quite good. Her previous employment was giving VIP tours in the Greek Museum.
First stop was the Pompey pillar. This was a column raised in 300 A.D. in honour of Emperor Diocletian, who saved the city of Alexandria from a frightful famine. On the western side of the column is engraved, "To the just Emperor, the god of Alexandria, the invincible Diocletian." The monument is 22 meters high (72-feet) and 9 meters (30-feet) in diameter and is made of polished red granite brought from Upper Egypt across the Nile! Nearby we also saw a small sphinx.
Second stop was the Roman catacombs which was one the most interesting sites yet. It was a large underground burial chamber believed to have been built by a rich man in the 2nd century. It was constructed with an interesting blend of Egyptian, Greek and Roman influences. Since Alexandria was founded by the Alexander the Great, the presence of the Greek influence was obvious. At the time the catacombs were built, Rome was the ruling influence, but the builder liked to keep the Egyptian images of power to denote his stature in life (and the hereafter). One writer describing the catacombs said, "Its vast, intricately decorated interior spaces cut at so great a depth into the rock present an enormity of experience outside the normal human realm and tell us of a level of technological expertise equaling enterprises of modern subways and tunnels while far surpassing them in aesthetic response."
The catacombs included a dining area where visitors would eat and drink during their visit. They would never bring plates or anything else back from the cemetary ("the place of death"). It was it considered bad luck, so they would break them in the dining hall after eating. The entrance was full of dish shards when originally discovered. The Arab name for the catacombs, Kom El-Shuqafa, means "Mound of Shards".
Another interesting site was the Roman Amphitheater. Built in the 4th century AD, it remained in use until about the 7th century AD, or about the time of the Arab invasion. The seats of the amphitheater were still in great condition, you could still be read the seat numbers on them! There was also a "sweet" spot on the floor of the amphitheater where even a whisper could be hear by everyone in the amphitheatre and would also be echoed back to you.
Next we stopped by the citadel located right on the Mediterranean. The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria 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 A.D. 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, but the lighthouse was destroyed by several earthquakes.
Our guide showed us a nice seafood restaurant for lunch, but we wanted something easier and cheaper, but still on the water... so we ended up at a Pizza Hut, of all places. Not quite what we were looking for, but nice and easy.
It was also market day... lots of fruits and meats along with all sorts of live birds. Pigeons are a popular meal entre and you can actually see brick towers erected to house and catch them in various parts of the city.
It was vacation day for school kids, so there were big groups at each of the sites, they all liked to yell "Ello, what's your name?" Our guide said that was the only English they learned at that age. We ran into a big group of school kids when visiting the King's Palace as well. It was a very nice location right on the waterfront with good boat harbor. We saw an older man coming out the harbor in his flashy Lamborghini Dialo. Our guide recognized him and confirmed the impression that this was rich man who used his wealth and flashy car to pick up women.
First time we really noticed the Muslim calls to prayer from the loudspeakers at 4:30 am... a little early for us!
Last stop was at the Alexandria library, the world's second largest after the Library of Congress. We didn't go inside, but took pictures from the outside. One of the outside views is designed to look like the sun setting into the water.
posted by Chris at 11:00 PM
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