Egypt Day 2 - City of Alexandria and Nile River Cruise Trip

We started our second day journey along with the Cairo-Alexandria desert road. In the way we have the chance to see the smart village in Cairo. Major IT & other company offices (as we saw Oracle, Microsoft, Intel, Exceed offices etc) can be seen. It took around 3 hrs from Cairo to Alexandria city.

Our first stop was the beautiful Montazah palace. The royalty can be seen, as the king has the tea room and kitchen at the different locations from the palace and it has connecting underground tunnels to it. I was not expecting that there would be such a greener place in Egypt. The swim area is connected to mediterranean sea and the garden all around adds more beauty to it. This place is the picnic spot for many locals, and the nearby beach is another attraction for tourists.

Our next destination was Bibliotheca Alexandria (Latin for “the Library of Alexandria”) library, a major library and cultural center situated just near the Alexander mediterranean sea road. The splendid and magnificent views from inside and outside win our heart. The local guide lead us with the brief introduction of the grand library. Bibliotheca Alexandrina maintains the only copy and external backup of the Internet Archive in the world with a mirror. The eye-catching architecture also holds a conference center; specialized libraries for the blind, for young people, and for children; three museums; four art galleries; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory etc. The library architecture consists of a tilted circular disk surrounded by water, representing a sun in the Mediterranean horizon, is a symbol for enlightenment and knowledge. The walls are of gray Aswan granite, carved with characters from 120 different human scripts.

Later on, we proceed to Citadel of Qaitbay, an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbour on the eastern point of the Pharos Island.

Then we visited nearby El-Mursi Abul Abbas Mosque. This mosque is considered as the old landmark and located in the Anfoushi neighborhood of Alexandria. Many other mosques can be found in this area. Now its time to return back to Cairo. We saw Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Alexandria) on our way. The tomb is located across the Alexandria sea-road. We had the Phala-phal and burger as the quick lunch. We also have a chance to see the train in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. It was too crowd while returning till we entered again in the Cairo city.

Now we have our awaited Nile river cruise dinner along with the Oriental Show and Belly Dancing. It was an eve on the longest river in the world - Nile River. Sightseeing on the Nile river cruise was pleasant and relaxing. It was approx 3 hours stop. As the sun was setting, it seems that Cairo city was awaken with more lightnings and views of the both ends of the river was soothing.This was the fantastic place to enjoy, as watching the twinkling lights of Cairo and having dinner at night on the Nile river cruise along with belly dancing and oriental show. Later on, we return back to Pyramid view hotel.

Enjoy the next - Egypt trip - Day 3.