Alexandria

December 3, we left the Hotel with our old tour guide (Tamir), our classic driver, and an private guard… wait, what?! That’s right! Apparently the road from Cairo to Alexandria is really dangerous. So we had our own personal guard. He had a huge HUGE gun and he was not someone that you wanted to mess with. It was nice to feel protected and he ended up staying with us for most of the time we were in Alexandria.

It was a long 4 hour car ride to Alexandira, but it was ok since I was excited about what we were going to see. Upon arrival we headed over to the Catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa. This catacomb alone would have held hundreds of people. It still had a lot of Egyptian influence but you could tell that the tombs were from the Greek period. The catacombs had 3 levels that were deep underground. We were able to go into the first 2 but the third was flooded.

While in Alexandria we also saw:

Pompey’s Pillar. Underground at the Pillar there is a cellar where they used to keep books and scrolls if the couldn't fit them in the Alexandrian Library.

Fort Qaitbey, where Pharos Lighthouse (another Ancient Wonder of the World) once stood

The Mediterranean Sea

The Roman Amphitheatre at Kom al-Dikka. If you stand in the exact center of the Amphitheatre you can hear your self echo perfectly. 

Alexandria Library, which is the 5th largest library in the world. And the location of the Ancient Library of Alexandria. 

Alexandria is a beautiful city. The culture is different from that in Cairo; the people act, look, and dress more European then Egyptian. 

We spent the night at the Helnan Palestine Hotel (5 stars) which over looks the Mediterranean Sea.