Alexandria

Written 26 Jan. 24 Jan was our day to see the sights of Alex. We went to the catacombs, which date from the 2nd century AD. Down a 91 step spiral staircase, to see the holes hewn in the rock where the mummies were stored. There are two floors below, but they are under water. Nobody has spent any money on this site. No postcards, no photos allowed. Art in the tombs is a curious mixture of Egyptian and Roman.

Next to see Pompey's Pillar. Lots of junky ruins around it. Third stop at a very nice Roman Theatre in good condition. John marched into the middle and began the "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears" speech from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. When he ran out, couple of us helped him remember the next lines. They have also dug out baths, but we couldn't visit, because they are still working on the site.

On the way back to the hotel, four of us got off the bus at the sea and set out to go to the Citadel, which is out on the point, built where the Pharos lighthouse stood. We walked for 35 minutes, then found a cafe for lunch. We waited for it for 35 minutes, but enjoyed our sit down. On we went and there were two beautiful mosques, with elegant lacework in the stone.

By now it was raining hard so we jumped in a taxi and went to the citadel, which is called Fort Qaitbey. Built 1477 with an enormous keep with walls 2m thick. Lovely cream/brownish stone. A wall around it was built much later. My 2 gig camera card finally ran out with 1615 photos on it.

A taxi back was inevitable. It took and hour and five minutes because of the rush hour. The driver was so entertaining, telling us that he was married to a Filipino and lived there three years but she didn't want children - she was businesswoman. But she didn't shout. Now he's married to an Egyptian who shouts a lot, he said sadly. They have five year old triplets, twin girls and a boy. He got out his cell phone to show us. He said she's always phoning him to bring things home, or just to check what he's doing. Sure enough, the phone rang. "Habibe" he said. (That means darling so we knew it was the wife.). He gave the phone to Victor so he could confirm we were in the taxi.
By now