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.

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Egypt Trip - Day 3 - Old Cairo City

On the third consecutive day, we enjoyed the Pyramids from our hotel window. As We have to catch the flight on the last day eve itself. So with good sense, we checked-out from the hotel in the morning itself.

We started our tour with the entry into Coptic Cairo city area. We have a chance to quick visit to Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites in this area.

Coptic museum holds the largest collection of Egyptian Christian artifacts in the world. The Hanging church (Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church) is one of the oldest church in Egypt. It is named due to its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress. It can be seen from a place inside the church. It is believed that the Holy Family (Child Jesus, Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph) visited this area and stayed at the site of Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church (Abu Serga).

Later on we visited the nearby market for some Egypt key-rings, souvenirs and other stuff. Then we progressed towards the grand Cairo Citadel (The Saladin Citadel of Cairo), another most popular tourist destination. But still we have some time left to spare.

From here our driver and guide move us towards the Muqattam hill for a spectacular view of Cairo as the bonus place. If you have open eyes, you can have panoramic view to the stretched city with some sky crappers, along with great Pyramids and the Nile river in your coverage. The views from the hill were spectacular. Being the afternoon, and city being polluted and dusty day, The pyramids may not be pretty visible in the photographs.

Now its time to back to Cairo International airport. While returning we saw a pyramid-shaped monument in Nasr City, Cairo. This is known as "Unknown Soldier Memorial". This was just near the Cairo International Stadium. Finally we fly back to Larnaca (Cyprus) within our booked bird. We enjoyed the best of Egypt within 3 days as much as possible. It couldn't be better than this. The whole trip will remain like a unforgettable tour for all of us. Thanks to Ayu who insisted me to visit it.

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