As part of our tour in Egypt, we visited Alexandria for a day. The drive from Cairo takes about 3 hours. Our first stop was a visit to the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, which is one of the seven wonders of the Middle Ages dating back to the 1st century. It was complex with many underground rock cut tombs in 3 levels. It combined the features of three different art styles, ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman. Pictures were not allowed in the catacombs.
Next, we had time to explore the Pompey pillar, which stands 28m high. It was erected as a symbol of gratitude towards the Roman emperor that saved Alexandria from a famine in the 4th century. At the same site, there was remains of the Temple of Serapis.
We then proceeded to the Fort of Qaitbay from the 15th century, which was build to protect Egypt against potential Ottoman invasion. It was built at the same site of the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria. From this fortress, you will get great views of the Mediterranean Sea.
After that, we had lunch at a seafood restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean. Following lunch, we were supposed to visit the Montazah gardens and view the Royal Family palaces but we decided to make our day shorter instead since we were so tired. We visited the New Library of Alexandria that is considered one of the biggest in the world with 70,000 square meters of reading space arranged in 11 cascading levels. At the end of the tour, we drove back to Cairo.
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