About:
Dr. Bharatkumar Bhate is M.S. General
Surgeon (Gold Medalist) by qualification with an experience of 30,000+
operations and is based at Rajkot, Gujarat. He is an avid reader and a
passionate writer. In this blog, he shares his travel experiences and creative
writings.
Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrBhateRajkot
Blog:
Visit to Alexandria City
During his 13-year reign, Alexander the Great, a Macedonian king, created one of the largest empires of the ancient world. It was stretching from #Greece to northwestern #India. He conquered the eastern #Mediterranean including Egypt and founded a new capital city namely 'Alexandria' in 332 B.C. It remained as a capital city for almost 900 years till invaded by Arabs. It is located on the western end of delta of #Nile river where it ends in the Mediterranean sea.
#Alexandria is known to the world as chief exporter of #Egyptian cotton. Also it had a 'Light house' which was one of the seven wonders of ancient world. It was of 350 feet height and lasted till 14th century before it was destroyed by a big earthquake. It is also a popular place worldwide because it was here that 'Queen #Cleopatra VII' and Julius #Caesar had spent
lovely time
together. This reminded me of movie 'Cleopatra' and her heroine Elizabeth Taylor who married Richard Burton twice.There were two obelisks at the seaward end of the Street of the Soma at Alexandria known as 'Cleopatra’s Needles'. These obelisks were given in the 19th century to the cities of #London and #NewYork. One obelisk I have seen on the bank of the River #Thames in London and the other stands in Central Park in New York City which I will see next year.
Alexandria is only 2 hours (183 km) away from #Cairo by road. It is a large city of 42 lakh population and spread over 300 sq.km.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Alexandria remained Egypt’s “second capital.” It continued to be an industrial hub, has petrochemical industry and has a very large port. It contributes substantially to the national economy and is popular as a summer holiday destination. We saw tram services here as found in #Kolkata. Also auto-rickshaws were seen here. The main roads were clean but streets were like Indian streets. Market had narrow congested shops with their articles exhibited on footpaths everywhere.
We had seen the following sightseeing places at Alexandria:
1) *Pompey's Pillar* : This Classical monument is still standing. It is a monolithic column (single-piece column). It is a large column of which the shaft is made from a single piece of rose granite stone and has a #Corinthian-style capital. It is a 88-foot (27-metre) high granite column. It is known as Pompey’s Pillar but the association of name with #Pompey is misleading. It has nothing to do with Pompey. The #Greek dedicatory inscription on the base of the pillar was misinterpreted. Actually it is a #Roman triumphal column being set up in honour of the Roman emperor Diocletian between 298–302. Except pillar, all surrounding buildings are ruined. It is believed that the large column was supporting Diocletian's statue but its whereabouts are not known.
Underneath the column, steps lead downward to the ruins of the great temple of Serapis, the hybrid Greek and Egyptian god of Alexandria. Also here was the ‘daughter library’ of the Great Library of Alexandria.
2) *Citadel of Qaitbay*: It is a 15th-century small defensive fort located on the Mediterranean sea coast.The #Citadel was built to protect the north of Egypt, mainly against the #Ottomans, whose power was increasing in the Mediterranean. It was established in 1477 AD by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din. It was built by utilising stones of ruined 'Light house'. This Citadel (Mosque) was badly hit in
British Bombardment in July, 1882. It was rebuilt and renovation has been done done many times.
After the Ottoman Turks had conquered Egypt, even they cared for this unique Citadel. They used it for shelter. The citadel has been destroyed many times and again renovated by many rulers. After the revolution of 1952, the Egyptian Naval troops turned the building into a Maritime Museum.
The interior of mosque especially the domes and architecture is extraordinary.
3) *Library* : The 'Bibliotheca Alexandrina' is a major attraction and is a commemoration of the 'Library of Alexandria', once one of the largest libraries of ancient world. It was dedicated to nine Godesses of Arts and hence was known as 'Mouseon'.
Ancient Library was built by Ptolemy II (285-246 BC). It is estimated that there were 4,00,000 papyrus scrolls in library equivalent to 1,00,000 books. This library was accidentally burnt in year 40 BC but some resources still remain. The library was totally destroyed in 270 AD during the Palmyrene invasion.
The idea of reviving the old library dates back to 1974 close to the location where the ancient library once stood. This idea of Alexandria University was well supported by Government and UNESCO. It received funds and books from many countries of the world. The library was officially inaugurated on 16th October, 2002.
One cannot see this huge library in just two hours. It has floor space of 2,20,000 sq.feet. The campus houses specialized library for maps, multimedia, section for blind and visually impaired and section for young and children. It has four museums, four art galleries for temporary exibitions, 15 permanent exibitions, a planetarium and much more.
Outsiders are given entry to limited area. Even when you become a member, you have to ask in advance for a seat at your desired section.
We saw a section of literature where four students were making study on Shakespeare. There is collection of 2200 books on Shakespeare and more than 800 postgraduate thesis are already done and yet students were trying to explore something new about Shakespeare and his dramas.
Lastly, in library, I happened to see statue of Mahatma Gandhi. This was a prohibited area and still I insisted to visit it and was eventually allowed to go there. My request was granted when I had shown photo of Mahatma Gandhi on our Indian currency to the lady officer. She agreed and we had taken photos besides the statue.
4) *Sidi Morsi Abu al-Abbas Mosque*: This mosque was built in 1307. It is named after a Sufi saint who was buried here.
The mosque was designed and built in today's current form by Eugenio Valzania and Mario Rossi in the years 1929/1945, and was highly influenced by Egypt's Old Cairo buildings and architecture.
This mosque has beautiful interior and is worth visiting.
Our visit to Alexandria came to end early due to 'Ramdan'. There are still few important items like Montaza Palace and National Museum are beleived to be worth visiting. We reached back to Cairo at 15-30.
I did not get answer to two questions at Alexandria:
(1) Where is the tomb of Alexander the great in Alexandria?
(2) Where was the palace of #Cleopatra?
If any of my friend has an answer, please post me.
- Dr. Bharat Bhate