We spent our last day in Luxor admiring the Temples of Karnak. This was the same temple complex with which we had first become acquainted under the night sky of the sound and light show. It was a little less spectacular by day, but still an amazing collection of architecture spanning many hundreds of years. Over 100 hectares in area, it is said to be the largest religious monument in the world. And it is the ultimate example of how successive rulers have been determined to leave their own individual contributions (often at the expense of the efforts of their predecessors) for posterity. The diversity of styles, design and engineering is amazing. And there is still no clear-cut explanation as to how these ancient peoples were able to raise such giant architraves, pylons and obelisks into place without machinery. It was a fitting end to a very enjoyable visit to Luxor.
We boarded the evening sleeper train for Cairo where we arrived early on Tuesday morning. From there we switched to another train for the two hour onward journey to Alexandria.
Alexandria is nicely situated on the Mediterranean coast, spreading far along the seafront. It has a beautiful skyline, accentuated by many grand old buildings which evidence a European influence. We found the weather much cooler than in southern Egypt and we also immediately appreciated that no-one was hassling us to buy things. A welcome relief. The place has a more dignified air than the bustle of Cairo, and a much more European feel.
We spent our first day at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a huge recently-built library. It is architecturally stunning, like nothing we have ever seen before, and a worthy successor to Alexandria's original great library from many centuries ago. It holds books in many languages (with capacity to hold many more) and a fascinating display of ancient manuscripts of all types and ages. It also offered an exhibition on the history of Alexandria and its own museum of antiquities. Not to mention the planetarium. We spent much longer there than we had planned. But still the most striking feature was the architecture of the main library itself - a tiered structure whose exterior is adorned with carved symbols from every known alphabet. The library is also in the heart of the university area and clearly enlivened with the energy of the throngs of young people who go there for study or, more often it seems, just to hang out.
The next day we wandered through the backstreets of Alexandria to Pompey's Pillar, a single large standing pillar from the Roman period which actually had nothing to do with Pompey. It was surrounded by other items unearthed in the area, albeit dating from different periods - amazing that these things seem to be just lying around. Then on to a series of burial catacombs, apparently dating from the second century but slightly confusing because of their mix of Roman, Greek and ancient Egyptian imagery. And they weren't just for human corpses. In a bizarre twist, there is evidence that the remains of successful racehorses (and racehorses owners) were also placed in these catacombs. Finally, we visited the partly excavated remains of a Roman amphitheater - which still seemed very much work in progress.
By now we were starting to better appreciate Alexandria's unique blend of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman and more recent European cultural history. What better way to reflect than over a coffee at French (or was it Brazilian) coffee house near the seafront.
Simon
We boarded the evening sleeper train for Cairo where we arrived early on Tuesday morning. From there we switched to another train for the two hour onward journey to Alexandria.
Alexandria is nicely situated on the Mediterranean coast, spreading far along the seafront. It has a beautiful skyline, accentuated by many grand old buildings which evidence a European influence. We found the weather much cooler than in southern Egypt and we also immediately appreciated that no-one was hassling us to buy things. A welcome relief. The place has a more dignified air than the bustle of Cairo, and a much more European feel.
We spent our first day at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a huge recently-built library. It is architecturally stunning, like nothing we have ever seen before, and a worthy successor to Alexandria's original great library from many centuries ago. It holds books in many languages (with capacity to hold many more) and a fascinating display of ancient manuscripts of all types and ages. It also offered an exhibition on the history of Alexandria and its own museum of antiquities. Not to mention the planetarium. We spent much longer there than we had planned. But still the most striking feature was the architecture of the main library itself - a tiered structure whose exterior is adorned with carved symbols from every known alphabet. The library is also in the heart of the university area and clearly enlivened with the energy of the throngs of young people who go there for study or, more often it seems, just to hang out.
The next day we wandered through the backstreets of Alexandria to Pompey's Pillar, a single large standing pillar from the Roman period which actually had nothing to do with Pompey. It was surrounded by other items unearthed in the area, albeit dating from different periods - amazing that these things seem to be just lying around. Then on to a series of burial catacombs, apparently dating from the second century but slightly confusing because of their mix of Roman, Greek and ancient Egyptian imagery. And they weren't just for human corpses. In a bizarre twist, there is evidence that the remains of successful racehorses (and racehorses owners) were also placed in these catacombs. Finally, we visited the partly excavated remains of a Roman amphitheater - which still seemed very much work in progress.
By now we were starting to better appreciate Alexandria's unique blend of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman and more recent European cultural history. What better way to reflect than over a coffee at French (or was it Brazilian) coffee house near the seafront.
Simon
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