Middle East - Anthony Ham [120]
6 Moharrem Bey to Ras el-Tin
15 Ramla to Ras el-Tin via El-Gomruk & Anfushi
16 Midan St Katerina to Pompey’s Pillar
25 Ras el-Tin to Sidi Gaber, via Ramla
36 Ras el-Tin to San Stefano & Sidi Gaber
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ROSETTA (AR-RASHID)
03 / pop 194,693
It is hard to believe that this dusty town that sits on the western branch of the Nile was once Egypt’s most significant port. But its strategic position, between the Mediterranean and the Nile, made Rosetta an important military site. Today, the town’s windy streets lie packed with market stalls selling produce while donkey carts still manage to outnumber cars. The major draw here are the attractive Ottoman-era merchant houses, several of them restored to former glistening-wood glory. Rosetta is also most famous as the discovery place of the stone stele that provided the key to deciphering hieroglyphics (Click here).
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THE ROSETTA STONE
The Rosetta Stone is the most significant find in the history of Egyptology. Unearthed in 1799 by a French soldier near Rosetta, this dark granitic stele records a decree issued by the priests of Memphis in 196 BC, on the anniversary of the coronation of Ptolemy V (205-180 BC). In order to be understood by Egyptians, Greeks and others living in Egypt, it was written in the three scripts current at the time – hieroglyphic, demotic (a cursive form of hieroglyphs) and Greek. At the time of its discovery scholars had still not managed to decipher hieroglyphs, and it was quickly realised that these three scripts would help crack the hieroglyph code and recover the lost world of the ancient Egyptians.
When the British defeated Napoleon’s army in 1801, the original Rosetta Stone was taken as a spoil of war and shipped to London, where it can still be seen at the British Museum.
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THE BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN
In June 1942 the Afrika Korps, headed by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (‘Desert Fox’), launched an all-out offensive from Tobruk, Libya, determined to take control of the strategically important Suez Canal. The Axis powers and their 500 tanks came within nearly 100km of their goal before the Allies, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, stopped their advance with a line of defence at El Alamein. In October 1942 Montgomery’s 8th Army swooped down from Alexandria with a thousand tanks, and within two weeks routed the combined German and Italian forces and drove them back to Tunisia. More than 80,000 soldiers were killed or wounded at El Alamein and in subsequent battles. Today a war museum ( 046-410 0031/0021; adult/student E£10/5; 9am-4pm) and the Commonwealth, German and Italian war cemeteries mark the scene of one of the biggest tank battles in history.
The easiest way to visit is to organise a car and English-speaking driver through Mena Tours (Map; 03-480 9676; menatoursalx@yahoo.com; 9am-5pm Sat-Thu) in Alexandria for approximately E£450 to E£500 per car. Otherwise, a private taxi will charge between E£200 to E£300 to take you to the museum and cemeteries and bring you back to Alexandria.
Alternatively, you can catch any of the Marsa Matruh buses from Al-Mo’af Al-Gedid station in Alexandria. You’ll be dropped on the main road about 200m down the hill from the museum. Some have found the return trip to Alexandria more of a challenge – you’ll need to try and flag down a minivan or passing bus by the side of the highway.
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There is no tourist office, though the eager staff at the tourist police (Museum Garden) can point you in the right direction.
Sights
Rosetta’s beautifully crafted Ottoman-era merchants’ houses were built in the traditional Delta style in red and black flat-brick. Many of these three-storey structures are adorned with ornate mashrabiyyas, which are intricately assembled wooden screens. Among the 22 impressive buildings hiding along Rosetta’s streets, several have been restored and are open to the public. These include the House of Amasyali, House of Abu Shaheen, and the wonderful Hammam Azouz,