Alexandria. The African City Of Alexander The Great


Taste of a City

Alexandria Egypt Mediterranean

Music: There’s a Storm a’ Coming, Richard Hawley

Movie: King Tut                                                                     

Book: The Fires of Alexandria, Thomas K. Carpenter. The Amun Chamber, Daniel Leston

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I will receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information. Thank you!

I don’t remember seeing a dark cloud in the skies of Alexandria. I wonder if it ever rains in this urban oasis at the fringe of the Sahara Desert.

I’m up on the open deck to watch the ship drop anchor and to check the weather. As expected, it is another sizzling day.

The Millennium docks in Alexandria only once a month this summer. I would typically jump on a tour bus to Cairo. Not today, though.

It is time I saw what made Alexander the Great entrust his general and successor with building the most magnificent city of antiquity on the northern coast of Africa. A city that has brought the Greeks on the pharaohs’ throne, has hosted the most majestic library the millennia has seen, has fallen to the Romans and has become a bustling modern swarm, apparently unaware of its unbelievable history.

It is not all doom and gloom, and time has still to fight for the right to sink this corner of the world in the darkness of oblivion. One indeed needs a creative imagination to envisage the wonder of the antiquity that was The Lighthouse. Also, the old library is long gone; more vision is required.

So, I close my eyes and do see the Pharos rising proudly from the waves, all the way to the clouds. I see millions of scrolls stored on shelves and Pythagoras going about his research in the cool rooms of the old library.

Then I open my eyes. A massive medieval Muslim fortress lays where the Pharos once was. It’s a trick of the mind! It does not mean that Alexandria and its rich history has vanished in time out of mind.

Biblioteca Alexandrina Egypt

The new library shines its glass dial roof in the searing African sun. Millions have access to the knowledge catalogued in each sunlit room of the futuristic edifice.

You might not hold in your hands the scrolls Pythagoras produced twenty-five centuries ago, but you get the idea.

And maybe Alexander is still around here somewhere, sleeping his eternal sleep undisturbed by the day-to-day commotion.

Colleagues who have been out on different occasions warned me that the city was a little rough and suggested I shouldn’t go alone. So, I’ve arranged with a friend to accompany me, and he agreed.

The walk from the terminal is long, the sun is merciless, but it won’t make me give up. Yet!

The first thing that strikes me is the pungent stench of urine exulting from the narrower streets. My friend, Lisbon born and bred, is already twitching his nose. “Not posh enough for your taste?” I tease him while I wish I had a peg to pinch my nose.

The streets get busier. The air is charged with fine hot Saharan sand particles that hit my face in the persistent breeze. So far, I can’t see anything architectural that would strike me. It’s all square apartment buildings, broad boulevards suffocated by heavy traffic and exasperating honking.

Muslim Fortress Alexandria Egypt

I was about to tell my friend that it seems only men wearing white gallibaya walk the streets in the late morning hour. Before I open my mouth, a hand grabs my shoulder and shakes me quite brutally.

I turn to see who would do such a thing and why. A man in his fifties is gibbering incessantly in a language that makes no sense to either of us. His grubby hands are clutching to my forearm and won’t let go.

I shake myself free and shout at him to stop touching me. The man shows a lot of missing teeth in what he probably believes is an enticing smile. He turns to my friend, throwing a word in English among a lot of gibberish and heavy gesturing:

“Camel!” and something else I did not understand. Then, he points at me, broadening his ugly smile.

More men gather around to watch the freak show.

My friend is, literally, my friend. A married man of thirty-three with a wife waiting for him in Portugal. He has hinted before that he would have liked a different sort of relationship between us. I told him that there was a wife between us, not a romantic relationship.

We remain friends, because we have good banter every time we talk. We feel comfortable with one another. He’s a smart guy, although a little bonkers. I enjoy spending time with him, that’s all.

Why is the way he’s staring at me making me so prickly?

“How many camels?” I hear him asking the Egyptian.

Is he for real? We’re in a foreign country with weird customs, surrounded by a handful of men who push and shove each other to get to touch my arms. We don’t understand their language, and they speak an iota of English which makes communication arduous.

These people don’t get at all his sense of humour, can’t he see it? And I call this idiot ‘friend’!

The older man launches in a tirade of faster babbling and sawing the air while pointing at me. By his body language, he takes the negotiation seriously.

My friend can hardly hold his laughter while encouraging the old man. The bloody imbecile thinks he’s funny!

I get so annoyed and already feel sorry that I asked him to accompany me out in the city today.

My head is full of antique history; I’m not curious to find out what’s my worth in camels! The idiot thinks it’s hilarious to put me in such a situation!

How would he feel if somebody offered me two camels in exchange for him? Given how annoyed I am at the moment, I would sell him for a camel’s hoof or just give him away for free only to get rid of him!

I tell him to drop this nonsense in a serious tone of voice, or I’ll go back to the ship and never speak to him again.

The idiot rolls with laughter and somehow explains to the Egyptian that I am more expensive than that. The Egyptian finally turns his back and leaves, annoyed by the failed business.

Alexandria Egypt Mediterranean

I feel like slapping both of them: one for his Dark Ages mentality, gender and marital status discrimination. The other one for encouraging this freak show.

Through laughter, my arsehole friend asks me to observe his appreciation as he refused the Egyptian’s generous offer.

Gee! I’m ecstatic that I’m worth more than two camels. I already see my index raising on the stock exchange!

The moron is on fire. He won’t stop. He says he could have started a transport company through the desert and establish some sort of trade with the Bedouins. He should have considered the offer better.

“Such a wasted opportunity!’ I reply sarcastically.

All I can think of is that Caucasian women must be considered exotic around here. And for sale. After all, the man approached us in a busy quarter of the city and proposed the trade as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The time is elastic. We are contemporary but don’t live in the same century. What if I had adventured in the city by myself? I would have been abducted by aliens, probably. Not that the present company is a lot better!

My friend takes my hand. I accept this since it deters other locals from looking for more ‘business’. Miraculously, the jabber and touching cease. The ad hoc, boisterous throng disperses visibly disappointed that no deal was sealed.

What the hell? Do they believe that white skin feels different? Oh, I see. A man is holding my hand. I now belong to someone. I’m not up for grabs anymore!

I’m glad that in my world I don’t get harassed for being a woman just like more than half the planet’s population or for having a skin (no matter the colour) attribute to all Sapiens! The things we take for granted …

I make an effort to shake off the ugly encounter by talking about the founder of the city and the glory these places once knew. The thing is when you read books or watch movies you don’t think about the pestilent stench or the behaviour of some.

I have been to Cairo a few times and used public transportation. I have never dealt with anything other than persistent starring that I could ignore with little effort. This was a new, unexpected, unwanted and degrading experience.

My friend tries to make me feel better and asks someone about a bazaar where he knows I would love to spend some money. There’s no bazaar in the area, so we just walk to the seafront.

Another image I was not expecting strikes both of us: local vendors selling food that’s on display on large trays placed on rags thrown on the ground. They advertise out loud their ware consisting of spices, sweets and meaty pasties.

To my horror, passers-by stop, pay for and eat the stuff that’s being buzzed by swarms of flies in the heat of the midday!

My Portuguese friend is a five-star restaurant manager on board the ship. I wouldn’t even touch a fork if I hadn’t washed my hands and hardly ever a morsel of food directly.

Be it OCD, snobbery or basic food hygiene standards, it is too much, so we decided to call it a day. The greatness of the wonder of antiquity does not appeal to either of us anymore.

The streets walked by the factual Cleopatra or by the fictitious Heron (from the book recommended at the beginning of this post) in her search for the culprits that had burned the library in the book just don’t call me anymore.

I’ve lost any interest in seeing the city’s posh area and checking the local customs over there. I’m trying hard not to imply anything, but the first impression is important and, on this occasion, it just wasn’t great.

Alexandria Egypt Mediterranean

The most magnificent city of antiquity built by the Ptolemys to honour the greatest man of the times (or what’s left of that city), the man himself, Alexander the Great (if he’s indeed resting around here), the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina and many other old and modern edifices will have to wait for me to come back and give them another chance. My loss!

As for my stupid friend, the ship will be back in Venice at the end of the cruise. We will have another chance to go out, sit on a bench and talk about everything and anything as friends do.

Most likely, we’ll laugh about his wasted business opportunity and how he nearly sold me for two camels. What an arsehole! And what a lousy taste in friends I have!

However, most of the time, he’s a nice guy, although a little bonkers. Anyhow, I was never interested.


The World Is An Oyster

Working as a journalist during university was pretty exciting. But landing a cruise ship job barely a year in my new graduate career was something else! Overnight, I moved from an already exhilarating job to an even better one. One that would allow me to wake up every morning in a different country. What more can a twenty-something wish for? The fact that I was fluent in a few languages helped. It made it easier to obtain the position I was seeking at the Shore Excursions department. Apart from dispatching tours in the morning and selling tickets in the evening, I would spend nearly every day on different trips. I did this a few years, spending half a year onboard and about two months at home. I enjoyed it immensely. I met fascinating people from all over the Globe and collected memories to last me a lifetime. Not to mention that I received a salary for seeing all those magnificent places the Earth has to offer! In an ideal world, everybody should live as they want. For me, that would translate into travel, then travel some more and keep travelling!

You may also like...

37 Responses

  1. Jere Cassidy says:

    The places you get to travel to are amazing and I loved this whole story. Buying a woman for 2 camels is just something seems like something from so long ago.

  2. Jeanine says:

    I love to read your writings… this one was no different I was saddened you didn’t find your true goal, annoyed at your friend and slightly amused at the end… travels don’t always turn out how we envisage before embarking on our journeys…

  3. Cayla says:

    Wowza! What a trip you had. Makes for quite a story now! 😂 thanks for sharing!

  4. Freya says:

    This was another one of your stunning reads! I savour every word!

  5. Jeri says:

    What an incredible story! I would have been horrified! But, sitting in my safe and cozy part of the world, I have a hard time imagining that people would ask to trade a woman for 2 camels! We are not someone’s property! This makes me appreciate that I don’t have to worry about any such thing where I live. How different parts of the world are!

  6. Marita says:

    Haha, this happened to me in Jordan. They offered my husband 5 camels for me, he told them they could have me for 1! Thanksfully everybody was joking and I am still happily married 🙂

  7. Jean says:

    that’s the kind of friendship for keeps, lol…. Your photos are amazing as always. I have not been to Alexandria or any part of Egypt but I would love to one day

  8. Joanna says:

    Your posts are always so interesting, I can literally get the feel of the city and the locals by reading them. Funny too! Not sure if being worth MORE than two camels is a compliment, it probably is, those cannot be cheap. Question is what was he hoping for, a one time, no strings attached deal or a whole life together. Different places, different customs. All is good in the end.

    • Relationships on cruise ships are different from normal life. Limited by the duration of contracts, work stress (think of working for 6 or 9 months every day, not a single day off!). It was mainly the second. In friends zone, things were always great for me. Still in touch with many after almost 20 years! As for the local customs, I truly hope much has improved since! Back then, I hoped the poor camels cost more than a helicopter, LOL!

  9. Interesting story and a good story to tell others about your trip.

  10. Ana says:

    I appreciate how you share that some trips don’t live up to our expectations. Unfortunately, we can’t control those things. You clearly had a unique experience and you tell your story so well– love the mix of contemporary and history. Hope you have an opportunity to revisit some day.

  11. Oh my goodness what a crazy situation to be in. I’m glad you were with your friend, even though he thought the situation was commical. Now that it’s in the past, it must be a fun story to tell.

  12. Leah says:

    You have such an amazing talent for writing. I would be so scared that I was about to be accidentally traded for two camels! And the food with bugs would be an easy pass for me too! The city sounds beautiful though and it probably is a wonderful place to visit.

  13. Emily Flint says:

    Such lovely photos and I learned some new facts too. Thanks for sharing your experience and stories!

  14. Very interesting read! One day I’d love to visit Alexandria and the great lighthouse, which is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

  15. I never before considered how Alexandria got its name – seems so simple and obvious now. You could be a novelist as well as a travel blogger, given your talent for narration. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. They are certainly eye opening, though a bit frightening, that’s for sure!

  16. Jeannie says:

    omg I could punch your friend or step on his feet, lol… its a bit scary but since you mentioned you two like to banter he is again joking on you. I like how you show us the world with your pics especially now that travel is so limited

  17. Mary says:

    Alexandria looks beautiful and I love your pictures! I’d love to visit someday and check it out for myself.

  18. This was a really fun read! It makes me want to go to Egypt even more now. I’ve always wanted to go as that’s where my grandparents met while they were in the war. This sounds like it was a real adventure 🙂

  19. Daphne says:

    Your writing style made me feel like you were sharing your story over coffee- loved reading your experiences!

  20. Alyssa says:

    Beautiful writing and photos! This makes me want to travel the world even more than I already do! Thank you for sharing!

    Alyssa – https://coffeefitkitchen.com/

    • Alyssa says:

      This is my second time reading this post and I’m still highly entertained by it! I would have been very annoyed if my friend tried to sarcastically sell me! I’m glad nothing worse happened while you were there. At least you have a good story to tell from this trip. 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to content