What is there to see and do on a day trip to Alexandria the port city of Egypt? Well as the city lies on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, you should def check out the coastline.
Aside from seeing hundreds of boats moored by the coast it is also home to Cleopatra’s final resting place. Her palace lies just off the coast, where it sunk after an earthquake.
A fun fact for you-
Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than she did to the construction of Great Pyramids of Giza.
Our first place we visited was Fort Qaitbey
Fort Qaitbay or the Citadel of Qaitbay is a 15th century defence fortress over looking the Mediterranean Sea.
It is a very nice ancient building to explore with some great views of the sea and city.
Just at the entrance there are markets where you can buy all sorts of tourists treasures. Like shark jaws and teeth, sunglasses and fridge magnets etc. Just don’t forget to haggle for the best price.
It is amazing how crystal clear the water of the Mediterranean Sea is. You can see straight to the bottom when you stand on the edge.
Seeing as we are near the ocean some seafood is a must for lunch. And it was delicious 😁
Our second stop was…
Pompey’s Pillar
Pompey’s Pillar is one of the largest monolithic columns ever erected!
It resides at the Serapeum of Alexandria. Which was an ancient Greek temple. Now days there is not much left of the site.
Around the site, thick residential buildings have been built up. Which makes for an interesting contrast between ancient architecture and modern day structures.
There are a couple of sphinx statues at the site that have been restored.
We found some tunnels that led us underground. So naturally we went to explore.
At the end of one of the tunnels we found this sweet statue.
Not sure what the bull represents but at least there was something at the end of this tunnel.
Our last stop for the day was…
The new Library of Alexandria
When the original library burnt down it was such a loss to the entire world! Records indicate that Julius Caesar’s troops “accidentally” burnt it down.
The new Library of Alexandria was built in the shape of a sundial and is dedicated to every person in the world, as there are no original Egyptians left. They have covered the outside of the library with 120 different human scripts carved into granite sourced from Aswan.
There is also a planetarium at the Library.
And inside there is shelf room for over eight million books that stagger down in tiers
The architecture of this building is amazing to see.
Our day trip to Alexandria in Egypt was definitely a day to remember.
I hope we can come back one day to spend more time exploring the city and even go diving to see Cleopatra’s palace.
Thanks for stopping by!
For more Blogs from Egypt check them out here –