#which sadly is Not the first time pompey is named. it’s like the third. but all in the same chunk of text at least??

[catilinas]

had not previously considered this but. why is crassus(‘ unavenged ghost) the first named person in the pharsalia??????

[avaantares]

AVA’s Adventures in Egypt: Alexandria

Time for another installment of travel photos! (Meaning, I’ve only just got the next batch sorted. Dear goodness, I took a lot of pictures on this trip.)

More pictures below the cut, including the Library of Alexandria, Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa, and Roman Amphitheatre.

We took a day trip to Alexandria, home of the famed Library of Alexandria (RIP) and the Lighthouse of Alexandria (also RIP), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Alexandria, like the many other cities of the same name, was founded by Alexander the Great in his own honor (dude had an ego, but boy howdy did he know how to get things done) around 331 BCE. It was a center of arts and culture in the ancient world, housing the most famous library in history, as well as being an important Mediterranean port city.

Sadly, while the city center and tourist sites are still fairly well-maintained, much of the surrounding city has fallen into a poor state. The narrow streets are littered with trash and rubble. Building collapses (and fatalities from them) are not uncommon, which is not surprising when you look at how many of them are crumbling where they stand:

Our first stop was the Catacombs of Kom el Shuqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages (good thing they all come in sets of seven, right?). This elaborate underground necropolis was carved from bedrock in the 2nd century CE. Besides being an amazing feat of engineering, it’s notable for its sometimes-bizarre blending of Egyptian, Hellenistic and Roman culture.

This complex is huge, with three underground tiers, one of which is now completely underwater. A large spiral staircase circling a central well (used for lowering the bodies) is the entrance to the complex, with smaller staircases leading off to each section. Here’s the view down one of the latter, heading down to the funeral chamber:

Empty graves in the burial chambers:

Egyptian mummification rituals depicted on the walls:

Left: This statue is standing in a classically Egyptian pose and wearing traditional Egyptian clothing, but has a distinctly Roman face and hairstyle.

Right: The Egyptian god Anubis is depicted in a Greek contrapposto pose and wearing Roman armor.

From there, we proceeded past Pompey’s Pillar (which I shot through the window of a moving vehicle; just Google it for a better photo than I can provide) to the Roman amphitheatre -- the only one in Egypt. This site was discovered completely by chance beneath a city park in 1960. Most of ancient Alexandria lies buried with the modern city built on top of it, and is inaccessible to archaeologists, but since this small area was designated a park, it had remained undeveloped. In addition to the amphitheatre, excavations in the park revealed contemporary brick houses and a villa full of mosaics.

The amphitheatre, viewed from what is now street level:

The neighboring houses and villas, along with the remains of a colonnaded street:

Since the park is surrounded by downtown, it’s impossible to unearth any more of the ancient city. Here, you can see where the edge of the park reclaims the ruins:

The amphitheatre itself is fairly well-preserved (after restoration), all things considered. If you look closely, you can see Greek characters carved into the front of each seat block. I didn’t know seat numbers went back to the 1st century, but apparently they do!

Sections of the mosaic floor also survive, as do the columns that once held up an ill-fated roof added in the sixth century. Unfortunately, the builders were bad at math, and the roof collapsed.

The amphitheatre also has AMAZING acoustics. We tried it out.

Some of the adjoining buildings may have been used as dressing rooms or event halls.

Obligatory amphitheatre selfie!

From there, we proceeded to the coast to see where the famed Lighthouse of Alexandria used to be before an earthquake destroyed it in the 14th century. The Citadel of Qaitbay was built on the same spot in the 15th century:

Then, on to the Library of Alexandria!

I mean, it’s not the original, of course. That one ceased to exist in the third century CE (after centuries of poor management, political sabotage and declining status -- not by the fire set by Julius Caesar in the 1st century BCE, as pop culture often depicts). But there’s a massive new modern library built (approximately) on the site of the previous one. It contains state-of-the-art research stations and interactive tools, as well as a couple of museum levels.

Outside:

Inside:

That’s it for Alexandria. Stay tuned for more Egyptian antiquities... just as soon as I sort the remaining 4,000 photos. T_T

[markandtrish]

Liverpool, February 4-8, 2020

Tuesday

Set off on a new adventure to Liverpool, intending to stop overnight in Stafford but we made such good progress that we decided to press on and give ourselves an extra day in Liverpool.

Arrived at the campsite in Southport about 4pm and were soon set up, and decided to treat ourselves to a meal out. Freezing cold by the seafront but we walked along to a pub where we had vouchers for a free drink each, The Guelder Rose. Had our drink and decided to have a carvery there as well, which was lovely. Called in to a couple more pubs on the way back to the van admiring the elegance of Southport, before a quick bit of tv and an early night.

 Wednesday

Up to get the train into Liverpool. About a 40 minute journey in and when we arrived we headed straight for Mathew Street, home of the Cavern Club. Had a look at the wall of fame outside and the discs to commemorate every Number One hit by a Liverpool group or artist then went down into the depths of the Cavern Club for a drink and listen to a local musician. Loads of memorabilia around the walls and every inch of the brickwork has been signed by visitors.

A lovely time looking round then we came out and headed for Albert Docks. It suddenly got really cold again so we went into the Maritime museum to warm up. Sadly, the Titanic display was closed for work to be done on it but we went round the Museum of slavery and the Lusitania exhibition. A huge place and loads of information. Had lunch in the café there, a bowl of Scouse, a lamb stew served with pickled red cabbage.

We then headed away from the water to Chinatown and the Anglican Cathedral, the biggest in Britain. We found the arch but considering it’s meant to be the largest Chinatown in the country, we couldn’t find much at all, a street of closed restaurants and that was about it.

The cathedral was much more impressive, designed in 1902 by Giles Gilbert Scott whose other claim to fame is as the designer of the red phone box.

A wander back into the city, calling at the Bombed-Out Church, and a last drink to rest our weary legs before heading back on the train to Southport and back to the van.

Thursday 

Up in good time to catch the train into Liverpool and get to the Mersey Ferry for the 11am cruise. Just before embarking we strolled to The Beatles statue at the Pier Head and waited our turn for selfies with the Fab Four.

It was cold out on the river but the cruise was the best way possible to see Liverpool’s famous waterfront, including the Three Graces – the Liver building, the Cunard offices and the Port of Liverpool building. Spent about 45 minutes going across and up and down the river, with two stops on the Wirral. Every so often they played a little blast of Ferry Cross the Mersey, which was nice.

Disembarked and made our way back into town, looking around St Nick’s - the fishermen’s church totally rebuilt after all but the spire was destroyed in the war – before stopping off for the first drink of the day at the nearby Pig and Whistle pub. Took time out for a lovely and very filling Chinese buffet meal and then it was off to the Metropolitan cathedral – Paddy’s Wigwam – an absolutely incredible building. 

We were amazed to learn that the iconic structure was in fact the third design over many decades. The other two were never built, although the crypt for the second, giant dome design was constructed in the 1930s. It’s the biggest crypt in Britain and it sits underneath a cathedral of a totally different design! Walked all around the outside of the cathedral, looking at the different chapels on the way and seeing the inscribed name of Elizabeth’s grandad, who was the diocese surveyor. Walked on back into Liverpool, stopping at Ma Egerton’s pub, named after a famous theatrical agent and landlady before visiting the statue of Eleanor Rigby near Mathew Street before heading to the Cavern Pub for a drink. Home on the teatime train for cheese rolls, wine, a film, and a very resting bed!

Friday

A well-deserved lie-in today after all our walking. Had a stroll into Southport and a look at the shops then treated ourselves to fish and chips in Spoons. Back to the van for a cup of tea and relax before setting off into Liverpool about 5pm.

Had a drink in The Grapes pub in Mathew Street and then we went to the Beatles show at the Cavern. It’s not in the actual cavern but an underground lounge next door, pretty packed with people of all ages. A good warm-up act of a bloke with a guitar covering lots of stuff by other performers at the Cavern over the years, from Buddy Holly to Queen, who had their first paid gig at the Cavern.

The Beatles came on later and ran through a host of songs with very little chat in between. Paul and John looked very like the originals but it was a good show, people were up and dancing and we left very reluctantly just before the end to catch the penultimate train back to Southport and finally rolled into bed about midnight, weary but happy.

 Saturday  

A bit of a lie in this morning before catching the train again, this time to head under the Mersey to the Wirral. A very easy transport system and regular trains meant we were soon at Rock Ferry, the nearest station to Prenton Park, the home of Tranmere Rovers. 

A 20 minute walk got us to the ground and we picked up our tickets before joining a couple of coach loads of Pompey fans in the Prenton Park pub. We then wandered up to the ground where they have a fan zone, a big marquee outside the ground open to all fans. They have a bar, food, hot drinks, tables, an area for kids to play Fifa and lots of memorabilia. There were loads of families and fans meeting up there and it was a really friendly atmosphere. Probably the only time we will see a football marquee with chandeliers!

A few problems with seating as there were no set seats and the gangways soon filled up, not helped by the steward who just told them to squeeze in where they could! They were soon moved to the edges of the stand by the police and everything settled down to a good game on a pretty ropey pitch. A 2-0 win for Pompey helped us ignore the freezing cold wind and we made a detour on the way home to a pub that had the best toilets in Liverpool. The Philarmonic Dining Rooms pub, beautifully decorated with red marble urinals in the gents, (very ordinary ladies toilets), which is now a Grade 1 listed building.

Back to Southport and a quick steak dinner before a good night’s sleep.