First published: 18/03/23.

Wojciech Fedoruk 1

Alexandria

Alexandria (On tentative list)

Alexandria by Wojciech Fedoruk

Place visited in February 2023. From this proposal, me and my family visited two components – ‘Huge monuments and structures’ and ‘Ancient necropolises’ At the beginning we visited Pompey's Pillar with its surroundings (ruins of Serapeion). The pillar is gigantic, measuring almost 27 meters and stands out even now outside the buildings in the city center. In the area there are numerous statues of Greek and Roman provenance.

The number one of our visit to Alexandria was certainly the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa – a huge underground cemetery with beautifully decorated tombs, placed on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. The catacombs are multi-level and contain many side corridors. The necropolis consists of a series of tombs tunnelled in 2nd century AD and used until 4th century. They represent a mix of Egyptian, Greek and Roman traditions and styles.

Apart from these sights, Alexandria did not make a good impression on us. We wanted to wander around the city and see the Biblioteca Alexandrina building, but after a long stand in the crap in giant traffic jams, we didn't feel like it. By the way – I don't know why Egypt put a modern New Library building as part of the proposal – it does not fit at all with the other ancient monuments and when assessed by ICOMOS (if it ever happens) it is unlikely to hold.

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