Out of Egypt and onto Amman, Jordan

From Alexandria we flew to Amman, Jordan. At the Alexandria Airport, a guy running the security check openly asked John for backshish. Really?! Then something worse happened. One of our bags was tagged for further security. It turned out our electric kettle was in violation. Nevermind it's nowhere on their 10-foot poster of 50+ disallowed items --"the list is not up to date." Whether the two incidents are related, we will never know. John was livid exasperated, nonetheless. The kettle went back into the bag. I left my passport at immigration and went back to check the bag in as hold luggage.

Egypt may not be the most underdeveloped country we have been. It is the most depressing. Their eyes are all on the material difference between them and the global north, when the greater difference lies in ideology. Egypt is not with the modern world where those incidents are not condoned.

Amman is better than Egypt. There is no incessant honking. People are polite and friendly.  There are proper Ramadan lights.  We got charged for regular prices for food. There is still  minimal/unnavigable public transport. Taxis are metered but drivers try every ploy to overcharge tourists. There are no mini or super markets that display prices on the shelf.

Amman itself is one of those places that grew from a village of a few thousand to a metropolis of multi-millions in the span of 100 years or less. It does have some excavated Roman ruins that attest to an older past, and is referenced in the Bible as Rabbath-Ammon, capital of the Ammonites. We used Ammon as a base for visiting Madaba and Jerash.

Note to fellow travellers: The airport bus does not stop at 4th Circle. Going downtown, it is better to get off at 7th Circle rather than continuing all the way to the North Station.

The scene of the Kafkaesque incident at the airport. ;-)


In the air over the Nile Delta, looking towards the Alexandria Harbour.


The main channel of the Nile snaking its way through the delta.


The southern end of the Suez Canal.


Our plane flew south over the Sinai towards Aqaba (1st below), avoiding Israeli airspace, then north to Amman with great views of the Dead Sea to the west (2nd below).




After landing in Amman, we rode the airport bus to the 7th Circle, then took a taxi downtown. Below is a shot out the taxi windshield as we neared our hotel (Beirut Hotel).


While looking for dinner, we walked around downtown, passing the Roman Theatre and fish market.




Up the hill from our hotel we spotted a queue in front of a small restaurant and walked over. Fifteen minutes later we came away with a couple of new friends, and a containers of hummus and fuul (stewed fava beans). A few doors down there was a queue at a bakery and we bought some fresh pitas. Best takeout of the week!


View from our hotel window towards the Grand Husseini Mosque over the mostly quiet streets of downtown Amman.


Out for an after dinner stroll to enjoy the Ramadan lights and night markets.












Our second day in Amman the Roman Theater was open. Wow!

Egypt: Disappointing Alexandria

I didn't have much expectation for Alexandria. John had more illusions of greatness because of its illustrious history. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, Alexandria was the capital of Egypt for the next millennium. Alexandria's splendor was said to be unrivaled in the ancient world. Its intellectual and economic power surpassed Rome. Its lighthouse was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and stood for 1500 years. Its library was the largest in the world until Christians burnt up all that pagan knowledge.

Today there is very little remains from that glorious past. All the buildings from the more recent past are in various states of decay. We tried out one of the tram lines, built by the British. At the time it was one of the largest and most modern in the world. The system is much diminished today, but we were in a new car and the young conductor took particular care in keeping it clean. Alas while we were en route, a metal pole crossed paths with our tram, shattering a window - lucky no one was injured, except my heart was broken for the young driver/conductor team. In this brutal world, one cannot care too much, because some uncaring person is bound to come and make a mess. Is this the reason for all the decay?!

We started our journey from Cairo to Alexandria by riding the metro a few stops to the train station.


It's a short walk from the train station metro stop to Ramses Railway Station.


Here's a video of our train pulling into the station. Link here.


They still harvest wheat by hand in most of Egypt. Here's a field with rows of sheaves (as seen from the train).


The train was far from full. We each took a window seat.


A few shots from the train window.




Our hotel in Alexandria, the Misr Hotel, was on the 9th and 10th floors of the Art Deco Hikal Building (1st below). Standing on the balcony gazing out to the Mediterranean Sea, or to the tram lines and mosque below, became fav pastimes.












The sunset view from the balcony was particularly awesome.




The elevator in the Hikal Building was missing a door or two, which added to its charm IMO. ;-) Link here.




We soon found a couple of restaurants we liked, and the hotel's breakfast (2nd below), served on the 10th floor, was also pretty good.




We also walked along The Corniche (seafront promenade) at least twice a day. The Corniche is especially lively after sunset and the Ramadan fast is over for the day.






Walking the Corniche, one finds that Alexandria has beaches, shipyards, and a harbor with fishing boats.












The streets behind the Corniche are also lively at night.


Alexandria's trams are a mixed bag; old and new.




We were riding a new yellow tram like the one (first) below when several metal pipes rolled off of a truck and broke a rear tram window (2nd below). We got off the tram just after the accident, then saw it go by us about 30 minutes later.




Short video looking out the tram window.


One day we visited several of ancient ruins in town: Pompey's Pillar, and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa,






We walked home from the catacombs through a market or two.


Alexandria possesses several nifty mid-20th century cinemas, and more than several buildings with Art Deco floral reliefs. First below, Cinema Radio.


Cinema Metro.


Floral Reliefs.