One of the first Cosmopolitan cities, where all mainstream religions started.
There was a mixed feeling about this city. And this because we were expecting a modern city up to date with the “Western Standards”, but we got more of the same traffic found in Cairo.
The tour started with a stop to a seaside fortification. Our guide Tarek explained that this place was where the famous Alexandria Lighthouse used to be, and he gave us a brief description about how from this lighthouse they could monitor the Mediterranean Sea from high above, in fact it was considered as one of the Wonders of the World, but got lost in time.
The second stop was the Serapeum of Alexandria, where a Roman column called Pompey’s Pillar is found with two Sphinxes guarding it. At that point John & Anna got bored, and decided to sit back and relax. I was curious to visit the last part of this site, and most probably this part was meant for me.
I came to like a small square with 2 entrances, one was labelled as a Library, and it was a long underground tunnel which had shelves cut in the rock to hold scrolls and other literature of the time. Interesting, but no big deal. At this point I was going to turn back, but since I was there I decided to go into the Sanctuary. Upon entering, I felt a change in energy and continued in my descent in this dark tunnel, I was alone and the energy intensified the deeper I went. At some point I started seeing a sort of statue, which at first I thought was a human sculpture, but when I came close I was amazed to see that it was a life size bull, with a Sun Disc and the Ureas, representing the God Apis… Ok, now this opened another Pandora’s Box for me! Why are the Romans idolising an Egyptian God?
More questions started popping out since a quick search directs you towards Apis being the son of Hathor, and another question would be whether Apis was the god that the Hebrews worshipped until Moses returned with the 10 commandments… more dilemmas!
Anyways, we left for another stop at the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, an impressive labyrinth of graves which was an “in between” of Greek and Egyptian mythologies, but the interaction was amazingly beautiful. The mix in between the Egyptian Gods portrayed in the mummification and burial, complemented by Medusa figures, Greek Columns and the marriage between the Lotus Flower & Eucalyptus plant was flawless. I noticed that Apis was also present here in one of the scenes…
The last stop was at the Alexandria Library. It is a masterpiece of modern architecture and technology, housing millions of books and various ongoing exhibitions, but since all the old scrolls were “destroyed”, for us it was not such an interesting destination, but anyways…
We compensated for the Library by stopping at a local fish eatery, and it was one of the best lunches ever, most especially the freshest King Prawns that I ever had. We really can’t complain that we did not experience the day-to-day life of Egyptians, since we did it all!
Today, we are on the way to experience the Black & White Desert, in my opinion the Highlight of the Expedition, but let’s not set expectations, and be open for any miracle coming our way.
Yalla Yalla,
CB
5dtimes.com 