03/02/19 Our first stop is the Kom Al Shoqafa Catacombs, roman style, reflecting a mixed style oflatin and ancient language. They were found by accident in 1902 when a horse fell in a hole. Next we stopped by the Pompey pillar, before exploring the Qaitbay where Alexander the Great’s soldiers used to be trained.
We had fish, rice and traditional bread and hummus for lunch then went to the famous Bibliotheca Alexandrina. I remembered from history classes that the original one was destroyed by fire and earthquakes so this one is a very modern one rebuilt to save what is left from the original library but also share the knowledge with the rest of the world, using the latest tools and technologies. They have multiple projects to preserve the knowledge, including digitalization of books, 3d images of Egyptian key items like sarcophagus, websites, permanent and temporary exhibitions. A free tour guide gave us a quick tour of the library but focused more on the exhibitions rather the library itself, so I used the 15 min given to us to wander in the library before leaving. It is built on multiple floors but most of them are underground. They also have a printer on demand, to quickly make copies of books that are no longer edited.
By 4pm it was already time to drive back to Cairo. We were hoping to stop by the famous lighthouse but the guide told us that there is nothing left to see as it was also damaged by successive earthquakes.
After the day spent in Alexandria, I took an Uber to my hotel in Cairo where I will rest for 3 days. The schedule we followed for the last 10 days was pretty tough, we all deserve a little break, but some of us keep going for a few days to visit Jordan.
