After staying the night in Abu Simble, we flew back to Cairo and then took the train back to Alexandria. We spend April 12th, resting and doing laundry. The next day we took a school van and did some more sight seeing around Alexandria to Pompey's Pillar and the Roman Catacombs.
Pompey's Pillar
Pompey's Pillar with its’ Corinthian capital is made of red Aswan granite and loams over the debris of what was the original township of Alexandria. Egypt was invaded by Greece in 332 BC and was controlled by Greek rulers for the next 300 years. In 331 BC Alexander the Great founded a new city called Alexandria. He designed it to be a major port. Under Ptolemy it became Egypt's capitol and was the center of culture and learning. The last of the Greek rulers was Queen Cleopatra. She formed an alliance with the Roman leader Mark Antony in hopes that the alliance would protect Egypt from the Roman empire. Another Roman leader, Octavian, attacked and defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra's armies. After his defeat, Antony killed himself. Cleopatra tried to form an alliance with Octavian, but failed. Legend has it that she then killed herself by allowing a snake to bite her. Rome conquered Egypt in 30BC. Also at the site of Pompey's Pillar are the remains of Roman baths and a Nile-o-meter. It was the overflow library from the great library but in 391 AD the Christians destroyed the pagan intellectuals and the temple of Serapeum along with it's library, leaving just the pillar standing.
Alexandria was also famous for it's lighthouse as the world's first lighthouse. It stood 400 feet high and was built of white marble. It's light came from a wood-burning fire. The Pharos lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 1375.
Fort Qaitbey
We did a brief visit to Fort Qaitbey build in 1480 on the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse.
Catacombs
The catacombs were discovered accidentally when a donkey disappeared through the ground. They are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. The catacombs consist of three tiers of tombs and chambers cut into the bedrock. The bottom level is now flooded with ground water. The bodies of the dead would have been lowered by ropes. It was in use for about 300 years. Due to the moisture and bacteria the only remains found were that of a horses bones. It could have held 300 bodies. There was an area with large tables for the families of the grieving to gather. There is a figure of Anubis the Egyptian god of the dead but dressed in Roman style with a serpents tail representative of Agathos Daimon, a Greek divinity. Loculi, the holes where the bodies were placed may have held more than one body. The loculi would have been closed with a plaster slab. (no pictures were allowed at the catacombs).
That night Seth and Kristal took us to a favorite restaurant of the Schutz staff. Several of their friends joined us, it's in a small fishing village outside of Alex so they usually make a big trip out of it with a group and take the school vans. The restaurants name was Zypherion, it's a fish market, meaning they catch fresh fish that day and you go and pick out the fish or seafood you want, they weigh it and you barter for the price. It was a very good meal and some great shrimp.
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