Ooh, I'm almost caught up. Yesterday we got up early and went to Alexandria (half hour metro trip, and then a two and a half hour train ride). The train ride was very comfortable - so comfortable that we both slept on and off throughout the ride. Like every other day here in the winter, the weather was gorgeous.
The first thing we did when we got to Alexandria was head to the new library, which was very cool. It was across the street from the Mediterranean, which provided a very nice backdrop. Outside, there were a bunch of things to look at, like the pool, some statues, and a few sundials, so we walked around and checked those out. Then we checked our bags and went in to the actual library. We couldn't do as much inside, since we had tickets instead of membership passes, but we did get kinda a feel for the place.
Next on the list was the Greco-Roman Museum, but unfortunately that had to be cut. It's been under renovations for approximately forever (3+ years), so we went to the Alexandria museum instead. This museum was very well put together, and had three floors. The top floor was Islamic and Coptic, the second floor was Greco-Roman, and the bottom floor was Pharaonic. The Islamic carvings were really really neat, and the weaponry that they had on display was quite ornate. Below the Pharaonic floor, they actually had a mummy room too, which was a nice display.
The third thing to see in Alexandria was the Citadel, which was built by an ex-slave to keep Alexandria safe. Judging by the amount of places to put canons, I'm thinking that this building did the trick. It was right on the water, which was nice because there was an awesome breeze, and it was fun to walk around outside. The colors were very vivid, with the sea being teal, the Citadel white, the green grass and the blue sky... oh, if I could only upload pictures! I'm still working on it. The views from the higher floors of the Citadel were pretty awesome as well - you could see the whole city along the coastline.
Lunch came next. We ate outside at this little restaurant. Again, I tried some Egyptian food that I cannot remember the name of. It was little balls of beef and onion, rolled up in wheat and spices, and deep fried. It was a little weird, but pretty good. There was a cat on the terrace that kept coming over to say hello to us. Don't worry, I didn't grab him/her/it and stuff it into my suitcase to bring home - but the thought did cross my mind. It's actually crossed my mind a fair amount since I've been here. There are a lot of stray cats running around, and a few stray dogs. Farah says that there used to be a lot more dogs, but they were becoming dangerous, so the city (Cairo) did a sweep and put a lot of them to sleep. Poor puppies.
The last activity in Alexandria was the amphitheater, which was excavated relatively recently, and is the only one of it's kind in Egypt, maybe in all of Africa. It wasn't that big, but it was pretty cool to stand on the key and hear the amplified sounds. The amplification really does only work from that one spot (It's not that I didn't believe it, but it was a really cool experience to actually try it out). We then wandered past the amphitheater to the rest of the excavation, most of which was closed off, since it is an ongoing project. In addition to the amphitheater, they're also working on excavating lecture halls and bath houses.
By this point it was around four, and our train departed at five, so we only really had time for a drive-by of Pompeii's Pillar, this massive column (that you could see over a wall) that used to belong to a temple. Three hours later, we were back in Cairo, getting ready to go out to dinner with a few of Farah's friends. We went to this nice Lebonese restaurant, where I got a chicken something. The chicken was really good, but I didn't care for all the parsley that it sat in.
What a great day!!!
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