Last Part of My Trip to Alexandria

to continue with my trip to alexandria in egypt, i will now feature the greco-roman amphitheater, the pompey's pillar and the catacombs.

first is the amphitheater. nothing much written about the theater. while in the heart of the city, magugulat ka when you will find these remains of the old theater. i am lost for words kung gano kaimpressibo ang lugar na to.



to sit here is like listening to an oration thousands of years back.


this magnificent view will welcome you pagpasok mo palang ng gate.


roman baths daw. very well-preserved pa ren. wow, naliligo pala mga tao noon kasi minsan napapaisip ako kung ung mga tao ngayon dito e naliligo araw-araw.


would you believe na itong katabi kong ito e nahukay sa dagat malapit sa qaitbay citadel? malapit daw ito sa original site ng lighthouse ni alexander na lumubog noong unang panahon.








now let's take a look at the pompey's pillar. sabi sa wikipedia, isa ang pompey's pillar sa dapat na mapuntahan sa alexandria. natiyempuhan lang namin actually ang pillar kasi while looking for the catacombs which by the way is forgettable. to tell you, ang paligid ng pillar e parang nasa squatters' area which is contrasting sa kagandahan ng pillar.



"Pompey's Pillar" is one of the best-known ancient monuments still standing in Alexandria today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis — a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery — and was originally part of a temple colonnade.



Including its pedestal, it is 30 m (99 ft) high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 meters in diameter at the base, tapering to 2.4 meters at the top. The shaft is 88 feet high made out of a single piece of granite. This would be 132 cubic meters or approximately 396 tons.



Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. The Romans had cranes but they weren't strong enough to lift something this heavy.





The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus. Beneath the acropolis itself are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis were enacted, and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library.



last is the catacombs. sa totoo lang, hindi ako nagenjoy dito. bukod sa hindi pwede ang camera sa loob, wala akong nakitang maganda sa mga tombs na matatagpuan pababa sa lupa. i felt na parang naging claustrophobic ako bigla nang magpunta ako dito.



Alexandria's catacombs, known as Kom al-Soqqafa, are a short distance southwest of the pillar, consist of a multi-level labyrinth, reached via a large spiral staircase, and featuring dozens of chambers adorned with sculpted pillars, statues, and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious symbols, burial niches and sarcophagi, as well as a large Roman-style banquet room, where memorial meals were conducted by relatives of the deceased. The catacombs were long forgotten by the citizens until they were discovered by accident in the 1800s (wikipedia.org).

umuwi man akong walang masyadong naipon, i have these pictures and memories from egypt. from the experience na nakuha ko sa dar, i can start all over again with these.