Middle East - Anthony Ham [116]
Thomas Cook ( 484 7830; www.thomascookegypt.com; 15 Midan Saad Zaghloul; 8am-4pm)
POST & TELEPHONE
The main post office (Sharia al-Bursa al Qadima; 8.30am-3pm Sat-Thu) is two blocks east of Midan Orabi. There is a 24-hour Telephone centrale (24) on Midan Gomhurriya. Mobile phone SIM and top-up cards are available everywhere.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Main tourist office ( 485 1556; Midan Saad Zaghloul; 8.30am-6pm) Only marginally informative; in the southwest corner of the midan.
Tourist office ( 392 5985; 8.30am-6pm) At Misr train station.
VISA EXTENSIONS
Passport office ( 482 7873; 28 Sharia Talaat Harb; 8am-1.30pm Sat-Thu) Off Sharia Salah Salem.
Sights
BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA
The boldly modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina ( 483 9999; www.bibalex.org; Corniche al-Bahr, Chatby; admission adult/student E£10/5, Antiquities Museum adult/student E£20/10, Manuscript Museum adult/student E£20/10; 11am-7pm Sun-Thu, 3-7pm Fri & Sat) seems a fitting 20th-century replacement for the near-mythical library of Alexandria. The original library was founded in the late 3rd century BC and was the pre-eminent centre of learning, considered one of the greatest of all classical institutions. The modern counterpart resembles a gigantic angled discus, with the ancient wealth of learning lyrically evoked on the curved exterior walls by giant letters, hieroglyphs and symbols from every known alphabet. Inside there’s room for eight million books in the vast, completely windowed, main rotunda.
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A MAGICAL HYSTORY (CAFFEINATED) TOUR
In case you hadn’t noticed, Alexandria is a café town – and we’re not talking Starbucks double-decaf-soy-lowfat-vanilla-grande lattes here. Ever since the first half of the 20th century, Alexandria’s culture has centred on these venues, where the city’s diverse population congregate to live out life’s dramas over pastries and a cup of tea or coffee. Many of these old haunts remain and are definitely worth a visit for nostalgic purposes, historical associations and grand decor, but not always for the food.
As good a place to start as any is at Athineos ( 487 7173; 21 Midan Saad Zaghloul), an establishment that lives and breathes nostalgia. The café part on the Midan Ramla side still has its original ‘40s fittings, period character, and quite possibly some of its original customers – a loyal following of old men drinking tea who haven’t moved for decades. Also facing Midan Ramla is Trianon (56 Midan Saad Zaghloul; from 7am; ), a favourite haunt of the Greek poet Cavafy, who worked in offices above.
Next, stroll around the corner to check out Delicies (46 Sharia Saad Zaghloul; from 7am; ). This enormous old tearoom drips with atmosphere and can actually whip up a decent breakfast. If you’re starting to tire, pop in next door for a strong kick-start espresso at the counter (no seats) of old java haunt Brazilian Coffee Store (Sharia Saad Zaghloul; ). Popular with local businessfolk and old Greek men, it also has a branch on Sharia Salah Salem (with seats).
Vinous ( 486 0956; cnr Sharias al-Nabi Daniel & Tariq al-Horreyya; 7am-1am) is an old-school patisserie with more grand deco styling than you can poke a puff pastry at, but really we love it for the period scales labelled with the ‘Just’ brand. From here you can make a historical detour to the place where the famous Pastroudis (Tariq al-Horeyya; 7am-1am) still stands. This was a frequent meeting point for the characters of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet.
Finally, exhausted, you might just need one last pick-me-up coffee. Head over to Sharia Saad Zaghloul and Sofianopoulo Coffee Store (Sharia Saad Zaghloul), a gorgeous coffee retailer that would be in a museum anywhere else in the world.
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GRAECO-ROMAN MUSEUM
The Graeco-Roman Museum ( 486 5820; 5 Sharia al-Mathaf ar-Romani; adult/student E£30/15; 9am-4pm) is home to one of the most extensive collections of Graeco-Roman art in the world, with over 40,000 objects in its collection. Look for the collection of realistic terracotta statuettes