Alexandria, Egypt: A city of legend embarks on a new journey

On a cloudless morning in mid-September, it was not quiet around the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the modern disc-shaped library in Cleopatra's ancient hometown in Egypt. Outside, students flirted and joked on the edge of a reflecting pool. Behind them, cars whizzed by on the Corniche, the spruced-up sea road that hugs the Mediterranean.

Inside, a tour guide, a fast-talking young woman wearing a bright hijab, led a group of tourists into the library's immense reading room, stopping on a wooden terrace that looked down onto more terraces. The sun threw spots of blue and green light onto the floors through colorful glass as she pointed out the library's art galleries, theaters, rare manuscript collections and planetarium, as well as its more than half a million books.

But the thing that caught everyone's attention was the Espresso Book Machine in the main reading room. The giant photocopier-like machine can print, on demand, virtually any book, complete with color covers and glue bindings in minutes.

It is a fitting symbol for Alexandria, a faded metropolis that is rising again from the sea, one replicated landmark at a time.

Situated on the Mediterranean along Egypt's north coast, Alexandria is a city of legend. This is where Euclid sired geometry, Aristarchus deduced that the Earth revolved around the sun (about 18 centuries before Copernicus) and, of course, the young Alexander the Great founded the city as his capital in 331 BC

The city flourished through the 19th century as the hub of Egypt's commerce, especially the cotton trade, drawing a cosmopolitan mix of Greeks, Italians, French, Jews and Levantine Arabs, who brought their languages, architecture and food. But things had changed by the time of the Suez Crisis in 1956, when Egypt privatized the Suez Canal, prompting military attacks by Britain, France and Israel. In its aftermath, many foreigners left or were expelled from Alexandria, and the city's cultural grandeur began to crumble — much like the ancient part of the city that lies at the bottom of the sea.

In recent years, however, efforts by preservationists and the government to restore the city's luster have started to bear fruit. The first sign of Alexandria's renewal was the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the glimmering vision in steel and glass that opened on the Corniche in 2002.

Built near the site of the original Library of Alexandria — perhaps the ancient world's greatest, with an unrivaled collection that included original manuscripts of Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles — the Bibliotheca seeks to resurrect that lost monument with shelf space for eight million books and a massive granite wall inscribed with what officials say are characters from all the world's written languages.

Another sign of the city's resurgence is the sumptuous Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria. Opened in July, it has 9 restaurants, a large infinity pool and 118 plush, modern guest rooms, many facing the Mediterranean.

Like many additions in this storied city, the hotel evokes an icon from the past. The Four Seasons was built on the site of the original San Stefano Hotel, once Egypt's reigning grande dame, which was demolished in the late 1990's.

The hotel was booked all summer. At dusk one evening in September, American businessmen and Arab tourists sipped wine and smoked peach-flavored tobacco in Bleu, a hotel patio bar, with a view of the Eastern Harbor and construction on the beach below.

Outside the city, one of the two airports, Borg Al-Arab, is being expanded to accommodate more passengers. There are now regular flights from Germany and Britain.

And there are plans, though still not financed, to restore the city's Eastern Harbor with an underwater archaeology museum, a waterfront promenade and hotels, including one inspired by the third-century BC Pharos lighthouse, whose ruins lie underwater.

But even now, despite the big plans and new polish, the city still has an unvarnished charm. Alexandria has never stopped being a destination for Egyptians. They summer on its 25 miles of sandy beaches, and picnic in the manicured Shallalat Gardens, which contain remnants of the old city walls. And students, weaned on a vibrant café culture, sip strong coffee and surf the Internet at Café Trianon, an old French pâtisserie in the bustling Saad Zaghloul Square.

At night, Alexandrians take to the Corniche. Couples relax on the sea wall, and families line up for ice cream at one of dozens of local stands. At the western end of the Corniche, Fort Qaitbay feels like an Egyptian Coney Island, with pony rides for the kids and shisha tobacco pipes for their parents.

A young generation of Alexandrians, weary of the nostalgia for the city's European past, is also renewing the city in smaller ways. On a September evening, Mahmoud Khaled, an artist who helps run the Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum, an exhibition space, talked about the city's fledgling artists. "It's still a small scene," Khaled said, adding that the library had become a cultural magnet. "We get lots of students."

As he prepared for a new exhibit of Arab artists, he talked about the popular perception of Alexandria among visitors, which, for many, continues to be shaped by a set of postwar British novels called "The Alexandria Quartet."

"You don't have to see the city the way Lawrence Durrell did," Khaled said, referring to the books' author. "We're really interested in getting them to look at the city in different ways."

A Mediterranean Hot Spot, Again

GETTING THERE

Borg Al-Arab Airport, under an hour's drive from central Alexandria, is served by a number of carriers, including British Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates. Flights from America require a connection.

From the airport, a taxi ride to central should cost 50 to 75 Egyptian pounds, about $9 to $14 at 5.7 pounds to the dollar. Negotiate first.

WHERE TO STAY

The Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria at San Stefano (399 El Geish Road; 20-3-581-8000; www.fourseasons.com) is the city's most upscale hotel, with a luxurious spa. Rooms start at $320.

Closer to the city's sites, the Sofitel Cecil Hotel (16 Saad Zaghloul Square; 20-3-487-7173; www.sofitel.com), built in 1929, sits on the Corniche and offers spectacular views of the Eastern Harbor. Rooms start at 120 euros, $180 at $1.50 to the euro.

WHERE TO EAT

Café Trianon (52 Saad Zaghloul Street; 20-3-483-5881). On the ground floor of the restored Metropole hotel, order a cappuccino (8 Egyptian pounds), the dessert called om ali (18 pounds) and enjoy great views of city life; the café has free Wi-Fi.

White and Blue Restaurant (at the end of the Corniche by Fort Qaitbay, 20-3-480-2690), also known as the Greek Club, is in the Hellenic Nautical Club. A full dinner including grilled sea bass, served the Egyptian way (with tomato and basil) or Greek (with potatoes), is 120 pounds.

WHAT TO DO

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Shatby; 20-3-483-9999; www.bibalex.org) has daily tours in English, Arabic, French, Italian and Spanish. Admission to the library is 10 pounds, and 20 for the museum galleries.

Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (10 Hussein Hassab Street, Flat 6, Azarita; 20-3-480-4145; www.acafspace.org ) is a nonprofit exhibition space that showcases emerging Egyptian and international artists.

(πηγή: www.iht.com, 18/12/2007)