Alexandria

Beyond Cairo, expands the delta, a vast Corolla crossed with canals and Nile branches of the fertile plain, with tons of alluvium deposited by the river, so carefully cultivated that looks like a huge vegetable garden. Cotton, rice, fruits, vegetables and flowers constitute the wealth of this region. At the edge of the vast desert grow crops arena.Las land stolen from the ancient capital, Sais and Tanis are gone in body and soul, leaving behind villages and towns crowned with mosques and lively day and night.
Here once stood in the glorious days of the pharaohs, a small fishing village, Rakotis. When Alexander arrived in Egypt, wanted to make it their capital and make the Egyptian coast with its indelible mark. Alexandria was born, whose lighthouse, first built in the world, several centuries ago that illuminates the Mediterranean. Capital of the arts and literature, a favorite of kings and queens, scholars, lodged in it one of the most famous romantic passions of all time: that of Cleopatra and Mark Antonio.Después the Arab conquest, and while lost its capital status for Cairo, Alexandria city kept its specificity more open to the Mediterranean to Egypt. Full of communities like the Greek, Jewish and Armenian, and a favorite of foreigners, seems to pout into the país.Aunque today there are few descendants of those communities, the city remains from that period in its history a particular environment. The walk along the ledge is inescapable. No doubt the cosmopolitan city nostalgic described by Lawrence Durrell be disappointed. Missing and elegance that walks, umbrella in hand and the beautiful vanished foreign cars. The buildings that border, despite its antiquated charm, resist evil sea air that corrodes. Do not forget that Alexandria is the favorite holiday destination of cairotas.A along the arc of the cornice, families and lovers stroll while sipping a cold. You can admire the baskets of fish and shellfish fresh from the sea and watch the old, mending nets while dreaming of Marseille, "there where the fish leave the water alone." In short, you can enjoy life.
The cafes of Alexandria
Huge rooms with antique paintings and large mirrors scattered, large terraces overlooking the sea, Alexandria's cafes are classics of the genre, almost brand the Mediterranean city. The old Alexandrians, those who claim to be the "true", since his family is installed there since Alexander the Great (at least), spend hours, cigarette in the corner of his mouth, watching the sea, indifferent to the din. When the wind is too strong, they get inside and engages in endless games of dominoes, or immersed for hours in the newspaper. Meanwhile, their wives will enjoy tea and cream cakes in bakeries Zaglul Saad Square. To believe that the British never left Alexandria ...
The strong Qaitbay
At the north end of the East Bay are erected the battlements of this fortress Mamluk, built in 1480 at the site of the lighthouse of Alexandria, destroyed as a result of two earthquakes, in the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. Keeper of the bay, strong wipes stoically, for centuries, the anger of the White Sea, the Mediterranean Arabic name.
The palace of Ras el-Tin
West of the fort, Faruq lived one of the most important pages in the history of contemporary Egypt, signed his abdication, ending with royalty. In the nearby beaches extend small craft shipyard, where workers build, with very little machinery, luxury wooden boats for rich Gulf emirates.
The district Anfuchi
Between the fort and the palace was once the neighborhood of the sailors, especially famous for its houses fenced, closed today. However, the popular walk along the streets, the visitor will find pleasant cafes decorated with tiles, and special fish restaurants where one chooses what taste.
The Roman Theatre (km Dikker)
In this space, located near the central station, has been digging since the early 1960's. Successive excavations have brought to light several public monuments, situated in the heart of Old Town, as a theater, public baths, cisterns and a residential neighborhood. At the entrance of the place are set statues rescued from the sea, next to Fort Qaitbay, by a team of French archaeologists Jean-Yves Empereur. In 2002 construction began on a new museum dedicated to the mosaics.
The column of Pompey and the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa
Height of 30 meters built in pink granite from Aswan, the column of Pompey would be the gift of the people of Alexandria to Emperor Diocletian who, faced with a rebellion, resigned to destroy the city and massacring its inhabitants. Remains found around the column is exposed, mostly in the Greco-Roman Museum.
At the top of the hill is the entrance to the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa, dating from the first and second centuries AD C. Were discovered at the edge of the twentieth century by accident, when the floor collapsed under the weight of a donkey. The unfortunate fell more than ten meters. The story does not count if the animal survived, in any case to the discovery of more than 300 tombs, arranged along a network articulated around a large roundabout.
Alexandria, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in October 2002. The architects have designed a huge glass and aluminum cylinder of 160 meters long, bevelled and oriented towards the sea. Inside, hundreds of slender concrete columns with capitals in the form of a lotus flower on which the dome stands dominate the reading room of 7,000 m2. In the building are also a pocket that serves as a conference room, a planetarium equipped with Imax dome and an archaeological museum. In the basement are preserved nearly 8,000 ancient manuscripts and rare books studied and digitized, making them easier to consultation in the reading room. (The Shatby, tel.: 483 99 99)
The school Alexandrian
Created in 1990, its objective is to design the face and the topography of the capital of the Ptolemies, of Alexander (332 BC), Cleopatra (30 BC). Mediated the discovery of the remains is the lighthouse of Alexandria. The adventure would have deserved to stay in the field of dreams. In 1993, a thick layer of concrete was poured at the foot of Qaitbay strong in the west end of the bay, to consolidate. The school Alexandrians made a real race against time and took the waters of the Mediterranean a bust of a woman in red granite. It is the first piece that was saved from the waters. Follow many others, thousands of columns, capitals, fragments of an obelisk from the time of Seti I, 14 sphinxes and colossal statues. In other parts of Alexandria, the center has unearthed a necropolis and some gorgeous mosaics. Gradually, the design of the City of Cleopatra emerges from underground.
The discovery of the lighthouse of Alexandria
Since 1990, a team of French and Egyptians, led by Jean-Yves Empereur Hellenistic, excavating the city of Alexander. His discovery-mediated disputed by some, was the remains of the lighthouse of Alexandria, which for centuries lay 8 meters below the water, near the fort of Qaitbay. In addition to the blocks from the seventh wonder of the world, archaeologists, divers discovered, with surprise, a real "shock" of antiques, prior to the Ptolemies. Fragments of an obelisk of Seti I, 14 sphinxes, statues. Counted more than 2,000 blocks lying on more than 2 hectares. Some parts have been removed overburden and water. But the team has for years of work.
Beaches of Alexandria
The beaches of Alexandria are very well-deserved popularity. Starting with the beautiful seafront promenade in the city itself, its magnificent beaches stretch along more than 140 km to the east and west of the city. In summer, Cairenes flock to Alexandria to enjoy its sandy beaches. To escape the crowd is preferable to address the most remote beaches in the city. The beaches of Montazah lie at the foot of the Palace of the Khedive Abbas with its impressive architecture fairytale. The park surrounding the palace, over 150 hectares, is one of the favorite places for Alexandrians to stroll.
Underwater Archaeology Museum Alexandria
This gigantic amphibious museum, which opened to the public is planned for 2012 or 2013, will highlight the important archaeological discoveries in Alexandria Bay for the past two decades (http://www.rougerie.com/ virtual tour).
Egyptian Tourist Authority