Days 708 - 711 - Alexandria, Egypt
A Riot of a City
Evening View From Stiegenberger Cecil Hotel
We had a wild four days Alexandria, a riot of a city. We walked Alexandria's famed Corniche along the Mediterranean Sea, visited the new Library of Alexandria (the original housed the world's greatest library until it was burned and fell into ruin about 600 years after Alexander created it in 300 BC).
We enjoyed our grand view from the Stiegenberger Cecil Hotel downtown, explored the city's great Citadel where the magnificent Lighthouse of Alexandria once stood, 300 feet high. Along with the great Pyramid of Giza it was the highest structure on earth and one of the 7 Original Wonders of the World.
We hardly ever saw a tourist and were so rare that children would sometimes stop and stare. Seafood was delicious and everywhere, and we tried restaurants at the Citadel and along the Corniche where we could also find pomegranate juice and roasted corn on carts along the sidewalks.
No matter where you go you are surrounded by the constant beeping of hundreds of taxis and mini-busses, each speaking their own "traffic" language as they navigate the crowded streets. We also needed to track down the city's train station to arrange ticketing back to Cairo where we would then board our ship up the Nile. It was an experience.
