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Moving on to another wonder of the ancient world located 3 hours northwest of Cairo in Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea. We quickly found out, but not really soon enough, that Alexandria is pronounced El Iskandriya. The city itself is more pleasant than Cairo but still noisy and crowded. It is a spread out city along the coast, we arrived at the bus station and had to catch a taxi to the easterly harbor, Sa'ad Zaghloul Square. We had to be very firm with the driver that we had already selected a hotel, he insisted that we check out a place he knew, 3-star of course, we did, we didn't like it and stuck with our original plan. It is best not to show any hesitation. We thought maybe our selection was a mistake because it was down a creepy alley on the 4th floor but the rooms were quite nice and so was the great view over the corniche (walkway around the sea) and the Mediterranean. Also found a decent place for dinner, Taverna, right near the square.
Enough about our easy going travel days, we were going to see another world wonder, or rather the place where one used to stand. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built by PtolemyII, a 400 foot tower that featured multiple mirrors and a flaming beacon. Unfortunately, nothing remains of this wonder except some its building stones. The Islamic Fort Qaytbay was built on the foundations of the lighthouse. We walked several kilometers through the city of Alexandria--found the local Internet place in a bombed-out looking shopping center. The streets and sidewalks are jammed with people shopping late into the evening, it was a hustle bustle entertaining area around the square. The next day we walked several more kilometers along the corniche to the fort. The beach here is foul littered beyond belief and yet there are people sitting out enjoying the view. We also saw the Roman Amphitheater, the only one of its kind in Egypt. Where we were bombarded by 6th grade students-"what's your name, how old are you, these flowers are for you, where are you from?" they were very silly and did not want to leave us until their teachers rounded them up.
OK we are on the express tour of Egypt so hang on to your hats. Next world wonder is a modern one, the Suez Canal, a 19th century engineering feat. Excavation of the 195 kilometers began on April 25th 1859 and took 10 years to complete. It officially opened August 18, 1869 and was attended by 6000 dignitaries. It allowed travel by ships between the Med and the Red from Europe to the Indian Ocean.
We arrived in Port Said around dusk with a basic map and an idea of where we would be staying. We exited the bus station and walked unaccosted through the city center, this is not a big tourist town. Our destination was Hotel de la Poste which was undergoing a serious renovation, we would not be staying there and continued walking to the Akri Palace Hotel--it was no palace. The place looked like a set from Bonanza...very basic, but for $7 we took it. Checked in and went right back out, this was not the kind of room you wanted to spend time in.
Looking for the Suez Canal we got up early and walked in the direction of the ferry port. We took the free ferry to the other side, Port Fouad City still looking for the canal. Then we figured out that we had just crossed it!
Same day, bus to Cairo about 3 hours away then the night train to Aswan in the Upper Nile Valley, which is actually in southern Egypt...not so fast said the travel gods.
From the Cairo bus station we walked to the train station, the busiest place in the city. We entered the station, inquired in the tourist office on where to buy tickets for the Aswan night train and went there somewhat escorted by an overly friendly tourist police officer. At the window for 1st class we were told, sold out, which is not uncommon for this route. Checked 2nd class with no luck. We really did not want to spend another night in Cairo....the friendly tourist policeman had a friend who could help us. This guy will take us to a travel agent who has extra tickets for students Scooter and I give each other a dubious look knowing what lies ahead. But we have no other options and decide to see this one through. At the baggage holding desk our new friend tries to rip us off by quoting a higher rate but we know better and overcome hurdle number one. Next, I quickly check back with the tourist office to see if it is possible to purchase tickets outside of the train station. Our original tourist policeman assures us that it is--considering that he is the one who set up this whole scam. OK, what the heck, we follow this guy a couple of blocks away, not to a travel agency but to a cheap hostel on the 6th floor of a dilapidated building. Then, out of the blue, the friendly tourist policeman shows up to make sure that we don't get too taken, because he knows we would come right back to him...second hurdle overcome. The biggest hurdle was the hotel manager who tried every trick in the book to have us purchase a package tour. This one-low-price would include every ticket, transportation, and lodging we would need in Egypt, we were definitely not interested. The salesman said it was because we didn't trust any Egyptians-he was close but really we just wanted to maintain a flexible intinery. Then he tried a new tactic, selling us ISIC cards (international student identification cards) even though we are not students. This is a scam all over Cairo--Scooter mentioned that this is one reason Egyptians might not be trusted because this is unethical. But it sure does save travelers a lot of money on the very expensive entrance fees to the historic monuments. Getting frustrated we asked if he could or could not get us the train tickets to Aswan sitting together. He said, yes, and quoted us a price that was about $5 above the fare at the station-fine, we would give him money and wait with him until they were delivered. We are sure that he sent someone to the station to pay off a ticket agent. Having made it over all of our hurdles, we left happy with two first class tickets out of town.
We killed time before our train by finding an Internet cafe in the one of the two Hilton complexes in town. Basically we just spent time relaxing in the Hilton mall, restaurant and bar. The train was a nice surprise, it was a comfortable trip--all 13 hours of it.
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| This page last changed on 27-Apr-2006 23:39:24 EDT by 70.171.24.221. |
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