Alexandria the Great

Actually, Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria, Egypt, around 300 years B.C., and at one time it was the greatest city in the world.  It had one of the 7 wonders of the world, the lighthouse that was at the entrance of the harbor.  The Library of Alexandria held copies of all the known "books" in the world.  Alas, its glory was not to last.  The library was burned down not once, but twice.   The city was hit by earthquakes, tsunamis, storms and finally it sank into the sea when the African tectonic plates collided with European plate.  What was left returned to a sleepy fishing village.




The city has regained some of its former glory.  It is now the largest city on the Mediterranean Sea and has a new Library of Alexandria.  This one has all the advantages of the digital age.  You can go to its web site from anywhere in the world and search the books, pulling them up in many languages.  There is a section of books for the blind or sight-impaired.  Rare books have been scanned, so it is possible to study them without causing further damage. 

 The design includes special lighting and window elements which allow daylight in all the reading areas without any direct sunlight.










One of the outside walls has "letters" from all the known alphabets in the world.  To round out the project, there are several mini-museums in the building including one which has artifacts discovered during the construction of the museum.  There is also a separate research building and a planetarium.




We also visited the Alexandria Museum, a small museum residing in borrowed quarters until its real home is up-dated.  Our guide led us through the rooms, pointing out specific items of interest in each area.  That was much better than letting us wander on our own, since there was so much to see.  As it was, we had some free time, but couldn't begin to cover the floor which held the more recent (100 and after) pieces.  She pointed out that mummification continued well into Roman times, but it was not as well done and the sarcophaguses were not nearly as ornate.














The field of underwater archaeology is relatively new, but it is now discovering some of the "lost" city of Alexandria.  Divers locate pieces, carefully mapping the location.  If the piece is going to be removed from the ocean, it must be place in water, with several changes of water to remove the salt.  Then, when it is dry, it can be studied and/or go on display.









Modern Alexandria has its share of tall buildings with mosques often huddled among them.

It also has the Asian disregard for traffic rules and has the resultant traffic jams.
Even graffiti looks better when you do not know what it says and it is written in Arabic script.