Alexandria

Alexander the Great's capital city

Friday 5 March: I can't find my hotel so I take a horse-drawn Caleche (98th mode of transport) but even so it takes an hour or so as the driver asks directions. Eventually we find it and I've walked past it several times this afternoon, a name plate would have been useful.
There's not much left of the city founded by Alexander the Great around 2,350 years ago. No Cleopatra's palace, no lighthouse, no great library, even the museum is closed for renovation. Only a few Roman remains survive: an amphitheatre with mosaics, a single standing great pillar and some catacombs but the jewel in the crown is Alexandria's new modern library, an attempt to replace the ancient one. It's a cool and relaxing place away from the heat, noise and dust. There is even a small map library, the ideal place to plan the rest of my trip, fantastic.
Thursday 14: It's my last night. I've downloaded the movie and I end my visit to Egypt in the 1940's style Cap D'or bar in Alexandria's backstreets . . . Ice Cold in Alex, sadly John Mills and Sylvia Sims are not here to join me. 
Slideshow of Alexandria.