By: Ben
Knowing that Alexandria was an amazingly historical city, the center of many battles and many different cultures, we were unsure of what sites were still standing, and wanted to check out the oldest monuments. We consulted with Wikipedia for a brief history of the city, and some suggestions of where to go. We also found good information on the tourism website http://www.touregypt.net/alexandria/ where we also found admittance pricing for the various sites, and photography rules while inside the sites.
Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria
Due to the constant presence of war in Alexandria in ancient times, very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbor due to earthquake subsidence, and the rest has been built over in modern times.
"Pompey's Pillar", a Roman triumphal column, is one of the best-known ancient monuments still standing in Alexandria today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis — a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery — and was originally part of a temple colonnade. Including its pedestal, it is 30 m (99 ft) high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 meters in diameter at the base, tapering to 2.4 meters at the top. The shaft is 88 feet (27 m) high made out of a single piece of granite. This would be 132 cubic meters or approximately 396 tons.[10][11] Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. The Romans had cranes but they weren't strong enough to lift something this heavy. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehrner conducted several obelisk erecting experiments including a successful attempt to erect a 25-ton obelisk in 1999. This followed two experiments to erect smaller obelisks and two failed attempts to erect a 25-ton obelisk.[12][13] The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus. Beneath the acropolis itself are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis were enacted, and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library.
The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in Alexandria is known as Kom al-Dikka. It has revealed the ancient city's well-preserved theater, and the remains of its Roman-era baths.
Based on that information, it was real easy for us to decide what part of the city we were going to check out. We wandered from our hotel down the street to find breakfast and to pack some provisions for the day. Being in the Jewish sector of town, we found a bakery where we had donuts and coffee for breakfast, and packed some breads and croissants. Next door was a deli where we picked up some shaved meat (we weren't sure what it was exactly, but we think it was lamb) and some cheeses. We also found a drugstore where we bought more sunscreen, and some large brim hats... the Egyptian sun seemed to burn into us, even at 10:00 in the morning. Locals told us that it was an unusual day today, with the heat, because Alexandria usually has a very pleasant climate due to the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
We made sure that Alison had a head scarf, because we wanted to make sure we didn't get into too much trouble if we went into a Muslim areas while walking around.
We hired a cab to take us to our first site, the famous Pompey's Pillar. The tallest monument in Alexandria, we were could only imagine how much work must have gone into making it, and how impressive it was to erect it without any modern machinery.
The heat was already getting to us. It seemed to just radiate all around us. As we started walking to our next site, we could tell that these weeks of "vacationing" we taking a toll on our bodies. We refilled our canteens at a public water fountain, and wet some cloths that we had packed, and placed the damp cloths on our heads under our hats to try and cool us a bit.
Our next site was the Kom al-Dikka. Over 30 years of excavation have uncovered many Roman remains including this well-preserved theatre with galleries, sections of mosaic-flooring, and marble seats for up to 800 spectators. In Ptolemaic times, this area was the Park of Pan and a pleasure garden. The theater at one point may had been roofed over to serve as an Odeon for musical performances. Inscriptions suggest that it was sometimes also used for wrestling contests. The theatre stood with thirteen semi-circular tiers of white marble that was imported from Europe. Its columns are of green marble imported from Asia Minor, and red granite imported from Aswan. The wings on either side of the stage are decorated with geometric mosaic paving. The dusty walls of the trenches, from digging in the northeast side of the Odeon, are layered with extraordinary amounts of potsherds. Going down out of the Kom, you can see the substantial arches and walls in stone, the brick of the Roman baths, and the remains of Roman houses.
After visiting those two sites, we searched for a shady spot to have our picnic lunch. We were uncomfortably hot still, so we decided to head back to our hotel and the comfort of air conditioning and take a cool swim in the pool. We would possibly venture out again later in the evening once the sun sent down a bit.
Total spent today on food, travel, supplies: 2750 Egyptian Pounds
