The City That Alexander Built
Alexandria was the setting for the stormy relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, but that was nothing compared to the turbulent relationship the world had with this city, says Farzana Contractor Most probably if you overheard someone in Cairo say he was visiting Alexandria, just 285 kms away, you'd hear, "I am going to Alex, tomorrow",  for that's how the natives of these two cities address what is known as 'The Pearl of the Mediterranean". I spent a day in this beautiful city and noticed the similarity between Bombay and Alexandria. Sitting at The Fish Market, enjoying the most fabulous seafood lunch, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, I could easily believe I was on Marine Drive. The stretch is called Causeway here and the whole curvy drive is much longer, with the Qaitbey Fort on one end giving it the Middle East look. But the New Library in the distance makes you realize how far behind we are in Bombay.  The yellow and black taxis in the street again make you nostalgic and the architecture so reminiscent of our British heritage makes you draw the parallel again. Then there are the trams, which lend such a charming touch. We should reintroduce them in Bombay.I sat in a café by the street and observed the Sakandari, the Alexandrian. The women were beautiful. Well-spoken, smart, young, walking briskly to a college nearby. Covered in denim hijabs, they cut a pretty picture. They are muslims educated, yet conservative. The Mediterranean culture prevalent in many aspects, but Middle Eastern influences not forgotten.  I made it a point to visit the Fort, the Library, the Corniche, and the Salamik, right at the other end of the Causeway which is a good 20 km stretch, connecting many bays.The Fort is all white, dazzling in the sun, with a citadel mosque complete. It was around here that the world's first great lighthouse was situated. Called Pharos, it was one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Reputed to be 450 feet high, it took 12 years to complete and served as a prototype for all later lighthouses in the world. The light was produced by a furnace at the top. It was destroyed in an earthquake in the 14th Century.  Alexandria's New Library is to be seen to be believed. State-of-the-art, yet simple, with a glass roof to allow natural lighting. An amazing feature is that there are millions of books fed into a giant computer. Anyone wanting to print a book can do so in one and a half to two hours. So in effect the library plays the role of a printer and publisher to an author. The only other library that does a similar job is in Washington, D.C. The library is dedicated to the spirit of openness of the original Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Don't forget, this city in its ancient form was a great seat of learning and culture. That it went through a historical turmoil over centuries did not deter its spirit. I did my best to understand the chronology of events and this is what I summed up. The city was founded in BC 331 by Alexander the Great and became the capital of the Graeco-Roman Egypt. It was home to the largest number of Jewish community of the world and in fact The Septuagint, A Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible was produced here. In 115 AD  Alexandria was destroyed by the Jewish- Greek civil wars. In 215 AD the emperor, Caracalla visited the city and because of some insulting remarks that the inhabitants directed at him, abruptly commanded his troops to put to death all youths capable of bearing arms! On July 21, 365 AD, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami (365 Crete earthquake) and even two hundred years later still annually commemorated as the "day of horror".  In late 4th Century all pagan temples were destroyed by the Christian Romans and by the 5th Century the Jewish quarters were desolate. In 616 AD, Alex was taken over by the King of Persia and in 641, the Arabs captured it. Napoleon's expeditions to Egypt started in 1798 and Alex remained in French hands till 1801 when the British entered the picture. But it took Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman Governor to rebuild the city around 1810 and by 1850 Alexandria returned to its former glory. But then again in 1882 the city came under bombardment by the British naval forces and was occupied. In July 1954 it was a target of an Israeli bombing campaign that later became known as the Lavon Affair. Only a few months after, Manshia Square was the site of the famous failed assassination attempt on the life of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. When you view the city through the above traumatic details you find you respect its spirit that much more.  Today the city is thriving, it's an important center for oil refineriesand you have the presence of Indian companies like Reliance there too.A sports loving city, Alex has four huge stadiums and soccer is the favourite game. It's the main summer resort in the Middle East when the public and the private beaches at the Corniche are dotted with umbrellas and it gets most crowded and the innumerable cafetarias are over-flowing. Should you decide to go there, remember the best bet is to take trams for short hauls, two, three stations. Raml station divides the extensive network. East of Raml, the trains are painted blue and ones operating west of it, yellow. Taxis are a no-no. The meters exist but they leave you to decide what the trip costs. Needless to say you are over billed. So fix the price before you get in. In that aspect, Bombay is certainly better! The journey by road from Cairo to Alex takes just over a couple of hours. It's a nice road, a highway actually and more than halfway through you hit upon a rather unusual restaurant called Lion Village. I happened to stop there quite by chance and was delighted to discover it. Obviously it's a very local hangout. A large place, it is a restaurant-cum-zoo-cum-playground for children.  There is rustic seating like the charpoys in India as well as functional tables and chairs. Young women sit rolling large Middle Eastern bread, baking them in a wood oven. It was too early for lunch so I couldn't taste any food, but I could tell it would be good. I was amused by the décor. Large, really large bunches of garlic hung from the roof in the entire place. Surprising, because I thought animals would not like the pungent smell and get into a foul mood. But the animals didn’t seem to mind, including the cub I played with, rather gingerly. |
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