The Alexandria National Museum, which opened in 2003, is located in an old three story Italian style villa that was originally built in 1926. The villa was previously the home of a wood merchant and at one time it housed the United States consulate. There are about 1,800 artifacts in the museum's collection.
As we drove through Alexandria, we were able to observe the locals going about their daily business. Small businesses had a variety of colorful wares on display, and it was also interesting to see local styles of clothing.
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and has played an important role in the political, cultural, and economic life of Egypt in all of the years that followed. The face of the city, however, has aged over the years and many of the buildings we saw are in need of serious renovation. Shop owners have moved many of their wares to carts and tables in front of their shops and the city has a bustling street business.
The exhibits at the El Alamein Museum focus on battles fought during World War II for the control of North Africa with an emphasis on the battles fought at El Alamein. The Allied victory at El Alamein in 1942 was an important turning point in the war. Italy and Germany suffered a major defeat from the British Eighth Army under the command of General Montgomery.
The cemetery at El Alamein contains 7,240 graves of Commonwealth forces who died during the Desert battles in North Africa in World War II.
There is a big push by developers to transform an 80 square mile area in a former WWII mine field that spans an essentially barren desert along the Mediterranean coast into a tourist and residential area. The planned city is designed to house three million residents by 2030.
Most of the buildings we saw, according to our guide, are way too expensive for most Egyptians and are being purchased by foreign investors as vacation homes. Unfortunately, most of the new buildings stand empty as elaborate ghost towns with no one there to enjoy them.
Our next stop was Cairo where we stayed in the Marriot Mena House Hotel. The hotel was very close to the pyramids and we had wonderful views from just about everywhere on the grounds of the hotel.
Our friend the hooded crow was back to join us for the al fresco dining and provided much amusement as he hunted for his food on other people's plates. We also managed to see a very cool bird called the Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops).
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities is the Middle East's oldest archaeological museum and it contains the world's largest collection of antiquities from the period when Egypt was ruled by pharaohs.
As an historical aside, it is noteworthy that during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution the museum was used to unlawfully detain and torture protestors.
Included in the collection of the Museum of Antiquities are many assorted sarcophagi, canopic jars, papyrus artwork, statues, stone reliefs, coins, and textiles.
The best preserved mummy that we saw in this museum was Thuya, the grandmother of King Tut. Studies of the mummy show that she was between 50 and 60 years of age when she died and that she was 4 feet 9 inches tall. Thuya was buried next to her husband in the Valley of the Kings and their tomb was discovered in 1905.
The pyramids of Giza, which were built between 2575 and 2465 BC, are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The largest of the three pyramids, called the Great Pyramid, was built for Khufu and was originally 481 feet tall. The middle pyramid, which was originally 471 feet tall, was built for Khafre. The third pyramid was built for Menkaure and was 218 feet tall.
Each of the pyramids have been plundered over the years and all lack the goods originally placed within the burial chambers. In addition, the outer casings of smooth limestone are missing from all but the top portion of the middle pyramid.
It is interesting to note that the sides of the pyramids are perfectly aligned with the cardinal compass directions. In addition, it is estimated that the Great pyramid of Giza was constructed from about 2.3 million bricks which each weighed about 2.5 tons.
