Long before I was born, my father, a callow boy from a modest family, dreamed of getting on the stage. When World War II broke out, he was just 17 and auditioned for Ralph Reader’s Royal Air Force Gang Show. Weeks later, he was in the Middle East “entertaining the troops.”
When I was a child, she told me so many stories about Egypt and the Middle East that I longed to visit those lands. And since then, I have accomplished almost everything, except Alexandria.
A few weeks ago, some friends called me to say they were renting an Airbnb in Alex, as the town is commonly called. Would I join them?
Why not? The Foreign Office advises that it is safe to visit Cairo and Alex, many miles away from the devastating conflict in Gaza.
The added benefit was that there wouldn’t be as many people at the main sights, so a few days later I was in Cairo, heading to Alexandria.
Carol Drinkwater spends six days in Alexandria, Egypt’s “fabulous ruined city”. Above, the citadel of Qaitbay
‘Foreign Office advice is that Cairo and Alexandria (above) are safe places to visit, many miles away from the devastating conflict in Gaza,’ writes Carol
There are several ways to visit Cairo. Dozens of tour operators offer private limousine tours from Cairo. Travel time is about three hours each way on the desert road. If you are staying in Cairo, I recommend the Ritz-Carlton. It is next door to the Cairo Museum, which has phenomenal Tutankhamun exhibits.
If you decide to make Alexandria your base, there are several fascinating hotels, which are tourist attractions in their own right.
Built in 1902, Le Metropole is delightfully eccentric and ornate, with a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean. Royals used to hang out here: a gilded chair given to King Farouk by Queen Elizabeth II sits in reception.
Carol says the views from Alexandria’s Corniche (pictured) rival those in the south of France
Carol, pictured, reveals that her trip brought back memories of her father, who was stationed in Egypt during World War II.
Directly opposite Saad Zaghloul Square, where Cleopatra’s Needle was once displayed, is the equally iconic Cecil Hotel. Winston Churchill, Al Capone and W. Somerset Maugham stayed here, and King Farouk played poker.
On the first floor, Monty’s Bar celebrates Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s victory at El Alamein. Decked out with dark leather chairs like a Pall Mall club, it offers entertainment every evening. The hotel also has a rooftop restaurant with views of the Corniche promenade and the sea. Through the windows of its second restaurant you can see the Citadel of Qaitbay, which houses a maritime museum and is a great walk and outdoor visit.
One street behind the Cecil Hotel is an excellent patisserie, Delices, which opened in 1922. Back on the seafront is Windsor Palace, also with a rooftop restaurant. The views are fabulous and there is an outdoor pool and spa.
I stayed with my friends in their apartment overlooking the Corniche, with views that rivaled those of the south of France. From time to time, I saw turtles swimming in the bay.
We took an open-top tour bus along the seafront (50p each way). Alexandrians are the friendliest people in the world, so I was never afraid. I stayed six days and could easily have tripled that time to explore more of the city, rich in so many layers of history.
My first outing was to the newly built library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, located across the street from the waterfront.
The original library was one of the great centres of learning in the ancient world. It burned down and was destroyed under uncertain circumstances in 48 BC. The new library, opened in 2002, is enormous: it has room for eight million books. Browsing the shelves, I found works by British and Irish writers and sat for a while on the Shakespeare bench. It is shaped like an open book and is inscribed with extracts from his sonnets.
The library also has four museums and a planetarium.
Above, Alexandria’s iconic Cecil Hotel, which counts Winston Churchill, Al Capone and W. Somerset Maugham among its guests.
The impressive library of Alexandria, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, has space for eight million books
The open-air markets are as lively and colourful as anywhere else in the Mediterranean.
On Fridays there is a bird market, where you can buy a live caged pigeon for one euro. Rabbits and snakes are also sold.
Unfortunately, the colonial buildings on Alexandria’s beachfront are crumbling: one earthquake and the city will likely be reduced to rubble.
But there are also many magnificent historical sites, such as the Royal Jewellery Museum, housed in a fabulous Art Deco palace that once belonged to Princess Fatma Al-Zahra. The recently reopened Greco-Roman Museum, with 40,000 ancient treasures, is also magnificent.
We hired a driver and travelled to El Alamein along the coast. I was hoping for stunning views of the sea, but the beach is mostly made up of construction work. The old town of El Alamein is dusty and chaotic.
In contrast, the Commonwealth Cemetery, just outside the city, is immaculately preserved, with its gilded stone monuments and hundreds of war graves lined up. I wandered along the rows, reading the inscriptions on the headstones. So many young men, my father’s age, lost. Had I drank with any of them in Alex’s bars?
For my last night in Alex, we headed to the bar at Le Metropole. It was here that the iconic final scene of the 1958 film Ice Cold In Alex was filmed. We toasted the riches of this fabulous ruined city with ice-cold lagers and I promised myself I would be back soon for another one.
