Pictures of Alexandria

So, here is a lovely little photo album of our trip to Alexandria. If you want to see more pictures of anything, let me know in the comments section--I simply had too many to put them all up!

For better pictures and information about Alex, go here.

Here is the waterfront of the Eastern Harbor, where are hotel was located. It is really something else.

This is the harbor from the inside of the old Mamluk fort on the Western tip of the harbor crescent.










Here are a few pictures I took walking around the street. I thought they were kind of National Geographicesque. One big thing to notice about these pictures is the sheer amount of color in the buildings and sky. You won't see anything like this in Cairo...ever. The buildings are all pretty much the same dirty grey color and you can't really see the sky for the smog most days. This color was one of the first things that struck me about Alex.



























This is a shot of the big archaeological site we went to. (you couldn't take pictures in the catacombs.) It is called "Pompey's Pillar" (I don't think it actually had anything to do with Pompey historically) and it is one of the few remaining vestiges of the ancient city which once occupied the area.




These last two pictures are from the new Bibliotheque Alexandria...it was finished in 2002 and is built on the site of the historical Great Library. It is a kind of weird and futuristic structure, but still very beautiful. It is supposed to look like a disc coming out of the ground (symbolizing something but I don't remember what) and that is exactly what it does look like. Inside, the main reading room cascades down in a series of terraced levels, while the ceiling slants down into the ground, with skylights completely covering it.
















Ok, I lied and this is the real last picture...for our respective boat obsessed dads :-)