Now that EgyptAir again connects Harare with Cairo, its Pyramids and Great Sphinx, four times a week, the travel page winds up a three-week series looking at Egypt and its myriad tourism attractions.
Travel with Dusty Miller
Alexandria, on Egypt’s Mediterranean Sea coast (and thus chilly in winter) was already an established city when King Alexander the Great, after whom it is named, arrived in Egypt in 332BC.
The ancient pharaonic settlement and harbour of Rhacotis had been established from about 1 500BC. Alexander, the great Macedonian ruler, intended the place to be the principal Greek centre in Egypt: a naval base for his military designs on Persia and a link between Macedonia and the agriculturally rich Nile Valley.
He had a walled city designed by one of the world’s greatest architects, but a few months later left Egypt for the East and never returned to his city.
But his body was eventually entombed there.
It became the centre of the new commerce between Europe and Arabia and India and in fewer than 100 years grew to be larger than Carthage. For several centuries it acknowledged no superior settlement other than Imperial Rome. It was a centre not only of Hellenism but also of Semitism, it being the then greatest and most important Jewish city in the world.
In Caesar Augustus’ rule (27BC-AD14), Alexandria had 300 000 free Roman citizens and an immense number of mainly African slaves.
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Bloody massacre In AD215, the Emperor Caracalla (Mark Anthony) visited the place and ordered a general bloody massacre of the population because he had been offended by a satire on his rule.
Alexandria recovered from this terrible disaster and was soon, again, regarded as the first city of the world after Rome, plus it acquired fresh importance as a centre of Christian theology and church government.
It was, of course, home to Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the Great Library of Alexandria. Built in the time of Ptolemy senior or junior (323BC-246BC) it was mysteriously burned down at an early date never identified.
Alexandria now has a modern replacement, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, with an attached planetarium, but visitors complain its surroundings are ankle deep in filth.
Alexandria was the scene of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra’s tempestuous romance and it’s still a major destination for honeymooners. Today it’s also home to historically and architecturally interesting mosques and a casino strip on The Corniche, some lovely gardens and modern and traditional hotels.
It is also Egypt’s major harbour Personally, I wouldn’t go to Alex in the Northern Hemisphere winter (October to March), but it’s worth a visit at any other time of the year.
You can certainly visit the ritzy-glitzy purpose designed seaside towns on the Sinai Peninsula and Red Sea coasts 365 days of the year. I have swum, wind-surfed and snorkeled at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Dahab and Hurghada in Spring, Summer, Autumn and also December and January and I’m certainly no Spartan!
Turquoise waters Hurghada with its stunning unspoiled coral reefs and warm, turquoise waters is perfect for wind-surfing and all beach and sea activities.
The Giftun Islands close by are well worth a visit, as is the Eastern Arabian Desert. If you don’t want to scuba dive or snorkel, take a reasonably priced trip on one of the many glass-bottom boats or so-called “submarines” to be found at almost any resort and you can watch the Technicolor marine life unfold below you.
Dahab, about midway between Sharm el-Sheikh and the Israeli frontier is a former Bedouin fishing village, now a popular laid-back tourist destination, frequented by singles, couples, families and back-packers.
It is home to the Blue Hole, allegedly the world’s most dangerous diving site. Only very experienced technical divers should attempt passage through a famous underwater feature known as The Arch. Novice divers should stay close to the surface.
Abu Simbel is a charming compact town on the west banks of Lake Nasser, which was created when the Nile River was damned at Aswan. Major attractions are Nefertiti’s and Ramesses’ Temples which were saved from the rising waters by the efforts of Unesco.
After visiting the temples relax and take in the spectacular views over the lake and across the desert. Of course, for many, the attractions of Lake Nasser will be big game fishing: catching enormous Nile perch, great trophy fish which make excellent eating.
There are no Nile crocodiles in the Nile after the dam wall.
EgyptAir connects Harare and Cairo return four times a week. Book your flights at their offices in the former George Hotel, at Avondale, on-line or through your favourite travel agent. Have a good trip!
