7th Country: EGYPT!!

After two days at sea…

I am in EGYPT!! We are officially done with our European aspect of the voyage as we make our way into Africa! We docked this morning around 8 a.m. in Alexandria (located in the North), which is Egypt’s second largest city and second capital. It was also the second capital of the ancient Roman Empire after Rome itself. The population currently stands at about 6 million people, and it is Egypt’s largest port.

Immigration officials stamped our passports upon arrival (YAY!)… but this is the first country in which we need them to actually disembark the ship. Usually, we could leave them on the ship if we were not doing an overnight trip or leaving the area. Here however, officials are on board at the gangway checking them. I pray I don’t lose mine! 

Being a little hesitant to explore Alexandria on our own, a bunch of us attempted to get on an afternoon SAS guided trip. I was able to secure a ticket for the Catacombs and City Orientation trip – but Anthony, Kate and Bo could not. So, I went on the trip alone, which lasted a little over four hours. During this time, I was able to see much of the large city. I am glad we did not attempt to find our own way to the sights! …Anthony, Bo and Kate made it on a little later trip that spent more time at the famous library rather than go to the Catacombs.

On the tour bus, I snapped a ton of pictures. The older part of Alexandria seems much different than places we have been. It is much filthier. The newer part of Alexandria is, I would say, to be more Westernized. It is a little cleaner, and I say many American chains… such as Pizza Hut, Little Ceasers and Chili’s (surprised at those!), KFC, Domino’s, and STARBUCKS! Wahoo! I had looked up their website before I left and hadn’t seen Egypt on the list… I guess there presence is fairly recent. I was not able to get a drink of mine, for we just passed it on the bus. I would love to get a souvenir Starbucks mug saying it is from Egypt though!

I was able to see the old Tram system that still runs. It is a rather cheap mode of transportation that many locals rely on. It began operating in 1860, and is actually the oldest tram system in Africa. Only in 1902 did it become electrified, prior to it being steam-run. Other forms of transportation I noticed included some horse-drawn carriages in addition to the many yellow and black taxi’s I saw on the crazy roads.

The catacombs were the highlight of the trip. I was a little bummed however that we were not allowed to take pictures! We even had to leave our cameras on the bus. Oh well. I will try my best to explain in words. The Catacombs of Kom El-Shoqafa were only recently discovered in 1900, when a donkey actually accidentally fell into an opening. They are Alexandria’s most important archaeological site, and excavations are still going on. Three levels comprised the catacombs, and we walked down a set of spiral stairs to reach the 2nd level. Unfortunately, since it is close to the Mediterranean, the 3rd level has been flooded. There was even some water on the 2nd level. But the three main tombs and the over 400 catacombs were quite a sight to see. Being there – walking on wooden boards – made me feel like I was on set for the film The Mummy. It makes me want to visit the Valley of the Kings!…Maybe next time…

Among our other stops, we were able to take pictures of the Qait Bey Fort that was built in the 15th century that stands at the site of the old lighthouse of Alexandria – which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We also walked around the Montazah Royal Palace: “One of the royal palaces of the last king of Egypt: Farouk.” It is surrounded by beautiful gardens. There were also some wealthy hotels, that I guess go for about $2,000 US dollars a night.

I was also able to notice that Alexandria has an enormous amount of beaches… more than I expected for a Muslim country to be honest. I don’t recall really seeing any in Istanbul. But here… they are everywhere! And these beaches are jam-packed! When I saw them, they were super crowded – and some even had slides in the sea! It looked like fun… but it looked to be mostly locals, plus I don’t have the required swimwear. I saw the beaches from the bus – we took a very scenic coastline drive, which hugged 30 kms of attractive sandy beaches.

Today I also learned that the drivers are crazy! Traffic is insane… and they don’t pay any attention to lanes. I guess the white and yellow lines on the road are just decoration?! Anyhow, I am glad that we had a decent driver.

It is amazing how women are treated differently here, and gender roles overall. It seems that every woman is covered… and as Lauren put it, “I never thought I would feel like a slut showing my ankles”. It is very unsafe for women to travel alone – and the men can be quite perverted. Also, with seeing so many beaches, it was weird to see women swimming fully clothed, even wearing their headscarves or hijab! Men, of course, were just in swim trunks. The temperatures are scotching… they must be so hot…and so uncomfortable when they swim.

After dinner on the ship, Anthony, Lauren, Eric, Bo, Morgan and I took a blue 6-person taxi over to a mall! Our taxi driver even waited the 2-½ hours for us outside while we did our thing. He was a nice guy…quiet though. And we survived the crazy driving! At the mall, our plan was to see a movie, but that didn’t work out because of the times...but that was okay because the place was amazing! It had tons of shops, eateries, and a huge mega-store that reminded me of a super Wal-mart. We spent lots of time in the grocery aspect of the store – and I stocked up on some soda, water, and strawberry mentos. I was getting a great deal, until I didn’t realize that I spent about 7 US dollars on a box of crackers! Oops… Anyways… in this mall there was even a small amusement park inside! It was definitely an experience, and was much better than staying on the MV Explorer. So far… Egypt has been awesome… and I can’t believe I’m in Africa!

Fun Facts:

-Beer was invented in Egypt
-Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world & second most in Africa

Tomorrow I will travel with SAS to see the Pyramids!! I am extremely excited! I will be gone for three days… but I will update my blog as soon as I can!

I love and miss everyone, and wish everyone could be here to see these ancient ruins as well!
XOXO
-Erika