Egyptian Adventure #6

Another correction: OOPS I was totally off-base when I told you the high cost of gasoline in Cairo... I must have zigged when I should have zagged and miscalculated by a ton! Gasoline here is subsidized by the government and cost $1.74 a US gallon.....WOW, I don't make small mistakes do I?

Now about today; which has been totally wonderful. Hedayet agreed to take us to Alexandria for the day. She had hired a driver to drive her car so she would not have to do it alone, as her husband does not drive any more. Iman, the driver,  took good care of us all through easy traffic time and snarls.  We had a three-hour plus drive and we passed very interesting agricultural areas along the way. We also took a small detour to see the fairly new enormous community of "6th of October." The town's name commemorates the 1973 war of that date (if you are interested in more information it is available in Wikipedia).The community is designed to provide housing of various prices, jobs, and shopping all in one area, thus eliminating commuting to work etc. This opportunity has been accomplished. It turns out, however, that many people who live there, work in Cairo while people who work there, live in Cairo.

When we arrived in Alexandria we went first to see the apartment Hedayet and her husband own in a very private community. There were record rainfalls last winter and the rain came through the roof and left an enormous amount of damage. A start has been made on extensive repairs, and what a great place it will be when it is restored. It is on the 7th floor of the building with a  view of the Mediterranean. The breeze blowing from the sea was just wonderful. We went on to walk the promenade of the very private community beach just so we could have a small beach experience in Egypt.
We then moved on to the down-town historic part of the town. How very beautiful it is! On the way we stopped at a lovely park with a palace that was built for King Farouk. We have pictures of the castle which is ornate beyond imagination. It put us mind a little of Neuschwanstein in Bavaria or even the castle in Disneyland.

Then on to the big event of the day, we went to the Library at Alexandria. Built to honor the great library of ancient times, it is only about 200 meters from where the ancient library stood. I cannot do justice in this little journal to the wonder that this new one is. Again, if you go to  http://www.bibalex.org you will find a very well organized web site that gives enough information to keep you busy for weeks! We had a short tour of introduction and I have to tell you, it was a thrilling experience. What a great job has been done by many contributors and by Egypt. The ancient library and the tragedy of its loss was a part of my history lessons. To see that now a library, destined to be just as important, lives right where it belongs felt just right.

But wait, there is more. We went on to see the restored castle of Alexander. We regretted that we could not tour the castle. By the time we got to where we could only photograph it; we were quite tired and very hungry. We were totally ready for a good meal and to prepare for the long drive back to Cairo. We went to a restaurant just across the street where we were seated at an outside table on the second story. The view from our table of the Mediterranean, the library across the water, the minarets of the Mosques, the fishing boats in the harbor, and the panorama at our feet was intoxicating. The food was great, the service perfect and the experience beyond all expectations.

When we finally returned to Cairo we found that there had been no more trouble in Tahrir Square or anywhere else. I had a long talk with Soha and she explained why people like her are so afraid of the upcoming election. Briefly this is my understanding: It is strongly suspected that the army will interfere with the election and that democracy will be undermined. There is, unfortunately, a law in their constitution that declares that the result of an election for President will stand, regardless of circumstances, and cannot be challenged. This is what the people fear: If they don't get that law changed, they will be stuck with the results of a possible fraudulent election.

I cannot say enough about how welcome we have made where ever we went here in Egypt. Even complete strangers have been willing to help, and I am not just talking about those who needed to be paid. From the man at the airport who went to so much trouble, to waiters, and all, we have been treated so well. Madame Soha (as everyone calls her) just spoiled us rotten; She has taken all avenues to make sure we got the experience we wanted. She so patiently answered my questions and even shared her birthday and her family with us.  Hedayet and her husband have also spent so much time with us, fed us,  loved us, and took us to Alexandria. How lucky we are to have such dear friends!

This time in Egypt it was not so much tourism, which we had done before, but politics -- what is the situation here and how will it be resolved? Well we have learned that the danger to tourists is none -- if they are smart enough to stay away from demonstrations (unless they are prepared to go to jail for the cause of democracy). Every place that we have been we have felt totally safe.

Tomorrow is our last day and we leave for Morocco early on Monday morning. If you find these journals boring just let me know./; I will remove your from distribution. Otherwise I will keep on writing and sending any time I can find access to the 'Net in Morocco.

And so to bed. Hugs, Noreen