Alexandria March 2

Bad news at the Internet café – our flight bookings to Athens had been cancelled because we booked them online through a website that confirmed them and then wrote a day later to say that we needed an American credit card! Thank goodness we checked the emails! Our friendly Tourist Information Office told us where to find an Olympic Airlines Office and we were able to sort it out.
Next bit of bad news – the thud when my camera fell on the floor was ominous – the camera may be able to be fixed, but in who knows how long at who knows what expense. It has been an asset to have a camera each, since different things appeal to each of us and we can both appear at times in our travel pictures. This was particularly evident today since I wanted to take fashion shots and Keith was forever not eating his lunch because another outfit would walk by and he was taking lots of pictures to make sure I would have some of what I wanted. After lunch we looked at other cameras and bought a relatively cheap one for me.
Yesterday Keith had spoken by phone with a couch surfer host in Alexandria and he had invited us to stay and said that he would contact us today. Unfortunately he didn’t ring. It was disappointing since we were looking forward to meeting him and his family. Luckily we were able to book back into our hotel and they had been happy for us to leave our bags there all day. The manager of the hotel told us that few international tourists come to Alexandria compared to Cairo and the Nile Valley, but that in summer you can’t move here because all the Egyptians, as well as many Arabians, come here for the sea. He and his wife visit an overseas country each year, which he loves.
The people at the always empty Tourist Bureau have been very helpful during our stay, even if they had run out of English pamphlets; it didn’t matter because we could have a French one. Today we asked about the statue in our square – it is Saad Zaghloul, who was a Prime Minister, a revolutionary and a leader in opposition to the British Occupation, and who was responsible for Egypt’s first National Constitution in the early 20th century. The square is called Liberation Square.
Our next question – “Why are they digging up footpaths all over Alexandria and the gardens around the statue all at once?” Possible answers we had thought of were: entering the Tidy Towns competition, attempting to lower unemployment, or perhaps they were replacing gas or water pipes. We had seen a new watering system being installed in the garden beds. But no. The official answer is “They are stupid. One dark day in August 2006 the new governor came to power. Up until then Alexandria was a quiet and clean city, with perfectly adequate paths. We do not know what the governor is looking for but we, the citizens, would all be willing to put in something for him, if only it would make him stop.”
The day disappeared somehow with tea in a quaint little restaurant with no other customers and kitschy 1950’s style decorations depicting icons of Alexandria. There was no menu and when we had established what we could have, the twin owners set about sending out for some parts of it. Through the open door we could watch the passing parade of families and young people promenading around the square, also the owner’s spit landing on the footpath now and then.


These photos show some of the wide range of clothiing styles and fashions that can be seen in Alexandria.In the photos above and below you can see girls in school uniform.