Alexandria, Egypt

Jack and I took a three day road trip to Alexandria at the western edge of the delta. We took the train up and back. The trip takes about 2&1/2 hours from Cairo. Alexander-The-Great is credited with being the founder of Alexandria, Egypt.

The city is the second largest city on the African continent, with a population of about 7 million people. It sits along the Mediterranean coastline at the western edge of the Nile Delta, and is the summer playground of Cairenes escaping the heat of the city.

The new library is probably the most prominent landmark along the lengthy Corniche highway that runs next to the Mediterranean.

It was completed in 2000 with a capacity of over 8,000,000 volumes. It is a major research library, housing a super-computer that can handle most any research need. The library is proud of its ability to archive internet work as well digitizing some of the ancient Egyptian scrolls from the original library dating from before 74 BC.,and other major works of Egyptian antiquity, all available to anyone with an internet connection from anywhere in the world. It does all the other library stuff as well, like discussion groups, literary presentations and discussions, as well as movies and planetarium shows in the planetarium, to mention a few of things on the calendar.


The interior space is over 11 stories tall, but deceiving from the outside, as it is built into the side of a hill. There are solar shades that follow the sun and control the amount of sunlight coming into the building. There is exhibit space, a rare book museum, calligraphy exhibits, printing presses used in Egypt from early times, as well as the ordinary stacks for books and periodicals one usually finds in libraries. There are internet connections and headphones at all the study carrols, as well a viewing rooms for micofiches and digitized materials.

Besides being available to students it is quite a tourist attraction, with tours given in various foreign languages throughout the day.

The original library at Alexandria was the respoitory of all known scientific and literary work in the world at the time. It burned down around 74 BC. Only a few or the original scrolls were saved and they are now housed here.

This is an artistic rendering of the original Pharos lighthouse at Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built in the 800's, destroyed in an earthquake in the early 1300's and never rebuilt. Historians are fairly certain of the looks and dimensions of the building because it was so well known at the time it was built. Drawings of it appeared in many deocuments that have survived.

Today on the site of the old Pharos lighthouse stands this fort, built out of most of the block from the lighthouse and standing in approximately the same location.

We stayed close to the water in a little pension on the 7th floor of an old building. Our room had a sea view, for which we paid extra, but the view was from between other tall buildings. Oh well. Live and learn. The place was what I would describe as cheap and cheerful. AND it came complete with breakfast. It served our needs quite nicely.

We had a great time discovering this city. The fresh air and sea breezes were a pleasant change from Cairo.

More about the Roman ruins in my next post.

Israel -- Golan Heights

We went on a four-wheel drive expedition up onto the Golan Heights. Until one of Israel's wars, the Golan Heights area was controled by Syria. There are no roads other than farm and four-wheel access roads, into the area. Much is rock-strewn and of not much use other than grazing, and even that is slim picking for the animals. We did see some wild pheasants and ibex, as well as cattle grazing. You can see the Land Cruiser mired down in the muddy road.

This is a broad view down from the hills. You can see remains of old Syrian army installations that were destroyed in the war when Israel recovered the Golan Heights.

There is a story about an Israeli spy in the confidence of the Syrians who convinced the Syrians to plant fast growing eucalyptus trees around the gun installations and armaments to provide shade for the poor Syrian soldiers who must be on duty in the harsh, hot and open Golan Heights. Of course it also provided targets for the Israeli Air Force as well. The spy was discovered and killed in the main square in Damascus and a book written about him called Our Man In Damascus . His exploits are legendary in Israel.

The area has not been entirely cleared so these signs appear all over. There are large tracts of fenced areas off limits to man and animal alike. Our Land Rover driver told us they lose a few animals to unexploded land mines every year.

Israel is now at Peace with Syria. The Golan Heights provided Israel with a more secure border, as well as a great four-wheeled experience for us tourists.

Israel -- Caesarea National Park

This little fellow is the mascot of the National Park System in Israel. He is an ibex, with a little bird on his shoulder. Ibex are native to this area and wander wild on the deserts. This little fellow greets you as you enter the National Park at Caesarea.

Caesarea is a huge archeological site, now a National Park and completely protected and partially restored. It was a large city from the Roman period, of particular interest to us because of its large harbor--large for the time--created by the Romans to service their troops stationed in this area of the empire.

The remnants of this harbor still remain to be seen today.

The city was a phenomenal find, because it was in remarkable shape after so many years buried in the sands of the Mediterranean, as well yielding immense amounts of information about the Roman occupation, life, and historical documentation of the military presence of the Romans in this part of the world.

It now is completely uncovered, somewhat restored and open to the public. People are free to wander the entire site, scramble around and even ride a chariott around the hipodrome--well they can imagine themselves doing it.

We spent several hours here wandering the ruins of store rooms, homes with beautiful mosaic floors, riding the chariott, and inspecting the harbor.