This is story about The Alexandria national museum. I hope you like it. And we will always update you will all new run in our city, which will be revived once again to be the capital of culture and beauty as we used to have it during the Greco-Roman and royal family Period.

Please Read the following story and try to visit this museum during your trip around Alexandria.

The Alexandria National Museum

Camera and Video is Allowed But please Try to use your camera without flash.

Adress : Alexandria National Museum, Al-Hurriya Street, Alexandria.
Entrance fee: Egyptians and residents LE2, foreigners LE30 % discount for student either Egyptians and residents or foreigners

Opening Hours : Open from 9 am to 4 pm.

Lake Mariout is located in the south of our city Alexandria. And always I have question from my tourists asking whether it is fresh or salted water? And always they like to stop there to take some photos for the fishermen daily life and always give some comments as it is a real perfect place and Alexander the great was a real wise man to choose Alexandria as a capital of Egypt to carry his name. Also Mohamed Ali pasha to care about the city and built the modern Alexandria. So we can’t forget the reeds which are used to get the fire for the ancient Light House of Alexandria which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We still have a lot of monuments which are unexcavated yet dot the shore of Lake Mariut.

Now, some money makers are planning to cover Lake Mariout and change the living biota with villas and building to be owned by some people. They will change Alexandria history and climate at the same time. Sure it is nice and very important for people to buy new villas in a nice place near to the entrance of our city, Alexandria, just to stay here few months or few days per year. And to use the new villas same like the villas lactated now days in the north coast of Alexandria just to be used few months per year for special high class’s people.

Daily, I find a lot of comments from my tourists asking why we don’t remarketing these villas during the winter for tourists who adore our sunny climates. And sure we promise them that this idea is it is part of our future planning. But, for the coming villas, which will be located on lake Mariout and will cover our a big part of our ancient Greco-Roman period for the sake of some new rich who like to have some entertainment. And after a few years we will pay much money to do some excavation and will ask who covered this area instead of drying a part of it to do some excavation and new discoveries will be a benefit for all of us instead of this new project to cover the lake which is not a benefit for any of us.

We also can’t forget it is the famous lake for migratory birds mostly from Turkey and near to king Mariut the best place for Spa and now it is used to be part of our industrial area. Or may be they like to cover the lake Mariout just to avoid Birds flu.

So now it is my question as I need your comment weather you accept covering Lake Mariout to have a new building and new villas for rich people or you need to ask the UNSECO to do a survey to rescue the lake from demolishing by the money maker. This a wonderful; story about lake Mariout by Our webmaster jimmy Duann

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/lakemariut.htm

And I’ll wait your comments may be you can do or recommend something towards this project. Or I think later all of us will regret.

Rachid National Museum didn’t open for public yet as our, friend, Hossam, new tour guide, mentioned is his comment. The last updating we had mentioned it will be opened by End of April. I’ll update you with any news as soon as possible.

By the end of this month February 2006, Mr. Farouk Hosny, Egyptian Minister of Culture, will inaugurate the Rashid City National Museum (Rosetta National Museum), after its renovations. Renovations and restorations cost was around L.E 7 Million. Works included providing the museum with some Mameluke, Ottoman age’s monuments. Rosetta museum which consists of The 4 floors and located in the Arab Killy house which likes all the other Islamic houses in Rosetta, will distinguished Rashid to be the largest touristic city with its marvelous atmosphere and have a lot of Islamic monuments.

In Rosetta National Museum In the museum you will find on display about 600 artifacts carefully selected from the Islamic and Coptic museums and the Gayer Anderson house in Cairo, along, with another 200 objects unearthed from archaeological sites around Rashid. These include a collection of Umayyad, Mameluke and Ottoman gold and bronze coins, pots and pans, versions of the holy Quran and a collection of 18th- and 19th-century weapons such as arrows, swords, knives and pistols. Tapestry, military and national Ottoman and Mameluke costumes will also be exhibited. To give visitors an idea of what an Ottoman house looked liked, some halls of the museum have been furnished with complete sets of Ottoman furniture. The highlight of the exhibition was a life-size replica of the Rosetta stone offered by the British Museum. The replica stone will be on show in the museum foyer.

The original Rosetta stone, Rosetta in the western delta in 1779, is exhibited in the British Museum since the 19th century in London. The ancient Egyptian stone has bearing three scripts. The bottom section is in Greek, the center in demotic (popular script originated in the XXVI dynasty, 700-600BC and widely used for the next thousand years), and the top in hieroglyphs. The stone was first set up in a temple. It was an elaborate “thank you” to the Greek ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy V, who reigned in the 2nd century B.C., for favors that he had given to the priests. The three scripts contained the same text, allowing the hieroglyphs to be translated. It discovered by French troops in the old fortress of Quit bay which called the Fort of Julian, north of Rachid, by the Bouchard and translated by the French archaeologist, Jean-Francois Champollion who spent many years deciphering the symbols of the Rosetta stone. Champollion’s work in the Rosetta stone was an important breakthrough in the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The stone was taken by the French, and upon Napoleon’s defeat was transferred under the Treaty of Alexandria to Brittian which has held the stone in London’s British Museum ever since. Although, the Rosetta stone as property of Egypt and we had requested it to be here many times.

Rosetta stone is an irregularly shaped stone of black basalt dating back to 196 B.C. 3 feet 9 inches (114 cm) long and 2 feet 4.5 inches (72 cm) wide, and broken in antiquity, it was found near the town of Rosetta (Rashid), about 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Alexandria.

Please don’t forget to visit the Fort of Qaitbay, Hammam Azouz (Azouz Bathes), many old mosuques there like EL MAHLY mosque, El BOGHAZ (Rachid Port) where is the point of mixing the fresh water of the nile with the sea water, many old Turkish houses with it is Mashrapiyas and windows like The house of Zaibidaa the French General Wife, Meunue, cages factories and don’t forget visiting Abu Sahin Mills

http://touregypt.net/TEBlog/egyptologynews/?p=507

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/777/he2.htm

http://www.ask-aladdin.com/rosetta.html

http://egyptology.blogspot.com/2006/01/new-museum-in-rosetta.html

http://www.freemaninstitute.com/Gallery/rosetta.htm

http://www.e-c-h-o.org/LatestNews.htm

http://egyptologie.ff.cuni.cz/?req=id:22

http://www.egyptologyonline.com/great_discoveries.htm

http://www.aaha.ch/photos/rosette.htm (nice photes for Rashid, Rosetta)

http://www.egyptologyonline.com/rosetta_stone.htm

In Alexandria, an open-air museum of underwater objects brought up five years ago from the Mediterranean sea-bed has been established within the Roman Theatre area at the Kom Al-Dikka archaeological site. It displays some 39 large granite and basalt statues featuring unidentified top officials, seated sphinxes dating from the ancient Egyptian era and the Graeco-Roman period, stelae engraved with hieroglyphs, and huge blocks that might be parts of the ancient Alexandria lighthouse. So it is represent for the underneath city.

As there is a stone obelisk bearing the cartouche of Pharaoh Seti I, founder of the 19th Dynasty, was the masterpiece of the collection. This is obelisk, divided into five enormous blocks, weighed 18 tones. To protect the collection from damage due to environmental changes metal sun shades covered with wooden plaques have been installed.

Also, there is another development project is underway at the Graeco-Roman Museum. Since last September, when Hosni announced its two-year closure, work on evacuating the museum’s halls has been in full swing. Curators of the Graeco-Roman Museum are now examining the objects on display in an attempt to pack and transport them to their new homes at the Alexandria National Museum and the maritime museum. (it is already opened 1 week ago). Also, The Sunken Antiquities Administration in Alexandria is working with Southampton University to draw up a map of archaeological sites on the shores of Mariut Lake. Similar projects, involving Russian, French and British teams are also underway to map various other parts of the city and eventually create a GIS map showing ancient Alexandria.

A complete mapping project of Alexandria hasn’t been conducted since Mahmoud Bey El-Falaki conducted his survey of the city in 1865/6 prior to its major redevelopment.

Also, there is an effective plan between Egypt and UNESCO for reducing the level of the water table and preventing future damage at the archaeological site of Abu Mena, located 75 kilometers south of Alexandria.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/777/he2.htm

 http://www.e-c-h-o.org/LatestNews.htm

 http://egyptologie.ff.cuni.cz/?req=id:31

http://egyptologie.ff.cuni.cz/?req=id:28

http://egyptologie.ff.cuni.cz/?req=id:26

Really today I am so happy and proud to guide British family who liked our city, Alexandria, and will move to live here. It is so nice that is our city will have multi nationalities once back, as we used to have before which will have a good influence on it once more. So sure we are now revival Alexandria the Pearl of the Mediterranean to get of from it is seashell once back and sustain its pearl. As now we have a lot of greek, Turkish, French, german, and we are sure that more other natinalites will move to live here as well.

This improves that is Alexandria is clean, beautiful and well organized city, sure not all the city is perfect, but it will be the first step towards prefect beauty. We will try to high light the negative sides in our city as well to cooperate all together to solve her problems and negatives sides. So, why we ask your comments about our city to have all the negatives to discuss with our leaders and solve it very soon. So we are awaiting your comments about Alexandria if you visited before to act accordingly. And if you didn’t visit it yet come and visits it and you will be most welcome move here as well.

Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, and the projects sector leader, general Abdullah Hilal, carried out a an inspection tour to The Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria which located in the Zizinia neighborhood, regarding the restoration and renovation works in the Museum that includes amazing quantity of the precious and rare jewelry related to the Mohamed Ali’s Family. And he inspected the restoration works and request of the necessity of finishing all the remaining works by mid May 2006 to be ready for opening of the museum to the visitors after a work that continued for two years.

Egyptian restorers and technicians are currently putting the finishing touches on the work also there is Russian artist who is expert for doing the restoration of the painted pictures on the walls of the and ceiling which used as museum and could reveal some repainting preceded before and remove some other substance stuccoes attached to the original painting, colours and those pictures which represent Greco-roman myths from the middle ages.

The palace considered an architectural masterpiece. Its halls contain many rare paintings, statues, decorations and all amazing collection of jewels of the Mohamed Ali Dynasty (19th century) from 1805 - 1952..

 The museum is located in the Zizinia neighborhood. It was once the palace of Fatma el-Zahara and is an architectural masterpiece. Its halls contain many rare paintings, statues and decorations.

Also, they are establishing central surveillance room for securing the museum by the newest electronic devices beside choosing of the upper suite in the palace of the establishment of a cafeteria and Gift Shop for visitors in addition to the renovation all lighting and its distribution which fits the new exhibition and the coordination of some of the rare statues related to the palace and the garden’s. Next Post will cover other information about the royal family, Princess Fatma El-Zahara and her palace.

Kom es-Shouqafa, Kom al Sukkfa - Komel-Shokafa - Catacombs of Alexandria is Really one of the master sites here in Alexandria . Kom es-Shouqafa lies in the district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria The area was called Kom El Shouqafa or a pile of shards, Catacombs in Alexandria is called the catacomb as well because of its design, which was very similar to the Roman Christian Catacombs. Most likely it was a private tomb and later converted to a public cemetery. It consists of 3 levels cut into the rock, a staircase, a rotunda, the triclinium or banquette hall, a vestibule, an antechamber and the burial chamber with three recesses In, where in each recess there is a sarcophagus. The Catacomb also contains a large number of Luculi or grooves cut in the rock.

First, there are the graves of a single family. This family, being very wealthy and still practicing the ancient Egypian religion built this graves following the old traditions. So the graves represent the last existing major construction for the sake of the old Egyptian religion. However, they could not turn back time, and the architects and artists they assigned were schooled in the Greco-Roman style. By trying to create pure ancient Egyptian funerary motifs they instead invented an amazing and unique integrated art. The main chambers of the grave are the Vestibule and Central Tomb Chamber. The center of the facade shows a frieze of serpents, below the solar disk. Left and right are two serpents wearing the crowns of upper and lower Egypt. In the Tomb Chamber, attended by Horus, Thoth, Anubis, and other familiar funerary deities, surrounded by funerary equipment, the dead lies on a lion-shaped bier. Canopic Jars are four containers which stored organs and viscera, believed to be essential for the dead person’s afterlife. The system of catacombs has three levels. A winding staircase descends with little chapels branching off, furnished with benches to accommodate visitors or mourners bringing offerings.

There are niches cutout to hold the sarcophagi, all in all the catacombs had room for 300 deads. The lowest level, about 35m deep, is today flooded by ground water and not accessible. Kom es-Shouqafa was discovered by a donkey that had the misfortune of falling into a 15m deep shaft. It is said that donkeys often contributed to archeologic discoveries in Egypt. All people who have seen it just consider it as a real piece of art! Of course this place had a lot to say about but I won’t give a lot of details as find here below a site give a lot of information about that is amazing catacombs with many details. I really like this place and as I promised all my tourist that they will find here some photos for this catacombs as it is not allowed to take any picture inside any tombs in Egypt so I am attached here with some of this picture also I read a book by Egyptian Egyptologist state that is the catacombs of Kom el shuqafa may be it is the tomb of the queen Cleopatra and Mark Antonym. Really we don’t have any written prove dated back to the Greco-roman time state this tombs as a tomb for Cleopatra although we had information that is Cleopatra treated as Egyptian queen and worshiped and treated by the Egyptian as an Egyptian goddess and she brought the body of mark antonym to be buried here in Alexandria.

We don’t have confirmation but may be by illustrating the stone, the sculpture, the design as it is mix between the Egyptian Greco roman styles also as it has some representation for a double crown by example any way I won’t go any details till I get the permission of the Egyptian Egyptologist who wrote and have some prove about that and I’ll try to have an interview with her about that as she is the head of the guidance department in faculty of tourism and hotels and she is specialized in Greco roman history and archaeology . I really recomand to have a look here and also over the below mentioned sites http://www.ask-aladdin.com/catacomb.html as they have a good expliantion about the site.

 So here under the web site with some information about the catacombs and in the same time you will find all most important photos are attached here with. I hope all of you enjoy this information and hope to have confirmation about this tomb as it will probe that this amazing city still have a lot to say about it is mystery and it is civilization not just as the first port for Egypt about also as the old capital for Egypt for more than 1200 years so we like to have the return back the beauty of this city once more and confirm that any where you will go here in Egypt you will discover some new discovery dated back to the ancient time.

http://www.travelegypt.com/alexandriaextPN2.htm

 http://wonderclub.com/WorldWonders/CatacombsHistory.html

 http://www.ehabweb.net/catacombs.html

http://www.delange.org/Catacombs/EP8.htm

 http://touregypt.net/alexandria/

http://www.ask-aladdin.com/catacomb.html

http://www.geocities.com/yi01uk/egypt-alexandria2.html

 Still, we don’t have any Prove for whom this tomb designed to have this wonderful design, may be this for Cleopatra VII, and may be not. We aren’t sure as we didn’t have any resources and any confirmation about that. But sure we will await a lot of other discoveries to solve the mystery of Egyptian Beauty as any body lived here in Alexandria become part of her mysteries history and beauty..

Ticket price is 20 Egyptian pounds (less than US$4) 50% discount for children, please not that is camera and video are not allowed in site.

Yesterday, I had a tour in Alexandria with a real smart tourist and he told me that most of his friend didn’t encourage him to have a tour in Alexandria as it not interesting at all and it is not worthy. But he interested to come and see the city sites and really I am happy that is he was real impressed about some sites in the city as he didn’t cover all the sites yet but I am sure that is he will return back again. Also in the same day I heard a guide said that she tells her tourists "Alexandria has nothing to see it is just a good place to have a day off and relax over the beach"!!!!!. So, why I get surprised because how come people judge on something they don’t know any about it. I think the people who said that didn’t visit or pay attention to any site here or may be they had a real weak or cheap program or tour guide. As the city full of different sites most still underneath either submerged under the sea or under the modern city. I think some people who visited Alexandria library and the catacombs of Kom el shuqafa can give their comments here as it is just two sites of many you can visit here in Alexandria. I’d like to thank Dr. Mustafa El Abaday who rebirths the idea of rebuilding a big part of our history by having the idea of rebuilding Alexandria library (Bibliotheca Alexandrina) so we are proud that is we have a new pyramid. http://www.bibalex.org/English/aboutus/rebirth/mission.htm So, why we will try to just explain some of our touristic sites which are most of them discovered by real accident.

So, please find hereunder some of those suggested touristic sites and you will find most of them not in need for entry tickets and some will be wonderful just to have photo stop, so we can introduce Alexandria as it is the ancient capital for Egypt during the Greco roman time. It was about 6.4 km (about 4 mi) long and regularly built, with streets crossing at right angles and colonnades adorning the principal streets. The most magnificent quarter of the city, called the Brucheium, was situated on the eastern harbor. Farther west was the Serapeion, or temple of the Egyptian deity Serapis; the Soma, or mausoleum of Alexander and the Ptolemies; the Poseidonium, or temple of Poseidon, god of the sea; the museum; the great theater; and the emporium, or exchange. It is designed to have five districts (Alfa – Beta – Gamma – Delta- Epsilon). We don’t have a lot of information about those districts although we knew that is the northeastern quarter Alfa A was occupied by Royal family and their royal palaces that were once the homes of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony have also been found. The work of excavating is difficult because these buildings cover more than 5.5 acres, a tremendous amount of area to excavate under water as this part of the sunken city. Or this city was flooded by a tidal wave after the earthquake of 335 A.D. The fourth district (Delta Δ) was occupied by the Jews. And may be the fifth E one which used to be in the west of the city was for the Egyptian as it is over locating the ancient village of village of Rhakotis which was village for fishermen founded by Ramsess II 1500 BC.

Alexandria took a new role from the 19th century as a focus for Egypt’s commercial and maritime expansion to be the first port over the Mediterranean. This Alexandria has been immortalized by writers such as E-M- Forster and Cavafy. Generations of immigrants from Greece, Italy and the Levant settled here and made the city as the perfect representation for commerce, cosmopolitanism and bohemian culture; Lawrence Durrell described it as ‘the capital city of Asiatic Europe, if such a thing could exist".

1. Catacombs of Kom El Shuqafa (dated to the 1t century AD, it is a real impressive).

 2. The Roman Amphitheater and Roman Bathes which are discovered by accidental excavations uncovered a Roman theatre (2nd century A.D.) with galleries, sections of mosaic flooring, and marble seats for 800 spectators. In the time of Ptolemy, the surrounding area served as a Park of Pan and a pleasure garden. The theatre might have been roofed at one point to serve as an Odeon for musical performances as we still have a wonderful representation for echoes system.

3. The Graeco-Roman Museum dated back to 1892 (Closed now for renovation and it will be opened after 2 years but you can visit instead the national museum).

4. Pompey’s Pillar, Pompey’s Pillar is a 80 foot (25 m) red Aswan granite column with a circumference of 30 feet (9 m). It was originally made in honor for the Emperor Diocletian at the end of the 4th century A.D. After Julius Caesar defeated him in the Civil War, Pompey fled to Egypt and died in 48 B.C. accordingly, a legend appeared claiming that Pompey was born there and that his head was in the capital on top of the pillar. The pillar is the largest ancient monument in Alexandria.

5. Tombs of El Anfoushy

6. the Temple of Ras El Soda and the Mosaic Museum (dated back to the 2nd century)

7. Tomb of El Shatby, which is tomb dates from the third century BC and was patterned after an old Greek house with an entrance, a front room, and a back room. It is considered one of oldest tomb in the city.

8. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria library, www.bibalex.org, no comment as this site will tell you a lot about it. But still you will need the first impression to feel it!

9. Qait-bey Fort (Fort Qait-bey was built in the 1480s by Sultan Qait-bey built over breakwater made of large stones or masonry nearly 1.6 km (1 mi) in length called the Heptastadium ("seven furlongs") was built to the island of Pharos, enclosing a spacious harbor. on the site of Alexandria’s ancient lighthouse parts of which can still be seen in the construction of the old fort. As one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the lighthouse built in 279 B.C. by Ptolemy II, the lighthouse rose to a height of 300 to 500 feet, the equivalent of a modern 40 story building tall with approximately three hundred rooms at the bottom for workers. The first building to surpass it in height was the Eiffel Tower in 1889. Remains of the lighthouse have been discovered in the waters of the harbor. Today these ruins are 20 feet below the surface of the water. Although there is anew project to build the new lighthouse to be copy of the ancient style with cost of 180 millions US dollars also have an aquarium as tunnel from glass under the sea to sea most of these submerged monuments.

 10. The National museum (will find in 2nd post some introduction about it)

11. Opera House (Sayed Darwish theatre)

12. The Jewelry museum (The place of Fatima Al-Zahraa one of the princess of the royal family it is master piece full of amazing collection of the Mohamed Ali family’s jewelry and now closed for renovation)

 13. Saad Zaghloul Square, entrance for the down town (which the same site of the temple and two needles of Cleopatra VII which is she is built for cesarean and mark Anthony) and now have the statue of Saad Zaghloul who was a prime minister under the "rule" of the late king Fouad, the father of the king Farouk, and was the first Egyptian to lead a "civil" revolt against the British occupation, in 1919 (the first revolt was a "military" one lead by and officer named Ahmed Orabi in the late 19th century).

14. El Gomhoria Square (in front of Alexandria train station where you can see a real amazing cosmopolitan style and community)

 15. Unknown Soldier ( Which is 13 step totally from marble dating back to 1915 it was a base for the statue of Khedive, King, Ismail and now it is unknown solder for navy)

16. Abou El Abbas Al Morsi Mosque, it is a real beautiful mosque, with its high minaret and four domes. It is largest and one of the most important Islamic monuments in the city. It is built In 1775 by the Algerians over the tomb of the thirteenth century Andalusia saint Ahmed Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi who had joined and then lead the Shadhali brotherhood. The interior is made up of eight monolithic granite columns and a colonnade of elongated arches. It was rebuilt in 1943 with the domes and the towering (73 meter) minaret. It is one of Alexandria’s foremost religious buildings and women can pray inside the mosque in a special shrine.

17. The Attarine Mosque, Located in the heart of the Attarine Antiques District.

18. The St. Marcos Church, Saint Mark, (Coptic Church The current church is built on the remains of an earlier church dated back to the 1st century A.D and is in the basilica. The church has a large hall that leads to the 11th century.

 19. St. Saba Church which is situated in Raml Station; It contains a great bronze bell, which was a present of the Russian Church. In 615 AD, there was another church located in the same place, and having the same name.

 20. Saint Catherine Church (catholic)

 21. Synagogue (The Eliyahu Hanavi synagogue is one of the most beautiful synagogues in the Middle East.)

 22. El montaza Garden (The place of Farouk the actual last king of the royal family who ruled Egypt as we considered his son ahmed Fouad the last king of the royal family ass he ruled Egypt just for few months when he was 1 year old as just a nominal king.)

 23. El Shallalat Garden

 24. A statue of Alexandria the Great

 25. Alexandria Stadium &Old Eastern gate 26. Alexandria fine sandy Beaches we have a big extinction of beaches extends from to the east to west for more than 35 KM These some of these sites as we still have a lot for example Rosetta is considered extensions to Alexandria and also El-Aliman. So I’ll post the other sites very soon. Have a nice time here and try to judge whether Alexandria is a good destination or not by yourself not according to your friend or your guide point of view.. ENJOY!

http://i-cias.com/e.o/alexandr.htm

http://alexandriatour.com/

http://www.geocities.com/yi01uk/egypt-alexandria2.html

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/alexandria_egypt.htm

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/17/1076779958388.html

EID AL AL-ADHA FEAST (Great Bairam), (Festival of Sacrifice) which is meaning (Festival of Sacrifice) where commemorates Pilgrimage to Mecca "HAJJ", which each Muslim is expected to make it at least once in a lifetime, and commemorates Ibrahim’s (Abraham)’s willingness to obey God by sacrificing a sheep (ram) or cow in place of his son Ismail who is the forefather for Arabs and in the same time he is Ishaq (Isaac) brother. It is traditional for Moslem to slaughter a ram, sheep or a cow this depends on how rich they are, and share its meat with family, friends, neighbors, and the poor. So the family (household) will cut the ram or the cow for 3 parts. They eat about a third of the meal and donates the rest third for friends and neighbors and distribute last third among the poor.

So, mainly the target of this slaughter and this meal is sharing all people in same food. So peace and love between all people. So in Qur’an "the holy book for Moslems only written in Arabic’ the ‘Koran’ in English speaking Countries, we get that our prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham)’s was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. And that revealed his willingness to obey GOD’s order even by sacrificing his son, so he rewarded with the angel who put a sheep in the place of his son as he was preparing to sacrifice his son for ALLAH "the Arabic name for the One God".

Great Qurban Bairam (EID ADHA) is a four days holiday starts by, fasting the eve of Adha which called Waqf el Arafat (when many Moslems make pilgrimages being over the hill of Arafat (sometimes called a mountain, but with a height of only 70 m), a site for prayers, where Muhammad is believed to have delivered his final sermon. "HAJJ" either for men and woman)., Which the day before the feast exactly 9th of month of Zu’i-Hegga the 12th month in Muslim lunar calendar,. Then you will find the first day at dawn all go to the mosque or congregation to pray EL EID prayers (Salat al-Eid) which attended by men, women and children and repeat Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. La illaha il Allah." God is Great. God is Great. There is no god but God. Afterwards neighbors, friends and relatives start greeting each other. The most common greeting is "Eid Mubarak" (Have a blessed Eid). Children are normally given gifts or amount of money (Eidyaa) from their grown up family members and relatives, also wear new clothes to wear throughout the Eid and go to parks, gardens public courtyards, zoo or walk over the sea Cornish to spend their Eidyaa. Also, women (mothers, wives, sisters and daughters) are given special gifts or sum of money by their loved ones.

Every family having a sheep slaughtered according to Koranic law a sheep, goat, ram or cow, which, traditionally, is brought to the home, fed and cared for carefully and introduced to the children for whom it will give its life. As the sheep was taken in place of Abraham’s son, these animals are symbolic of man’s obedience to God’s will. They not only eat the meat themselves but distribute it amongst their neighbors, relatives, the poor and hungry. As they donate the third to the poor (often by taking generous portion of the meat to a local mosque for distribution), one third is to go to friends, and one third to go to the family. Then they have a late breakfast which includes "Fata". "Fattah" is formed of meat, bread, rice, soup and vinegar. Then the young families visit the grandparents and relatives then they all gather at the eldest of the family and have lunch. The remaining three days, usually you are invited to lunch at uncles, aunts, or friends. We have a holiday, for 4 days starting by the Eva of Adha till the third day. It is an official holiday for universities and government offices, some stores and restaurants.

About 50 years ago the Egyptian used to have the ritual of Mahmal around country side; it is performed in each village as passing pilgrims are given carpets and shrouds to take on their journey. As, The Hajj "the Pilgrimage to Mecca" and is the fifth of the "Five Pillars of Islam" Before the journey to Mecca, which is the sacred city of Muslims, in modern-day Saudi Arabia, where the Ka’bah (house of worship built by Abraham) is located. , the pilgrim is required to dress only in an "ihram", a garment consisting of two sheets of white unhemmed cloth draped over the body; plus a pair of sandals. The ihram is intended to make all pilgrims equal in the eyes of Allah, as there is no difference between a prince and a pauper when everyone is dressed equally, and this confirm that all of us believe in one GOD. Eid Mubarak (happy feast), which is a greeting used by Muslims during the Eid holidays. It means “Holiday Blessings!”

these are the Entrence fees for touristic sites in Alexandria.

Have a nice Time.

NAME	ADDRESS	TELEPHONE
American Cultural Center	2, Pharaana St.	03 4814305
British Cultural Center	9, Batalsa St.	03 4860199
French Cultural Center	30, Nabi Daniel St.	03 3920804
German Cultural Center	10, Batalsa St.	03 4879870
Greek Cultural Center	18, Sidi El Metwally St.	03 4861598
Italian Cultural Center	25 Saad Zaghloul St.	03 4860258
Russian Cultural Center	5, Batalsa St.	03 4865645
Spanish Cultural Center	101, El Horreya av.	03 3920214

Merry Christmas to all christan and moslem. Although, Here in Alexandria Christmas will be 7th of January as eastern christen but will not forget that in Alexandria there are many Catholic as the roman part of the Cosmopolitan city, they are not in huge number as Coptic. But, we can’t forget that there are many catholic so we have to greet them with the Christmas as well. So here some hints and sites about christens in Alexandria.

‘’According to tradition, Christianity was introduced into Alexandria by St.Marc, who, in the middle of the first century came to Alexandria to preach the new religion. His first recruit was a shoemaker called Annianus. About 62 AD, St Mark, was martyred and buried probably in the same site where stands now St.Mark’s Cathedral. Christianity once established in Alexandria was bound before long to spread up the Nile Valley. By the end of the second century it must have been widespread even in Upper Egypt. At the beginning of the IIIrd century Septimius Severus ordered a campaign against Christianity and according to Eusebius, the church historian, persecution was particularly violent at Alexandria. The persecution begun by Decius (249-250 AD) was stopped by Gallienus (253-268 AD) but even persecution helped to spread the faith because the heroism of the martyrs won the admiration of many pagans and the Christians banished to the oasis and remote parts of Egypt or who went in hiding new converts. The peace, which the church enjoyed in the second half of the IIIrd century, was broken in 302-303 when Diocletian gave orders for the great persecution. No where in the Roman Empire was it as severe as it was in Egypt. From this stormy period, the Egyptian Church started its calendar the “ Era of Martyrs “  commencing in 284 AD. The Church of Alexandria played an important role in the religious councils, which were held during the IVth and Vth century. In the council of Nicaea (325 AD) Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, defended the true faith and convinced the members of the council of his views. Theophilus played an important part in the council of Constantinople (381 AD) and fought against heresy. In the council of Chalcedony (451 AD) when Dioscrous failed to convince the members of his views, he did not hesitate to leave the main body of the church and from this time the Egyptian Church became independent.'’

There are many Christan monuments in Alexandria like:-

- St. Mina District  which is situated near the actual St. Mina’s Monastery in Borg El Arab area. Martyr Mina ‘s body was buried there, and we can still find the remains of three old churches, which dates back to the 4th century AD.

- King Mariout Tomb which is a Byzantine Tomb, which was discovered recently in King Mariout district. It’s still under excavation and not open to public yet.

- Narriman Hospital Tomb which dates back to the 5th century AD. It was recently discovered under The Narriman Hospital, It’s still under excavation and not open to public yet.

- St.Marc Church and Catacombs, St. Marc the Evangelist, which is one of the Christ’s disciples, established the church in the first century. The present Basilica stands over the catacombs of the Coptic patriarchs of the 7th to 11th centuries. It is situated in Coptic Church Street, Ramleh Station.

- St. Saba Church which is situated in Raml Station; It contains a great bronze bell, which was a present of the Russian Church. In 615 AD, there was another church located in the same place, and having the same name.

- Wady Al Natroun Monasteries which is about 122 Kms from Alexandria on Alex/Cairo desert rd, 100 kms on the road west the Rest House would take you to the monasteries. St. Bishoy monastery, El Soryan monastery, El Baramos monastery and Abu Makkar monastery. Those four Monasteries been built on a cross shape.

http://www.st-marc.com/English/index-e.htm

http://members.tripod.com/romeartlover/Alessandria.html

http://www.dacb.org/stories/egypt/catherine_alexandria.html

Again merry Christmas & Happy New Year in advance.

Really, I started to write this blog because I always have many questions about what kind of food and fun people can find here and also about our typical Egyptian daily life. So we will try to give some hints about that and at the same time represent our culture. First , as we said that Alexandria is a compilation city,  you will find mixed food as representation for all those mixed cultures. You will find our food is a colourful melange of Italian, French, American (fast food), Lebanese, Turkish, Syrian, Greek, Mexican, Indian and our Egyptian typical food which is often very salty, but rarely spicy. Our dishes are so simple and vary according to our agriculture seasons and they are considered heritage from ancient Egyptians. So, you will find many dishes fit locals tastes and western tastes, and even those who are vegetarians will find a lot of dishes.

I’ll start representing some hints about some tasty, cheap and very healthy food for vegetarian which is called in Arabic NABATAYAH .  It  is considered the typical breakfast for most of Egyptian (Alexandrian people) and the main meal for Coptic (Egyptian Christian) during fasting before Christmas and Easter. We call that type of food SYAMI (food for fasting) so in Arabic you can say AHNA MESH BENAKUl LAHMA WALA SAMAK (we don’t eat meat nor fish). And please take care that in Cairo when anyone will speak he will say ANA which is mean I in Arabic but in some places in Alexandria especially the old areas like BAHRY, the area around Alexandria main port and also most of the places in the west of the city, if any body will talk he/she will say EHNA (WE) in Arabic as the singular speaks in plural form. It is very important hints about the culture here as the people are mixed with other nationalities especially the Greek and Italian so they have the same way of expression so you will find some expression in Alexandria not found in any other Arabian city even in Cairo although are cities in same country, EGYPT,.

So, this meal is consisting of native Egyptian FUUL (beans) or Foul Medamis (Baked Beans), simply consists of broad beans mixed with spices, tomato, tihina (which I’ll describer hereunder), salt which some Egyptian call it the fuel for our hard days, TAMIYYA (in Cairo), a cousin of FALAFEL in (Alexandria), is a fried formed into patties mixed with minced broad beans, parsley, coriander leaves, mixed with many spices and garnished with sesame always served with tomatoes, lettuce, and tihina sauce., some times we have Fuul or falafel stuffed in sandwich in our tasty Egyptian bread which called (AISH) either aish shaami (bread made from white flour) and AISH BALADI (bread made from whole-wheat flour) and always cooked with yeast and suppose to be flat bread. So, as described by Egyptian it provides more fuel (energy) so how the ancient Egyptian built all those monuments in all over Egypt. And AISH is important as we have a very important proverb about good relation ship if we ate together say EHNA AKLANA EISH WE MALEH MA’ BA’D which mean (by bread and salt we are united) and you can find a lot about that by browsing this http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_bread_salt.html

So, Try to taste this amazing dishes with , Halawa (Sweet Sesame Cake), Jam (Meraba) or
honey (Assal Abyad) . Fitir Messhaltet (A very rich wheat flour pie, served with either sour cheese or honey). as a wonderful breakfast here in Alexandria

Here also, will find the famous Egyptian meal KOUSHERY, although it is widely common same like in Cairo as And the Alexandrian koushry (Koushry Iscandrany) is the look like a little bit SAYYADIAH but it is the rice cooked with onions with yellow lentils and always served with grilled fish, even you will find the people call it KHOUSHRY MASRY, as MISR is Egypt in Arabic language and Alexandrian people pronounced it MASR and that is for the same culture hits I told you about it in the second paragraph, we call Cairo as MASR as it is the main capital nowadays and they considered any thing originally from there as MASRY. So, El-KHOUSHRY El-MASRY, (EL + THE in Arabic language), which is a very delicious meal consists of Ruzz (rice), ‘DASS BEGABAA (Brown Lentils) Macaroni and spigaitti (preferred 3 types of pasta mixed together), HUMMUS SHAM (chick peas), onions and garlic and adding to this tomato chili sauce with vinegar and fried onions. Sure you will get shocked especially that entire combination offered in very amazing way as layers in the same dish then dressing by two different kinds of sauce, one made from vinegar and oil, the other from spicy red pepper. But I won’t comment till you taste it if you didn’t try it before and then you will judge and I’ll wait your comments. This meal is very cheap which is meaning that one dish will cost less than 1 US dollar. Also you will find many other lentils dishes. You can browse http://www.touregypt.net/recipes/

 Also, we have many dishes from KHOUDAR (vegetables) for example TORLI which is a mixed-vegetable casserole or stewed together and this originally a Greek recipe where you will find combination of BATAATIS (potatoes), onions, beans, and peas, okra, brown round eggplant, zucchini and carrots which are some time cooked with tomato’s juice. Also, BATAATIS MOHAMRA (French fries) or BATAATIS MATBOUKHA (Cooked potatoes with tomato sauce) are very famous here for vegetarian and of course Italian food like pizza and spigaitti Also, we have the famous meal MAHSHY (stuffed) as Alexandrian people used to stuffed all vegetables with amazing dolmadas or dolmas which is a Greek word means mixture between rice, chopped onions, chopped tomato, parsley, little of mint leaves, oil, salt. Some times you can also some nuts and if you are not vegetarian you can add a little of meat. Then it will be stuffed inside any vegetables like WARA’ ENAB, for example, which is made form boiled grape leaves filled with small amounts of the above dolmas. Also you can use cabbage leaves instead of grabs leaves and this called MAHSY KROMB. It is really tasty recipe. We can stuffed any other vegetable with the same like zucchini, tall black/white eggplants, tomato, onions and green round pepper after washing and coring them very well.

Also, our MEZZA is another word for appetizers, which considered here as a varieties of salad like greens, tomatoes, potatoes, beans and yogurt, GIBNA ADIAMA or mish (old spicy dry cheese made into paste with sauce and served with tomato) As we have small pieces of bread (AYSH) and then dip it any of those salad like the BABAGHANNUUGH (smoked mashed eggplant with garlic and oil) wich is greek mezza, BANGER (red beets), HUMMUS (chickpea paste) and TAHINA (a paste made from sesame seeds mixed with cumin, vinegar, lemon , water, and spices). TORSHI (pink vegetables marinated in vinegar) which is turkish mezza and TABULAH (salad of parsley, tomato, onion, lime juice, oil and bulgur wheat) which is syrian mezza. Finally, move on to the eggplant served with tomato sauce, garlic and vinegar we call it here MOUSSAKA which is a famous Greek meal but we have it in a special recipes for vegetarian.

Also we have SHURBA (soup) tomato, lintels, KHUDAR (vegetables) and MELOKIYAH (horrible green slimy thing) which used to be cooked here in Egypt since the time of pharaohs, Melokiyah soup is prepared vegetable stock, onion, lemon juice, cardamom and ta’liya, which is garlic fried with salt and coriander in cooking oil. And some times it cooked with shrimps, for vegetarian with FUUL NABET (Egyptian Bean and Vegetable Soup) but it is promise as soon you will smell its ta’liya you will scream to have it as soon as possible. You will forget even to say WOWWWW!! And here we say HATAKOUL SAW’BOUAK WARAHA (you will eat you hand finger after tasting them)

Of course, you need a dessert, so you can have some fruits , fruits salad and jelly and sure Alexandria has a lot of country side as it is very near to the delta so you will find the best sweet fruits which vary according to the season like MOAZ (bananas), BALAH (dates) with many types and colours and the best dates in the east to Alexandria near to Rachid (Rosetta) the western branch of the Nile, and BURTU’AAN (any of several varieties of oranges) BURTU’AAN BEDAMMOH (pink bloody oranges ), whose skin looks like most oranges, but their pulp is red and sweet and Alexandrian people ask their girls to drink its juice and eat red beets to have very reddish cheeks and be so pretty. in summer you can have BATTIIKH (melon), KHUKH (peach), BARKUK (plum), ‘ANUB (grapes), MESHMESH (apricot), SHEMAM (water melon), MANGA (mango), GUAVA (guava) and the best guava you will find here in Alexandria near el-Montaza garden in the east of the city. TIN SHOWKI is a cactus fruit that appears in August or September and the best figs you will find in el Agamy, west of the city and allover you road till up to Marsa Matrouh about 300 km to the west from Alexandria.

Sure we have a lot of other dessert but I’ll tell you about later in our next blog because you already ate a lot today after all above you need to relax not interested in any dessert. We used to have SHIAA BELN’NA’ (tea with peppermint) after lunch. And if you felt sleepy you can have AHWA TURKEY (Turkish coffee) which served in a tiny cup (FENGAN), and we used to do it here at our houses ax it make it power by our selves we buy the coffee beans with very good quality then powdered beans brewed in a small pot and mixed with special hers so why we call it AHWA MOUHEGA (coffee mixed with dried cardamom). We have many types of coffee like AHWA SADA is black, AHWA ARIHA is lightly sweetened with sugar, AHWA MAZBOOT is moderately sweetened, and AHWAZIYADA is very sweet. You must specify the amount of sugar at the time you order, for it’s sweetened in the pot as we mix coffee with sugar with water very well before boiling u will have to take it away from oven to keep grounds float to the surface in dark foam, it is very important to keep it like that. It is tradition here and if you forget it will boil and get out from pot so, we say dallk el ahwa kheir (it is ok it is not a bad look it will be good one) and we say that because the one who forget it may get upset and think it will be a bad luck so we just joking him. Most people order MAZBOOT, which cuts the tartness; ahwa is never served with cream or milk. I used to see my grand mom powdered it at home so I still remember very well its smell I don’t drink it but I can stop anywhere if I smelt its smell anywhere especially the one done at home and I still have it is old mixer from copper which consider now antiques. You can find “American”, will be Nescafe. But it is not typical Alexandrian coffee. Also, some men like to smoke SHISHA (water pipe) and now days they have it with different flavor like NI’NA’ (mint), mango, TOUFAHA (apple), banana and the common flavor M’ASAL (tobacco).

I really we recommend some soft drink like KARKADE, a burgundy infusion of hibiscus, also KHAROUBEE, which made by caramel, TAMER HANDEE which special petals like hibiscus but brown one Which we have it from Aswan or Luxor, you will probably be greeted with a cold glass of this drink anywhere. Also we like ASIIR AASAB (sugar cane juice)  LEMONADE(fresh lemon juice), it is refreshing, and not too sweet or sour. Also, we like FARAWLA (strawberry), MANGA (mango), MOAZ (banana), and BURTU’AAN (orange) and are especially welcome in hot weather. We have Schweppes, Fanta, Seven-Up, Coke, and Pepsi either normal or diet which starts to be fashion here although it is not a typical soft drink.

Alothough Moslem don’t drink Alcohol , you can obtain it in hotels and bars as it offered for foreigners and christen but not allowed to offer it on the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, and often not during Ramadan. Also, it is not allowed for anyone less than 21 years of age. Beer is the most widely available type of alcohol. Stella is pretty much the only beer around, although you may luck out and find imported beer. Also there is many kinds of wine most of then are imported. There are a lot of hotels and bars in Alexandria as it is main harbor and have many foreigners allover the year, by the end of this week there is a new high quality bar will be inaugurated so I’ll feed up back about it although I don’t drink it all but my friends will tell me about.       

We used to sleep very late some times after midnight at early morning. So why you will find the most of the stores here are opening till early morning especially during the summer as Alexandria is the first summer resort. So, you can have fun any where, you will find a lot of shopping malls, nightclubs cinemas, theaters, we have Alexandria opera, other many open court summer theaters have many performances also some performance and concerts in Alexandria library which I’ll tell you about in details in one of my coming post.

Alexandria National Museum is one of our new master sites nowadays. It is inaugurated by the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, in 31st of December 2003. The national museum located in a restored palace, it contain about 1,800 artifacts pieces of antiquities that narrate the history of Alexandria throughout ages, pharaonic, Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras and some modern pieces, Mummies are shown in a special underground chamber (basement). And some of the items found during the archaeological underwater excavations in Alexandria now in the same floor with the Greco roman artifacts.

Alexandria National Museum is housed in the old ASSAD Bassili Pasha Palace, one of the wealthiest wood merchants in Alexandria at that time, on Fouad Street (Tariq al-Horreyya), near the centre of the city, Construction on the site was first undertaken in 1926. the Palace covers an area of 3,480 square meters,. It is a white Italian-style museum sits in an expansive garden of rare trees and plants. The palace consists of four floors and an underground shelter, which was used during air raids during war. The Palace was designed by a French engineer who used the Italian styles in its construction. . His three-storey palace was attracting the upper class people of Egyptian society, including notables such as Egypt’s former Prime Ministers Ismail Sedqi Pasha and Ali Maher Pasha, and many others. This villa Sold first to the American Consulate in 1960, in 1997 the Ministry of Culture bought this real estate for about LE12 million.

You will find the philosophy of colours appears in interior design. As, you will notice The Pharaonic section features a dark blue wall representing the journey to an eternal afterlife, while the Graeco-Roman objects are set against a sky-blue (marble colour) backdrop, reflecting romance and lust for life. As Copts and Muslims share beliefs concerning heaven, the sections reserved for artifacts from these religious traditions were painted green. Also, you will notice that the museum’s collection has never been exhibited before. The pieces were previously in storage in various museums, the Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic in Cairo, and the Graeco-Roman and Jewellery museums in Alexandria which are closed nowadays for renovation,. 

For example, a statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian; a red granite statue of Emperor Caracala; a head of statue of the Pharaonic King Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV) and head for Pharaonic queen Hatshepsut, Female Pharaoh of Egypt, and 162 gold and silver Islamic and Graeco-Roman coins minted in Alexandria, also, artefacts from the sunken site of Heracleion include the famous Stele of Heracleion and a 2,20m statue of a Ptolemaic Queen dressed as Isis. From Alexandria’s Eastern Harbour are displayed the Priest of Osiris holding a canopic jar and two sphinxes, one of which is a representation of Ptolemy XII, father to the Great Cleopatra VII. Other exhibits include ritual offerings, utensils, gold and jewellery.

In addition to a replica of a tomb, similar to those in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor, contain one mummy with genuine funerary furniture. Canopic jars, anthropoid sarcophagi containing mummies, ushabti figures and the deceased’s private possessions are all part of this mise-en-scène that offers a snapshot of the Ancient Egyptian world-view of burial and the afterlife.

There is one big advantage: YOU ARE FREE TO TAKE PICTURES!! But please without flash Costs EGP 30 to enter for tourists.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/662/heritage.htm

http://www.underwaterdiscovery.org/Sitemap/Event/Event.aspx?XmlDocument=0009.xml

http://www.travelegypt.com/newsletter/newsletterSeptOct2003pg1.htm 

Alexandria is the port city of Alexandria, once the summer seat of government, has long suffered from neglect in favour of the capital Cairo, 215 kilometers to the south, but now we are happy that Alexandria witnessed a revival of sorts in the last few years. As we have now Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern version of the ancient library founded around 295 BC. And we have Alexandria national museum and soon we will have the submarine museum and pharos which will be rebuilding for the ancient light house of Alexandria which was one of the seven wonder of the ancient world. Beside many other monuments have already discovered or in renovation nowadays.

First, Alexandria is cosmopolitan city which mainly dated back to the time of Ramsess II as it was a small village for fishing and in the main time as fortification for Egypt over the north coast. Then it founded by Alexander the great at 332 BC to be the capital of Egypt during the Greco-roman time era which mean that Alexandria lasted as the main capital for Egypt from the fourth century BC to the 7th century AD. Alexandria now is a reflection to all these era starting from the Greco-Roman era up to the modern eras although nowadays Alexandria is divided to two parts, as there is a big part sunken nowadays under the sea and the other part is locating underground of the modern city. Which reflect that Alexandria treasures didn’t discover yet.

So, we will try to cover the history of this city as the principal reflect of the Hellenic Empire, the Ptolemaic capital and Egypt’s second largest metropolis, the Mediterranean port of Alexandria has always been a centre of cultural significance. Celebration of this has been a big part of Alexandria’s recent development. So, be ready from now on to discover our city which is not just a summer resort and Greco-Roman heritage but also as our tradition, our country side life and life in desert which surrounded our city. Be ready to discover varieties in our city are mix between many nationalities, many traditions, many dishes and music it is port ready for any new. Enjoy it!!!!