So I went to start my homework this evening only to find that I don't have any of the necessary videos. I'll go to the University to get them on Saturday, but until then I thought I'd spend some time playing catch up on what I was up to in Egypt before I started this blog. For organizational purposes, this catch up will take the form of multiple posts, each dealing with a different topic. Topic #1: Sightseeing in Alexandria.
The first week in Egypt was a whirlwind of sightseeing masquerading under the guise of an orientation. We visited a number of landmarks in and around Alexandria, a number of which I will now list and define for your vicarious traveling pleasure.
The Citadel: Anyone who kept up with last years blog knows all about Qaitbey Citadel built on the ruins of the ancient Alexandria Lighthouse. Despite the fact that I visited the boardwalk surrounding the citadel something like a dozen times last year, I had never been inside until that first week.
The Library of Alexandria: Another landmark that I missed last summer (I never bought the required ticket to go in farther than the entrance and the gift shop), the Library of Alexandria needs no introduction. Due to its close proximity to the University, I see it almost every day, but their no bags policy makes studying there difficult. Fortunately, the outside is beautiful enough.
Montazah Gardens: At the Eastern most end of Alexandria lies a sprawling green paradise, home King Fouad's palace, King Farouk's summer home, and the nicest public beach in Alexandria. By nice I mean it costs ten pounds to enter and isn't as covered in trash. It's nice, but considering we live in West Alexandria not often worth the trek.
American Center: This isn't exactly a tourist attraction, but it was a nice new place to visit. Since there is no American embassy or consulate in Alexandria, the American center serves as our connection to the embassy in Cairo. Housed in a gigantic classic villa, the center contains a library and a computer lab for Americans and Egyptian alike, hosts a number of cultural events, and was kind enough to invite us to an internship fair when we began looking for this semesters internships.
Agami: Alexandrians who really want a nice beach experience tend to keep a beach house in Agami, a little city about an hour outside Alexandria that's just far enough away to escape the water pollution. The beaches still aren't spectacular, you have to go to Marsa Matrouh for that, but they past most basic qualifications for hygiene. Mama Hoda, the kitchen director at the girls' dorms and a host mother with the program, owns just such a house and invited us out for a day at the beach our first week here. It was a good bonding experience for us and gave us a chance to get to know our Egyptian counterparts as well.
There were a few other non-specific stops to get us acquainted with the city that don't warrant full explanations: San Stefano Mall, Green Plaza Mall, the shopping district in Mahatat al-Raml and probably some other unimportant things that I'm forgetting. If they're at all relevant to my life I'm sure they'll make an appearance in a future post.
Outside of orientation week, most of my Alexandrian sightseeing can be grouped into two catergories: ruins and museums.
Most of the museums in Alexandria have been closed since the revolution due to fears of looting. My language partner and I didn't figure this out until after we'd made the trip out to the Royal Jewelry Museum, but I saw that museum last year so it wasn't such a let down. I was a little bummed that we couldn't get in to the Graeco-Roman Museum, but the National Museum, the only one left open, made up for it with its Graeco-Roman floor sandwiched in between a basement celebrating the Pharaonic era and the top floor preserving relics from the Islamic empire.
As far as ruins go, I did a bad job of making the time to see them last summer, but I have since rectified that mistake. When my friend Laura who's studying at the American University in Cairo came to visit, we spent a full day exploring the Catacombs and Pompey's Pillar, two of Alexandria's most famous attractions. During Alexandria Cultural Week last month, I also spent a morning with my friend Kelsey at the Roman Amphitheater. The cultural week brochure had said in English that admission would be free the day we went, but it serves me right for reading it in English because the Arabic clearly stipulated that it was only free for Egyptians and Arabs.
The final thing I want to mention about Alexandrian sightseeing is less a place than it is a phenomenon. Since the revolution, graffiti has popped up everywhere, and no the ugly, vulgar, American graffiti we so often find in alleys and on subways. It seems like everywhere there was a blank piece of stone, be it a wall lining a major street or the stones used to block the waves along the Corniche, Egyptians have used paint to express themselves. The majority of the graffiti consists of uplifting messages about loving Egypt and the freedom and unity of her people, a few of the murals are Qur'anic verses or reminders about Islam, and only one of the countless messages I've seen was a hateful comment about Israel. I feel like this distribution is reflective of the the peoples' opinions. Most of them are just happy to be facing a new future. Near all of the graffiti is beautiful and inspiring, and rather than being a blemish on the city it serves as a decorative definition of her people's character. I've even gone walking a couple times with the sole intention of "reading the writing on the walls," as it were.
That's about it for this topic. Now, on to something new.
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