Sometimes things just seem to work out. It takes almost no effort to make it happen that way. It just works out. This was one of those days.
I got up in the morning and had some breakfast. Egypt really needs to work on its idea of breakfast. It's not that bad, but it's not really what I would call breakfast. It often consists of a couple hot dog type buns, some jam, a small wedge of some kind of cheese and sometimes a boiled egg. That is usually what's included as breakfast when you are in a place that includes breakfast. And it's not really what I want in breakfast. But, it is included, so I take what I get.
After breakfast, I asked about how to find some of the places I had seen as being interesting. One was the site of the Pharos Lighthouse, which was one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. It is long gone, of course, having fallen down a couple thousand years ago, but the site still exists and it has a fort on it now. I also wanted to go and see the catacombs that I read about in the guide the people at the tourist information office gave me. Finally there was a place called Pompey's Pillar that also sounded interesting. It was supposedly a tall granite pillar that had been made in one piece and erected in Roman, or perhaps Greek, times.
The guy told me I could walk to the site of the lighthouse, now the site of an arab fort and citadel built to protect the city from invaders from the sea. But I should take a taxi to visit the other two places. I just agreed with him, but in my mind I knew I wasn't going to be taking any taxi anywhere. The tiny map of Alexandria in my guide made it look like they were all within reasonable walking distance, and I wasn't about to be taking any taxi anywhere if I could help it.
I struck off towards the citadel, called Qaitbay Castle. It sits on a point at the west end of a bay on which the hotel where I was staying was situated. On the east side of the bay is the library. I had seen the castle the day before while I was walking to the library, but I hadn't been sure that was the place. It took about 20 minutes to get there.
The north side of the point is face on to the Mediterranean Sea. And in the winter the sea gets rough. So as I was walking up to the citadel, there were waves crashing against the rocks and the shore. It made a really nice picture of what it might have looked like long ago as the last bastion against an enemy, even one like the seas.
I purchased my ticket and went inside the citadel. The ticket price was a bit high, but the inside was still quite interesting. There were all kinds of interesting passages inside and under the castle. One went all the around the sea wall under the castle, without any actual access to the castle that I could tell.
As with all castles there were tunnels and courtyards and rooms all over the place, the function of which were sometimes not easy to tell. But it made for interesting exploring. I eventually made my way onto the outer wall and tried to get a good photo of the castle and courtyard. With no people. It took a lot of patience because people seemed to determined to get in the way or just stay in the way. But I managed it in the end, after I was approached by one of the guards of the castle, who wanted to take my photo and show me something. I knew where that was headed and so I just told him I was waiting to take a photo of the courtyard. I would find it later. He wandered off, frustrated.
After a while, after I got my photo, I went down and into the castle itself. It was a typical sort of castle, except it was a Muslim ruler's castle, so there was a mosque inside. When I entered the castle, there were two of the guards there. One immediately jumped up and wanted to show me the mosque. It was the same one who had taken my photo on the walls. He still wanted to try and get a tip, it seemed. I told him I wanted to visit upstairs first. He nodded and sat down again, clearly displeased that I was being so difficult.
I stayed up on the upper two levels for a long time, both because there were lots of passages and nooks and crannies to explore and because I was hoping to outlast that guard, that he would move to his next position. It was all empty, but it was cool the way it was laid out.
Eventually I went back down, and to my relief, that guard was gone. There were two others though, and they all seemed to want to be on the take. One jumped up and wanted to show me the mosque. I just pretended not to know English when he asked if I understood. I was going to pretend to not know any language he might have offered. He still gave it a shot and started to lead the way, and I went into another room instead. He came into that room when he realized I hadn't followed him. He had this hopeful look on his face. I got a photo in the room, and then I headed in the direction of the mosque.
The guard got all happy again and pointed to the spot where the ancient lighthouse had once stood. I was pretty sure it was more than just this one perhaps 4 square meter spot. It was a pretty big lighthouse by all accounts and would have had to have had a fairly large base. Either that or I understood why it had fallen down. But the spot was indicated by being behind a barrier and not seeming to serve any other purpose, so I figured out for myself that it was the lighthouse spot.
Then the guard led the way, without my allowing him to actually lead me, to the mosque. It too was barricaded off, but that was okay. It was easy to see all around it. And there was a sign explaining what it was and how it was set up. When I peered around the corner from behind the barricade, the guard “helpfully” pushed it aside so that I could go in if I wanted. I pretended not to know what he was offering. And I took photos up instead of where he thought I should take photos. I really can be a stinker at times. :)
I did get a pretty picture from the up direction though. The designs were quite nice.
Then I left the castle. When the guard went back to the door and tried to get me to stop and talk to them, I just pretended not to understand and left. Too bad guys, and better luck next time.
I had spent a good long time in the castle and wanted to find the catacombs. So I headed out into the street and then in the direction I thought I might find them, according to the relative locations on the tiny little map. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I didn't want to take a taxi, but I was prepared for it should I get myself hopelessly lost and not have a clue where I might find it.
I did get myself hopelessly lost and I had wandered well past and to the northwest of the site in the end, as I discovered later. But I persevered. I had lots of time and the streets were full of interesting sights and nice people. I started asking about the place, called Kom el Shoqafa, as I was walking along. Initially, I had no luck. I modified my direction, and kept asking. And then I hit on someone who did know the place. That was progress. When you are in a large city and are looking for something and you are nowhere near it, you won't anyone who knows it. But as you get closer, you start to find people who have heard of it, and then who know how to find it, and then who can tell you exactly where to go (and not in a mean way), and then who know exactly what you are looking for before you can even ask because that is what people who are there are looking for. This was how it went for me. I kept asking and found people who knew more and more. Then I was walking along a dirt road where people were raising animals and slaughtering others. I felt this wasn't quite the place, but I didn't know where to turn. I was about to turn back to the last place I had had a good answer when a man told me I was going the wrong way. He pointed down a street and told me to go, then turn, then go some more, then turn again and then I would find it. I guess my blank look at the complexity of the directions was obvious. He commandeered a neighbourhood boy and told him to show me the way. The boy did. His name was Mohammed. The first boy of any family in Islam is to be called Mohammed after the prophet Mohammed. So it often seems that every other boy or man you meet is named Mohammed. Mohammed showed me along. He spoke some English and asked me some questions. As we progressed, we picked up a bunch of his friends. Before long there was a group of about 8 or 10 of us heading to the catacombs. It was fun. At length we arrived at the catacombs and I gave them a ten pound note to share amongst themselves for the help. I don't know if it did get shared. I suspect it didn't because one of the other boys came back later asking for more. He didn't get it. I was not about to be responsible for how they shared the money amongst themselves, when I told Mohammed clearly that he was to share it. The catacombs also were a bit pricey, but I wanted to see them and the day was costing little else, so it was all right. The only thing I was disappointed about was that I couldn't take my camera in with me. Inside there were a couple of surface tombs. The catacombs had been discovered by accident when the ground gave way under a donkey one day early last century. When they were dug out, they found a necropolis and this one tomb in the center that was quite lavish and nice. I really wish I could have taken a photo of it. It was quite spectacular, way down under the ground like that.
It was well after noon by that time, so when I was walking out of the site and Mahmoud from the cafe across the way told me to come and have a tea, I accepted. He was nice. I sat and watched people smoking sheesha pipes and others playing dominoes. I never knew dominoes could go so fast. I seemed like they were starting a new setup every couple of minutes.
Then I paid for my tea and headed for Pompey's Pillar. It wasn't nearly as complicated to find. I was told to walk straight down the street and I would find it. It was quite that easy, but at the main street where I arrived, I looked around and saw a big and elaborate fence a block or so away. I thought that might be what I was looking for. It was. I went in and had a look there. I'm not sure of who built the pillar, but it is a solid piece of granite that is some 20 meters tall. It was built as part of a temple where people came and worshipped a couple of gods in a unified religion between Greek and Egyptian cosmology. The deities involved included Isis and something called the Apis Bull. But it was just a cool place. There were foundations of all sorts of things in the site.
There was a sacred pool...
...as well as Roman baths and columns galore.
And there was an underground here, too, but not a necropolis. It seemed to be a place for storage, but I could take photos there, so I was happy. It was another place I was glad I had searched out and was amazed that nobody knew.
Following Pompey's Pillar, I headed out into the street just as a street trolley came by. I hopped on, knowing that one of the routes went past my hotel. I didn't think it would be this one, but I asked if it went to the waterfront and the ticket guy said yes. Instead it went to the depot. But for 25 piastres, I didn't complain. I paid again to get on one going the other way and rode it for an hour. I saw all kinds of cool things: bustling markets, sidewalk furniture shops, fruit markets, and just plain daily life.
One spot, I saw this old woman with a remarkable face. I don't think it shows in my photo though.
And all along the way, there were coffee drinking/games playing/sheesha pipe smoking cafes. This country loves its cafes!
The tram never did go to the waterfront, but it was a great ride anyway. Eventually we reached close the other end of the line, and I got off and headed, with the ticket guy's help, in the direction of the waterfront. I got there and determined which way to go to get to the hotel. I had to pass the library on the way. It had gotten dark by this time and I had the opportunity to get a photo of it at night. I was excited by that, and then I realized that it was the night of the full moon. The moon had risen behind the library, from my vantage point, and was reflected in the pool in front of the library. Sometimes I get so lucky!
After that, I was wandering around the forecourt area of the library, looking for more nice spots to take photos of the library, when I tripped on a step. I righted myself and looked up to see a taste from home. There was a Cinnabon in front of me. I was absolutely amazed. Was it a real one? I had to find out. So I went in and had one. And yes, it was real. What a way to end an incredibly fun day!!!
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