Alexandria

We had a bit of a sleep in today, then caught the bus north to Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast. It's a nice city of 5 million people, and we were happy to be on the coast. Straight away we could see all of the Roman influences around town. It was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, was made the capital of Egypt, and now almost doesn't fit in with the rest of the country. Still the romance of Cleopatra's days are still evident in the architecture of the city.

We quickly found the cheapest hotel available (Alex is a big weekend spot for wealthy Cairo families), complete with partial view of the Mediterranean, and headed to a restaurant on the waterfront (called Athenios) for a few cold beers. It was very relaxing sitting there, enjoying the view of the water and watching all of the people pass by. It was just too bad we were not able to sit outside, because, heaven forbid someone actually see us consuming alcohol! We then wandered along the water, watching local fishermen have a go, and stopping to play with a group of puppies while the local looked at us strangely. A typical reaction in many parts of the world where dogs are not treated well.

For dinner, we found another fantastic, cheap Egyptian place, Mohammed Ahmed's. It appeared to be a local favourite as well. We stuffed ourselves on fuul (mashed fava beans, these ones mixed with onions, tomato and coriander) and ta'amiyya (felafel), and of course plenty of shammy (pita-like bread). Walking back to our hotel, we passed through busy streets full of locals and Egyptian tourists hitting the shops, then went to bed with the sound of the ocean just sneaking in through our window.