After breakfast, I took the minivan public transport along the Corniche to the far end at the west. I got off near Fort Qaitbey which I had no intention of visiting. I walked around the area of the Eastern Harbour to have a better picture of the fort and rough waters of the Med.
What I really wanted to see was the Western Harbour where boats were being built. I was surprised by some of the huge mothers that they build out of wood with very modern lines. There are supposed to be some good craftsmen around here that make all sorts of fitting but many of those stalls seemed closed.I wandered back to the Eastern Harbour and Corniche cutting through some rundown high-rise areas. Locals were friendly.
For the first time in days, I feel like a human again. Elsewhere in Egypt, I am made to feel like a wallet on legs. Foreigners are hassled incessantly to buy something and they are subject to all sorts of ploys and ruses. It is so easy to get into the mode of avoiding and ignoring all forms of contacts with locals. Finally in Alexandria, which is relatively untouristed, I get a feel of the unspoilt Egypt which bears a semblance to the Middle Eastern hospitality that I know.
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- Fort Qaitbey at the western end of the Corniche.
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- I don’t know why I thought that the Mediterranean is a relatively calm sea.
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- Public shaving, with an “L”.
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- The art of boat building is very much alive here. I just didn’t expect such size and sleek lines using traditional techniques.
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- The art of boat building is very much alive here.
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- One of many old buildings in Alexandria.
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- Vegetable cart.
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- Fruit cart.
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- Blocks in the backstreets of Alexandria.
Back on the corniche, I took another minivan to the eastern end where the city’s library, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, was located. It is a modern day replacement to the historic library destroyed centuries ago. I admired it from the outside only as I was shocked to find that the entry price for non-students had been raised to EGP70 which is more than four good meals here!
I walked back to the hotel through some very beautiful old buildings in various states of disrepair. Alexandria is like a blighted version of Cannes, or perhaps Cannes-meets-Havana.
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- Modern lines of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
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- The outside of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is decorated with the script of various languages.
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- Bread vendor.
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- One of many old buildings in Alexandria.
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- One of many old buildings in Alexandria.
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- I guess there is no demand for window cleaning services here.
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- Sidewalk cafe in the evening.
It was a simple dinner again of kashowri with chicken shwarma meat, again eaten in the litter-strewn Medan Tahrir’s tea garden.
Looking back at my day and the trip, I was reminded that one of the rewards of travel is leaning new and/or interesting things. Today, I met a Greek guy at breakfast. He trades in charcoal! He buys charcoal from Egypt (they have trees in the desert?) and exports it to Greece for BBQs! That reminded me of the Indian guy I sat next to on the flight to Port Sudan who buys sesame from Sudan and sells it to China!