Alexandria Things to Do Tips by Tijavi

Downtown Alex is a pleasant place to be lost in. The architecture is reminiscent of those in downtown Cairo - turn of the century European architecture, albeit they could use a lot of refurbishing and renovation.

The downtown area revolves around the imposing statue of Mohammed Ali on Midan Tahrir. It's surrounded by interesting shops (selling mostly China-made goods), ahwas (coffeehouses), restaurants, and yes, sheesha (hubbly bubbly) cafés.

From Midan Tahrir, turn right on Sharia Ibrahim al-Awal towards the Corniche - Alex's version of the waterfront promenade - only this time, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. At the junction is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier across the French Consulate (housed in a beautiful colonial building).

The Corniche is a pleasant area to enjoy the cool breeze from the Med, while admiring the city's wonderful architecture. There are also many ahwas and sheesha cafés on this stretch, where you could relax, and watch the world go by.

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Directions: The heart of Alexandria

Within the stretch of Alex's Corniche, on the opposite sides, were two of the world's seven (original) wonders of the ancient world (with the Pyramids, Egypt has three out of seven!) - the Great Library built in 3rd century BC, and the Pharos lighthouse.

Alex's new space-age-looking library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, opened in 2002 to remind the world that this city had once played host to the greatest library on earth. It is said that the ancient Great Library housed half a million texts, and that all vessels entering the city were required to hand-in all manuscripts they carried for copying.

Bibliotheca is an ambitious project - it was designed to house 8 million volumes. I didn't have the chance to get inside the library, but had a wonderful time admiring the architecture from outside. Designed like a discus embedded into the ground at an angle, it did make Alex's skyline more exciting. The external walls feature symbols, texts, and hieroglyphics from every known language - highlighting the universality of knowledge. To bring the space age to the city (or the city to the space age), the library complex also featured a Planetarium, housed in ball-shaped structure that is lighted up every night. There are interesting sculptures around the complex, such as a sun dial, and many other science-oriented outdoor exhibits. Overall, it's a nice place to heighten up your cerebral sensibilities.

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Phone: http://www.bibalex.org/English/i

If the Biblitheca was built to evoke the grandeur (not to mention the noble cause) of the Great Library, one of Alexandria's two ancient wonders, Fort Qaitbey was built capitalize on the memory of the other ancient wonder - the Great Lighthouse of Pharos - on the same location.

But unlike the Bibliotheca, which was only built in the 21st century, Fort Qaitbey is not a recent addition to Alexandria's skyline. In the 15th century (the original Pharos was completed in 270 BC), the Mamluk sultan Qaitbey started work on a new defense fortification on the same site where the Pharos once stood, perhaps to take advantage of the abundance of building materials from the fallen lighthouse. The fort was modernized in the 15th century by Mohammed Ali, from where it borrows most of its present-day appearance - sort of a fantasy-filled, Disney-esque aura. In fairness, I didn't have the chance to see its interiors, so I should stop my criticism here.

There is a park outside the fort, which is a very pleasant area to chill out, sometimes quite literally, because of the chilly Mediterranean breeze. Wear/bring some warm clothes.

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Directions: Western tip of the Corniche.

As it is, Alexandria already represents a welcome escape from pharaonic fatigue. Within Alexandria, there are still some green spaces where one could escape its concrete jungle and the toxic (but pleasant smelling) sheesha (waterpipe) 'fumes'. Foremost of these green spaces is Montazah palace and its surrounding gardens.

The palace, built along the lines of Florentine architecture (so says the guide book), is off limits to the public and the lesser mortals (it is still an official building used by Egypt's president). But the surrounding gardens - well-tended and filled with beautiful flowers and plants - are open to the public, and are a favorite picnic place for the locals.

There is a good vantage point to see the grandeur of the place from a gazebo at the waterfront. To get there, turn right once you approach the palace, and keep walking on a counter clockwise direction. The gazebo is at the other side of the palace (facing the sea). There, you could marvel at the palace's architecture and take in all that good stuff from the cool Mediterranean breeze. The guards are very friendly and will help you find your way.

Entrance fee as of May 2007: EGP 4.

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Address: Montazah
Directions: The cheapest way to Montazah is by microbus. Hail one at Midan Saad Zaghloul at the downtown area (across Sofitel) - just shout "Montazah" and the driver will drop you off right at the palace's gates. Fare is about 20 piastres (I think).

The Alexandria National Museum is one of the city's latest initiatives to improve its tourist image and capitalize on the millions of visitors that visit Egypt's ancient sites. But unlike Luxor's little great museum and the overwhelming Egyptian Museum in Cairo, this one empasizes Alexandria's Hellenic heritage with a sprinkiling of exhibits from the Pharaonic, Ottoman and Islamic periods.

Sort of reflecting its ambition to be one of the leading museums in Egypt, the museum is housed in grand style - in a beautifully renovated palace, the Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace (formerly owned by a wealthy merchant). The palace itself is surrounded by sprawling gardens.

Beyond these grand surroundings, the exhibits are done well with dramatic lighting (in many cases) and professional labeling. My favorite exhibits were the sculptured heads of Akhenaten (in the picture) and the mosaic tiles from the Hellenic period. The classical Greek sculptures were also a treat.

Entrance fee as of May 2007: EGP 30

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Address: Fouad Street (Tariq al-Horreyya)
Directions: From downtown, take a cab to the museum - costs about EGP 5-10 depending on your haggling skills.
Website: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/alexandrianationalmuseum.htm