Rediscovering nostalgia
In Alexandria, Fatemah Farag traces a map of memory
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A stroll by the sea in Montazah (top); Cavafy's apartment, north of Horreya Avenue, now a museum that includes his desk and his death mask (bottom); Clockwise from top: Fishing in Alexandria; Shells modelled into rabbits, rotating bird contraptions and necklaces on sale outside Qait Bey; Attarin antique market; The Women's Squeeze
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My trip begins at Ramses Station, the oldest train station in Africa. As the train rushes towards the city of Alexandria the banality of everyday life starts to fall away and I am released into the city o fmemory. This is the time I always migrate to the north: when the nine million tourists that assaulted the city over the summer are heading back home from the city once called the "Bride of the Mediterranean". Starting from October and through to May, travellers who search for the images that have come to represent Alexandria -- the city as drawn by E M Forster, Lawrence Durell, Constantine Cavafis and Edward El-Kharat -- can trace them in the storm-blown Corniche, the sleepy tea houses, the art deco façades of buildings being gutted and pulled down and the depths of a Mahmoud Said painting hanging in Gianaclis.
Not that the modern does not invade that space of memory -- when starting out of the Sidi Gaber train station look right to avoid the looming, intrusive, aggressive modern high rises that have taken over too many of Alexandria's streets and look, instead, towards the old buildings that hold, hidden in their decrepit corners, the echoes of a life that once was.
My companions scoff: eyeing my much thumbed copies of Durell's Alexandria Quartet, Harry Tzalas's Farewell Alexandria and Andre Amicien's Out of Egypt they beg me to stop dreaming of the Alexandria of the imagination and partake in the real city; the city that lies before us on a sunny winter's day as we walk out of the graceful neo-Baroque Misr Station, designed by an Italian and a Greek in 1927.
Alexandria is the perfect destination for a winter weekend. Easily accessible by plane, train, bus and car the city offers a host of hotels, eateries and attractions to cater to all tastes and budgets. (see related Traveller's notes)
It is a city, however, whose history -- romanticised or not -- is inescapable. Many of the sites that define the modern Alexandria are merely built over layers of the old. Fouad/ Horreya Street downtown roughly covers the ancient Canopic Way (which used to be lined with marble colonnades and was where visitors entered the city), the Saad Zaghloul Statue that stands in the middle of Raml is where Cleopatra began the Caesareum in honour of Mark Antony some two thousand years ago and the site of Qait Bey is no less than the site of Pharos, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
To take it all in, the city lends itself to being walked in. We start in the centre of town -- Raml -- and head out to the Corniche. The recent expansion of the Corniche has turned it into a highway and crossing is hazardous if you are unwilling -- as most people seem to be -- to walk the long distances to reach the nearest pedestrian tunnel. However, once safely across, the cobble-stoned walkway along the waters of the old port is wonderful in any weather. Turn towards the Qait Bey Fort situated at the tip of the Eastern Harbour and on the way take in Midan Al-Tahrir (Midan Al-Manshiya) originally laid out by Khedive Mohamed Ali. There now stands a statue of khedive on a horse in tribute. By its side stands the Anglican Church, a remnant of the time when this was the site of many of the interests of the foreign community such as the Bourse and Mixed Tribunals. The monument hints to a more modern history, a history that includes the speech made by late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser in this very square when he announced to the Egyptian people on 26 July 1956 that his government would nationalise the Suez Canal. In fact, it was the latter and all that followed that played a key role in emptying the city of much of its cosmopolitan element.
Go down Salah Salem Street and you can reach the Attarin district where vestiges of the cities past are still on sale. Old clocks, watches, bronze statues, items big and small all vie for space on the narrow alleyways that make up the market. Everything can be found here from LE50,000 French consoles to LE50 old Coca-Cola adds. Copies of old-fashioned furniture is abundant and further down the market you can find old doors and metal works to boot. Alas, the market is a shadow of its previous self; many vendors will complain the city has been bought out of much of its furniture heritage, Al- Attarin was discovered long ago by foreign antique dealers who have bought in bulk and taken this heritage out of the country.
More frivollous -- and less expensive -- shopping can be enjoyed at the near-by Zan'et Al-Sitat -- literally "The Women's Squeeze" where a long narrow alley is lined with vendors selling hair clips, fake jewellery and all sorts of feminine paraphernalia.
But back to the Corniche which leads straight up to the fort built by the Mameluke Sultan Qait Bey in 1480. Inside the fort is a museum which opens daily from 9am to 4pm except Fridays when it opens from noon to 2pm. Those who enjoy looking at old weapons will enjoy walking through the museum which contains remains of Napoleonic and Roman sea battles. Within the entrance of the fort are five monolithic pillars said to be from the lighthouse Pharaohs which stood on this same spot and rose to four or five times the height of the current fort.
The area around the fort has been recently renovated and so you can walk along the sea while enjoying modern art stone sculptures, watching the Alexandrians fish and peruse the shells on sale. Many sellers along the Corniche exhibit their skill with shells by modelling them into rabbits, rotating bird contraptions and necklaces. Or step in to the aquarium if you have time -- however, a sad collection of fish and a couple of empty tanks are all you should expect to find. Next door is the Greek Club which retains a spot of sandy beach. Pay LE20 and gain admittance to the beach or walk up to their second floor restaurant which boasts a comfortable terrace with great views of the harbour and city.
From this vantage point you get a clear view across the water of the disc of the modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina which stands on the site of the ancient Mouseion. For LE4 you can gain admittance to the library and take in one of the feats of modern architecture and design or you can just enjoy the promenade outside the library where a few modern sculptures are put out for public enjoyment.
Turn your back on the sea and walk straight into the heart of the city up Safiya Zaghloul street and towards what was most probably the ancient crossroads of the city now Nabi Danyal Street (named after Mohamed Danyal Al-Maridi, a venerated sheikh who died in 1407) and Horreya Avenue. On your way and off to the right, tucked away into non-descript side streets is the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of St Mark, the Greek Orthodox patriarchal Church (St Saba) and the Constantine Cavafis Museum (4 Sharm El-Sheikh Street, once Rue Lepsius) where the poet lived from 1907 till his death in 1933 above a bordello. There are no signs left of the bordello but his apartment is kept in pristine condition by the Cultural Section of the Greek Embassy. The museum is open till 4pm and if you are Egyptian the young man who opens the door does not seem too keen on making you pay the LE10 ticket. Here Cavafis entertained E M Forster during the First World War and on view are his bed, the desk, at which he wrote masterpieces such as Ithaca, and his death mask.
On the northern end of Nabi Danyal is the Synagogue -- before 1957 the Alexandrian Jewish community numbered around 15,000. And while your guidebooks may list visiting hours we were told by the officers outside the gate that you can only be admitted if you are Jewish. And you are not allowed to take any photos either. On the southern side of the same street, which is crowded with shops of all kinds and whose old buildings are quickly falling prey to modern construction, there are ancient columns, which serve as gate posts outside Abdel-Razeq Mosque. They are thought to have been part of the Great Library of Alexandria. Today most people are attracted to the bookstalls that line the fence and the French Cultural Centre.
On Horreya Avenue, known to Cavafis as Rue Rosette and to Durrell as Rue Fouad, stands the Amir Cinema with its art deco foyer and a sadly ailing Pastroudis, a cafe/ restaurant founded by a Greek family in 1923.
Further down, a passage way between two large apartment buildings brings you to the newly renovated Sayed Darwish Theatre -- formerly the Mohamed Ali Opera House. On the carriageway that leads to the theatre is a recently opened Renaissance movie house and a small Avante Garde café perfect for an evening latte after a movie or concert. Across the street the Ministry of Culture has opened an arts centre which usually offers a wide ranging selection of concerts and exhibits.
A move southeast within the city will bring you to the Shallalat Gardens which include remnants of the Arab walls -- saved from privatisation by the late scholar and environment activist Adel Abu Zahra who was key in protecting many of the city's landmarks that we enjoy today. Across the street are high-walled cemeteries of diverse faiths.
Other gardens which deserve to have time spent in them are the Antoniadis Gardens which are filled with modern classical-style statues and the Nozha gardens where you can enjoy shade under the diverse trees planted by Khedive Ismail. It was here that Forster allegedly had his first date with Mohamed El-Adl, a tram conductor, sometime in the winter of 1916-17.
Or you can head out to Montazah. Although the palace has been reserved for presidential use and is no longer a museum, and summer cabins for the rich have eaten up far too much of the sea-side property and American fast-food joints have sprouted on the grounds, Montazah continues to boast possibly the best kept gardens in Alexandria and the walk out to the lighthouse is worth a visit at sunset. Also search out the royal greenhouses at the back of the gardens and sneak a look at grand plants through the cracks of the glass.
If you are interested in in-door activities other than the library and Cavafis Museum, Alexandria boasts the Graeco-Roman Museum (see adjoining article) and my current favourite, the Mahmoud Said Museum in Gianaclis, which not only exhibits paintings by Said, including a room full of nudes from which the friendly floor manager in hijab shies away, but has a floor dedicated to magnificent works by Adham and Seif Wanly. An underground level brings together works of contemporary artists including sculptures by Abdel- Hady El-Wishahy and paintings by Abdel-Hady El- Gazzar.
Do not be put off by the silly routine of having to sign your name and ID number and stating the purpose of your visit in a log book upon your entry and being requested to sign your name again as you leave. The official on duty was generous enough to let us sign both entry and exit at the same time and we were informed that the measure was not in vain but important for security reasons. The fact that there are no supervisors on the floors to protect the priceless artwork on the walls is noteworthy, though.
The Royal Jewellery Museum (27 Ahmed Yehia Street) shows some minor pieces but is not convincing -- it actually makes you wonder where all the jewels have gone. The villa is worth the visit -- owned by royalty and decorated in the 1920s it is well preserved and each room is done in a different style. There is also the Fine Arts Museum on Ahmed Ismail Street, a gift to the city from the Menasces, a prominent Jewish family.
But, when you are done site seeing, you are bound to be left hungry. And food is definitely an area in which the city remains one of excess.
There are the teahouses that have defined the city since its cosmopolitan days such as Delices, an expansive, old-school teashop with windows that open onto Raml Square and the sea beyond. Home- made quality Baklava and Turkish coffee with milk have been recognised as the mainstays of this establishment; delicacies that in themselves are worth the trip. Another option is the neighbouring Trianon which does not have outside views but instead offers the comfort of wood-panelled walls, art deco chandeliers and wonderful chocolate cake with cream and walnuts, among other sinful delights.
If you would prefer a more basic snack walk up the small street in front of the back entrance of Delices and sample Mohamed Ahmed's fuul and taamiya, fried cheese, hommous and omelettes. It just might be the best purveyor of these basic staples nationwide. Mohamed Ahmed also boasts a clean shop, efficient and friendly service and a take out section.
This is of course a city which boasts fantastic fish restaurants. There is Qaddura in the old quarter of Anfoushi with his tables out on the alleyway. Here there are no cheap frills -- just fresh fish which you choose and have either fried, grilled or baked. Keeping up with his clientele, Qaddura opened a marble and glass version of his shop on the Corniche which offers the same high quality food, if in a less picturesque atmosphere. For a basic fish meal there is also Abu Ashraf. An up market option is The Fish Market on the Corniche in Bahari district which offers a wider range of options of how to cook your fish as well as a great selection of salads. For the more adventurous, a half hour trip out of city will take you to Zepherion in Abu Qir. Here the fish is either fried or grilled with oil and lemon. The salads include fried eggplant, beer and wine are served and the restaurant is directly on the beach providing its customers with what is possibly the best view of the Mediterranean.
If, however, it is old-world ambiance you are looking for, head back to Safiya Zaghloul Street and go to Elite, owned by Madam Christine, a Greek woman and one of the few remaining people who remember the city as it once was. Photos of her with Seif Wanly adorn side walls, Mattise and Stienlem prints hang on others while most of the restaurant is dominated by windows out onto the street. A great place for a cold beer and fried -- if greasy -- calamari, but it's better known for Caprice a la crème: macaroni in cream and cheese in copious quantities. Across the street is Santa Lucia. The food is not the main attraction but go late and listen to an improbable band that sings lyrics from a long long time ago.
Or head down Saad Zaghloul street towards Manshiya Square and snuff out Cap D'Or -- popularly known as Sheikh Ali's Bar -- currently run by his sons and grandsons. The décor is art nouveau, the mood is intimate, the food and service impeccable. One of my travel companions has an annoying habit of getting sick every time we go because he cannot resist eating too many bisarias -- fried minuscule fish eaten whole and served at Cap D'Or in heapings. They also serve the smallest and tastiest barbouni fish I have ever encountered. The mezza includes pistachios, tuna, lupine beans, properly spiced tehina and fresh salad. You sort of sit in a corner and lose track of time.
And so we finally settle down in our corner after a day of discovering Alexandria old and new. Although my companions have been keen to point out that what we have seen is the real city, I am smug in my knowledge that we have spent the day re-tracing the city of our dreams. I remember Tzalas's Alexandrea ad Aegyptum: "Looking down at Alexandria, I rediscover the treasures from my childhood that I had thought lost forever. Look, I say to myself, this was Paradise all along! It is here, in this narrow strip of land between the reflection of the lake and the immensity of the Mediterranean -- and yet it took me a whole lifetime to find it.
"[...] You see, the past meets the present and there is no future. Time ceases to have meaning. The great hourglass that was placed on the Pharaohs of the Ptolomies will not be turned again. Today meets yesterday and becomes an eternal 'now'; we are freed from tomorrow."
