Welcome to Alexandria, Egypt, and hopefully where I eventually get Julia’s car released from customs !!

When I get the car  I will describe the bureaucracy that’s had to take place to get the car released.  Hopefully I will get it out this week.

In the meantime I have had a great time tramping all over this large city with 2.5million residents. It’s the second largest after Cairo. Its famous for its lighthouse. that was named as the seventh wonder of the world even though it was badly damaged during an earthquake in 956 AD then finally collapsed when more earthquakes struck in 1303 and 1323. The tower was made of white marble and between 115 and 135 metres high. Its actual light was literally a huge fire in the middle of a hollowed out marble floor that was kept lit day and night and could be seen 50 km away.

Dates for sale straight off the tree in the Al Muntazah Palace grounds

The entrance to the Palace once owned by King Farouk in the 1930’s. He had lots of palaces and hundreds of cars, The double dealing and back stabbing that went on with both family and his household and with the British often in the middle of it, is astounding. He lived an opulent and extremely rich life with excesses in anything he fancied, His wedding outdid the wedding of George IV in London with bigger parades and more fireworks. He was one of the worlds richest men in the early 1950’s and spent extravagantly all overt the world.Its worth reading about him on wikipedia as his rule apart from being extremely excessive, impacts on lots in the middle east today. He was eventually exiled to Morocco  in 1952 and died in Italy in 1965 collapsing at a dinner table with the suggestion he was poisoned but no  official post mortem ever took place.

Took a mini bus to the palace,had to pay 7 Egyptian pounds (30 pence) for 2 seats because I sat in the front. Its a 9 mile journey and you need nerves of steel with the driving. On the way back I got in the back and paid £3EP (12 pence). You use hand codes for locations in lots of places in Africa so the mini bus driver knows when to stop. Mine was easy horizontal hand waving at waist level in direction I was going which was straight all the way. Others were hand held vertical with 4 fingers wiggling and thumb folded down 45th street apparently!!

Friendly group I met in a cafe one night

Crazy mini bus driver

One of King Farouds Palaces

Family I met in the park were very friendly

The college girls got it right I am from Scotland. Others have said, Russia, Italy, English, Irish, America, German and even Iceland

Posh hotel for a light lunch inside the Palace grounds

 

 

Local gardener getting the dates down with just a rope around his waist

Yes there are a few about

 

Lovely group I met on my first day

This is the French embassy. There are lots of Police and security around embassies and all churches. Just look a the size and shape of those concrete shields

Alexandria Unknown soldier is specifically dedicated to sailors everywhere

 

 

 

Abdellatif, Eslam and Nada, We me in the street and had a great laugh especially with my Arabic and Abdellatif’s English 🙂 Thank you for the coffee and the kindness video.

Local hawkers street drinking potion, normally slung around his neck. No I didnt take one

My one and only beer since I got here. Wasn’t too impressed

More than adequate room and for under £10 a night

Someones 21st birthday cake! It was huge

Made in Britain printing press amongst others on display in the fabulous library.

 

 

The Bibliotheca (Library) of Alexandria is spectacular. and is much more than a library. It has a long and ancient history and was always one of the largest in the world.It has shelf space for 8 million books and has many specialist sections that are unrivalled anywhere in the world.

 

You pay to get into the library  £3 for foreigners and there are guided tours in a number of languages. The security is tight. I had my bag searched 3 times getting in and it was scanned too!

 

Local labourers on their way home

 

Bread is a staple food in most of Africa

Antique shop full of European items. There are lots of references to British history here too

 

These Police Officers were eating food and feeding the cats. I counted 10 at least. They immediately asked me t join them to eat too, but I had just eaten 😦

The Citadel of Qaitbay. was originally built in  1477 and restored in 1805 and 1894. Its now a naval museum and is located on the exact site of the famous lighthouse

Its a popular location for tourists and locals despite the local building work going on nearby

The first Kindness group from Egypt

Boat building nearby on the quay

View across the bay

 

 

 

 

The sky restaurant is on the roof here

 

My horse and carriage driver Jimmy was superb, No idea how he judges the width of the carriage in such dense traffic

 

Street Tea seller

Local trams

 

Horse and carriage was a good way to get around the first day, I had a lot to do!!Q

 

Tony a local who welcomed me on my first day. Sat me down and got me a drink straight away

 

The hotel lift is not for the feint hearted!!!

 

 

There are no doors on the actual lift and no walls as you go up or down and it all looks very very old, but reception is on the 4th floor!!!