Urban Decay

Our last day of touring...and a long day it was! We began early in the morning and headed to Egypt’s northern coast, to the one-time capitol of the country, Alexandria, named after Alexander the Great (though here they refer to him as “Alexander the Macedonian”). It was supposed to be a 3-hour bus ride, but due to construction and the usual traffic congestion, it took 3½.

Once we arrived, we couldn’t help but notice the decay of much of the city. Buildings that were once obviously beautiful are falling apart. Piles of trash line the streets and sometimes are in the middle of the street. Restaurants that look dirty line the streets and people are constantly just sitting around. Alexandria in Egypt’s second-largest city after Cairo, 8 million people live here, and it has a glorious and beautiful past. Unfortunately, except for along the sea coast, much of that glory has been lost.

In the midst of one of those decaying neighborhoods, we visited a Greco-Roman Catacomb. Contrary to the way we usually think of them, catacombs were not primarily places of worship. They were places to bury the dead. (In Rome itself, those tombs sometimes became places to hide and also to worship, but they were still primarily places of the dead.) We went down three stories underground and viewed the tomb of a well-off individual. The tomb had several rooms: a place for three family members, another place for their horses (who were buried with their owners), a huge storeroom, and a dining room. Yes, the original funeral dinners were held in the tomb as the body was prepared for burial. A special room, complete with a triclinium (three-sided table, like Jesus would have used for the Last Supper), is built right into the tomb itself. The decorations were a mixture of Greek and Egyptian, with the Egyptian burial customs still honored.

Our next stop was at a Greek amphitheater, accidentally discovered when they began to build a soccer stadium. Unlike the ones we saw in Israel, this amphitheater was discovered complete, intact, and was part of a whole complex of practice rooms and accommodations for guests. It was a musical performance place originally, and behind the theater are mud brick homes, dating this place to the time of the Israelites, when mud bricks began to be used widely in Egypt. You have to wonder—did any of the children of Israel make these bricks?

The third stop of the day was the Library of Alexandria. This city was famous in ancient days for its library, and when the original was destroyed, the reputation lingered on. More recently, a new library was built that is perhaps the largest (and busiest!) I’ve ever seen. Room for 2,000 readers in the main hall, a huge collection and an impressive digital collection. We had a guided tour and then were left to wander for a while. I think this new library proudly continues the tradition of the Alexandria Library.

Our lunch stop took us to a beautiful (and busy) restaurant along the Mediterranean Sea, where we watched the water and enjoyed fresh grilled Sea Bass. After lunch, we walked a bit along a promenade and saw a fortress/castle that was built on the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The lighthouse was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but was destroyed by an earthquake. A mosque sits on its location today. We had a nice walk, a beautiful view of the sea, and tried to ignore the trash and the vendors who also lined the promenade.

It was a long trip home, due again to traffic problems. The congestion here never stops. We were glad to be back at the hotel, ready to have dinner and rest, thankful for the many things we have seen along the way but ready to go home. Tomorrow will be a quiet day as we rest, swim and figure out how to get all of our purchases in our suitcases. Tomorrow night, late, we will head for Cairo Airport and begin the long journey home.