Until then, I will describe my first day in Egypt, spent in the seaside city of Alexandria. Alexandria was of course, founded by Alexander the Great in322 BC and it was here that the famous Pharos Lighthouse once stood, one of the ancient seven wonders of the world. It is the second largest city in Egypt, with a population of about 8 million, which increases to 13 million during the summer months. Out of 22 ports in Egypt, Alexandria is the largest and is known as the “port of good wind.” When we disembarked the ship, we were naïve to think we could walk to most of the sightseeing locations. This would have been absolutely impossible. Even if they weren’t miles apart, I doubt we would have been able to navigate ourselves around the city. And of course, the traffic was insane (which we are beginning to feel as normal) but unlike the other cities, Alexandria had donkeys, horses, sheep, and goats in the road. I had read an article in the Times a couple of months ago about the noise in Cairo, i.e the incessant honking, etc. One of the things we immediately noticed was that EVERYONE honked ALL the time…our taxi driver would honk for no reason it seemed like…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Like I said, when we got off the ship, we really didn’t have a good idea of how the city was laid out. Honestly, after a full day of sightseeing, I still don’t have a good idea. Usually in every port, there are tons of taxis lined up with drivers asking us where we need to go, what we want to do…most of the time we walk on right past them. But one individual, a short man probably in his 70s, wouldn’t stop talking to us. We finally asked if he would take six of us to the catacombs, and that would be it. What we originally wanted was just one drive. Instead, we ended up staying with him the entire day. He took us EVERYWHERE in Alexandria, for only $20 each person (we all tipped him pretty generously). Immediately, our entertainment began. Just being a passenger in the traffic is a completely different experience in itself. And there weren’t really seatbelts, so good thing we never did get in that accident…which almost occurred 10 times. Before I traveled to Naples and Alexandria, I really couldn’t fathom how bad the traffic was. I had no idea. So let me explain to those who think that driving in NYC or LA is difficult. There are lines here but NO one follows them. It really is a free for all. You know how when we pass toll stations and there is that 2 second period where everyone is trying to get into the lanes before there are any? Okay, that’s what its like all the time. At one point, a car from the opposite direction was coming straight at us…and then another car from our direct left…not to mention the speeding cars to the right of us…really, it’s amazing there aren’t a million accidents…so add a couple donkey’s pulling carts, pedestrians walking through the streets with tons of children, the sound of a honk never leaving your ear, and you’ve got Alexandria. Cairo, I’ve heard, is ten times worse. So we’ll see. And yet, I never felt unsafe. Funny, isn’t it? I think it’s because we were all used to Naples, and St. Petersburg before that. But goodness, if someone put me in that same taxi two months ago, I would have fainted. Instead, I just enjoyed the ocean breeze. Goodness, how I’ve already changed.
Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom esh-Shawqafa, which took us about 15 minutes to get to. When we got there, we found the entrance to the circular staircase which took us down to the 2nd century CE catacombs, which have three levels (the lowest inaccessible). They were the coolest things ever. Photography was prohibited which was unfortunate…I would have loved to take pictures!!! We felt like we were in the movie Tomb Raiders…there were so many compartments and place where bodies rested…the main part had the central tomb with bearded serpents on the wall…it was just very eerie and totally the Egypt I imagined that is always romanticized in movies. We just wandered around the rooms…it was like a small maze…some of the tombs were filled with water…interesting. We were there for about 20 minutes…it isn’t that large and since we were on our own with no guide, staying longer wasn’t necessary.
When we got back our trusty taxi driver was sitting across the street in a café, having some chai and sitting with a man smoking (hookah, naturally). The six of us went over and hung out with them for a little bit, before continuing on to our next location, Pompey’s Pillar. Considered the largest ancient monument
in the city, Pompey’s Pillar is like a mini Washington monument…but a million times cooler because it also has two sphinx statues and an underground library beneath it! Apparently it mistakenly named by Crusaders…there was no connection to Pompey (the Roman). Instead it was a part of the ancient Temple of Serapis and constructed to honor Diocletian, the Emperor. At first, I felt a little apprehensive of going there. After all, it’s just a pillar. But it felt so much more than that when we were there. (rest of this written Aug1)
I know this may sound silly, but the spot made felt genuinely Egyptian…the thought of sand comes to mind, of a sphinx, and it was there along with the pillar. It was very cheap to get in, maybe about two or three dollars (10-15 Egyptian pounds). When we were finished, we got back in the taxi and passed the Roman Amphitheater, in the area of Kom Al-Dekka. It was really interesting….this Roman relic stuck right in the middle of everything else…it almost looked out of place. We continued driving and went through some really fascinating parts of the city…we went on this one street where they sold live animals…chickens, pigeons, rabbits…we actually saw a rabbit being skinned, it was traumatizing. There were goats and donkeys everywhere, even sheep from time to time. Our next stop was the New Alexandria Library in the Shatby districted, which was opened
in 2002. It was about 2 dollars to get in, and we spent maybe twenty minutes inside. The architecture was very modern and it was fun to see but not much else to see but books and computers. However, that doesn’t stop the place from being mobbed with tourists. Our handy driver was on the scene ready to take us to our next location when we were done. At one point, he stopped on the side of the street, told us to hold on, and got out of the car. At first we were a tad perplexed and actually thought the situation a little sketchy but in five minutes, he came out with six bottled waters for us! It was the nicest thing ever…seriously. We then headed to the Montazah Palaces and gardens which were absolutely beautiful! It took us at least twenty minutes to get there but the road we took was right on the sea and the beaches were mobbed! Everyone in Alexandria seemed to be at the beach! And the waves were rough! On the other side of the road there were so many shops and restaurants, I even spotted a Starbucks and yes, a Chilis. Of course, most of the places were not American. But fun seeing, nonetheless. Soon enough we were driving in the Montazah gardens, which are somewhat of a resort area for the Egyptians. What a contrast it was to go from the streets of Alexandria to these gardens…it seemed impossible that they were right
next to each other! The Montazah gardens included the Shallalat gardens, Nozha gardens, and Antoniadis gardens. The Palace is now one of the President’s houses and is located right by the side of sea but during the summer, it’s vacated. We were able to drive right up to the gate and take a couple pictures. By this time, our stomachs were beginning to grumble but we decided to wait until we got back on the boat for lunch at our pool deck. We still had a couple more places to see. As we were driving, we passed the Unknown Soldier monument, close to Tahrir Square. We stopped at Qaitbey Fort which is where the old 
Alexandrian lighthouse once stood. The fort is rather large and houses the Naval Museum as well as a mosque. Perhaps the most exciting places to see came last. We came to an area where four mosques stood, the most prominent being the Mosque of Morsi Abu El-Abbas, which is the largest mosque in the city and also holds the tomb of Abu el-Abbas himself. It was an incredible site…a 
perfect example of Islamic architecture with the domes and minarets. We went in for a couple of minutes (men and women are always separated and shoes taken off!) which I’ll write more about later. But this was without a doubt, the most beautiful mosque I’ve ever seen. If you’re ever in Alexandria, make this your first stop. You won’t be disappointed. We headed back to the ship a little later, bid farewell to our driver, and went directly to buy food on the 7th deck and take a quick dip in the pool. Afterwards, we headed back out to do some shopping in the vendors right near our ship. My friend (and bodyguard! ) Ryan and I immediately became friends with several of the Egyptian men working in the shops…they even let me try the shisha they were smoking and offered tea and coffee. I wasn’t planning on getting anything…at that point, I just wanted to see what was there. We stayed longer at the second shop and ordered some necklaces with our names in hieroglyphics. We also tried on some dresses just for fun (yes, tons of guys bought dresses and wore them) but I ended up getting mine for free!! I tried on three different ones and the last one was particularly nice…but I wasn’t sure I would ever wear it enough…he was offering me good prices but I was still hesitant…and then, he gave it to me for free. I couldn’t believe it. At first I thought I misunderstood him but I hadn’t…he was just giving this to me for nothing at all. I felt so bad!! We told him we would come back in a couple of hours to pick up the necklaces and sure enough, we went back out later and shared tea and coffee with our new friend Nasser Mohamed Mahmoud. Another friend came along as well so the
four of us just sat and talked for at least an hour (and I went away with a headdress and scarf for free too!!!). It was great just relaxing and learning from one another…sharing each other’s cultures, ideas, opinions about the world…there is nothing like that exchange…and underneath the night sky of Alexandria, it couldn’t have been better. So my first day in Egypt was absolutely incredible! I just got back from spending the past two days in Cairo and all I can say is, they were amazing. I am, unsurprisingly, exhausted. We woke up this morning at 4 am to catch the sunrise over the pyramids, so I’m about to crash (its almost 10). Tomorrow is “Greek day” slash sea Olympics = NO CLASSES! Which is a huge relief because I don’t think I could wake up at 8 anyways. BUT tomorrow I’m determined to write all about my experiences, so check updates tomorrow!
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