A pop song blasted by sudden in the early morning. My body jerked as I heard some incoherent mumbles from the other bed. F is waking up and my body felt drained from my short nap because we both slept late the night before.
I snatched that bloody phone, scratch my bedside and looked at the time.
"Damn. Wake up, it's already eight!"
I bolted towards the bathroom while F was taking her time. We tried to pull an all-nighter but we dozed off the minutes we prayed for Subuh.
Half an hour later, we strapped on our sneakers and ready to explore the city. Stepping out of the apartment, we were immediately swept up by the buzzing of motorbikes, the yelling drivers and the constant drumbeat that seemed to pulsed from all corners. F and I walked along the local train station and crossed over to the other side.
Then, as I sauntered up to the taxi's passenger window, F sputtered "Wait. Do you wanna try Careem?"
I turned to look at her. The taxi driver was starting to sounds impatient. "Bisur'ah, lau samah!"
I took a quick look on my Careem account and saw seventy Egyptian Pounds balance on my online wallet. I bid the taxi goodbye, muttering sorry while the driver shouting profanities towards us.
F and I look at each other and shrugged.
"So, where do we go first?"
I explained a little about our activities of the day while waiting for the Careem driver to pick us up near to a big chai place. Fifteen minutes later, we hopped in at the back of the car while the driver was trying to communicate with us in his broken English with thick Arab accent.
"You been here before?"
F answered yes while looking out the window. "But it was like six years ago, so I can barely remember this city anymore."
I was awe-struck. Alexandria has been different from my last visit. Beautiful as it was, I quickly learned that the city's aesthetics had nothing on its characters. We bid him goodbye when we arrived at our first stop - Pompei's Pillar.
I snatched that bloody phone, scratch my bedside and looked at the time.
"Damn. Wake up, it's already eight!"
I bolted towards the bathroom while F was taking her time. We tried to pull an all-nighter but we dozed off the minutes we prayed for Subuh.
Half an hour later, we strapped on our sneakers and ready to explore the city. Stepping out of the apartment, we were immediately swept up by the buzzing of motorbikes, the yelling drivers and the constant drumbeat that seemed to pulsed from all corners. F and I walked along the local train station and crossed over to the other side.
Then, as I sauntered up to the taxi's passenger window, F sputtered "Wait. Do you wanna try Careem?"
I turned to look at her. The taxi driver was starting to sounds impatient. "Bisur'ah, lau samah!"
I took a quick look on my Careem account and saw seventy Egyptian Pounds balance on my online wallet. I bid the taxi goodbye, muttering sorry while the driver shouting profanities towards us.
F and I look at each other and shrugged.
"So, where do we go first?"
I explained a little about our activities of the day while waiting for the Careem driver to pick us up near to a big chai place. Fifteen minutes later, we hopped in at the back of the car while the driver was trying to communicate with us in his broken English with thick Arab accent.
"You been here before?"
F answered yes while looking out the window. "But it was like six years ago, so I can barely remember this city anymore."
I was awe-struck. Alexandria has been different from my last visit. Beautiful as it was, I quickly learned that the city's aesthetics had nothing on its characters. We bid him goodbye when we arrived at our first stop - Pompei's Pillar.
Pompei Pillar rises from the ruins of the ancient and famous Temple of Serapis, which was once used to keep the overflow of manuscripts from the Great Library of Alexandria. This place is located in the southwest of the city, Carmous.
As I began to feel comfortable exploring the winding streets after we exited Pompei Pillar, my ease grew in another regard - F and I pushed the boundaries once set and began exploring and talking to any stranger that we found along the way.
"Where to next?" F suddenly asked.
The sun was scorching hot, I just wanna get inside somewhere that has a roof on it and cool off.
"Er, I was thinking that we can go to Kom el-Shuqafa. The place is gonna get close by four today and it's already one-thirty now."
F drank her water, stood up and look at me.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
I snorted a little. "Coming."
Situated just to the west of Pompei Pillar, the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa is the largest and most important burial site dating back to the Greco-Roman period in Egypt. It was unearthed by coincidence in 1900 as they are laid out on several sacrophagi and shelf tomb (chambers)
Any sort of photography is strictly prohibited.
Forty minutes later, we found ourselves in a massive area of ancient rubble mound in the central of Alexandria city known as Kom el-Dikka.
Located at Yousri Street near to the main train station, it was easily access by tram and taxi. The place that is also known as Mound of Rubble revealed to house a whole swag of ancient ruins including small Roman theatre. The remnants of Ptolemaic temple and the mosaic flooring of a wealthy Roman era dwelling now known as the Birds Villa.
We spent a good an hour and half exploring while ate our fig-jam sandwiches. Although I've been enjoying the escape from the chaos back in Zagaziq, Alexandria has been bustling with heavy traffics especially on the Corniche.
"It's crazy hot. I need an ice-cream right freaking now, or cold water, at least."
I couldn't agree much - the weather had been challenging that day, we felt dehydrated along the journey. We bought two chocolate ice creams and a big bottle of mineral water.
"Let's find a place to sit."
Downtown Alexandria's wide waterfront road is as much a striking symbol of the city as any of its monuments. Corniche is the place that you get to feel for the era of cosmopolitan elegance and decadence that marked Alexandria in the late 19th century. Much of the old architecture still stands along the Corniche, and visitors get to stroll along the street that housed the remnants of Cecil Hotel and Windsor Palace Hotel. According to sources, Cecil Hotel played host to British Secret Service during World War II.
"I wish we can do this every single day, babe."
I smirked. "After we finish with med school perhaps."
Appreciating moments isn't always easy- it always requires attention. Even while travelling, trudging along with my green backpack, focusing on trying to get from a place to another, I sometimes find myself getting caught up in a monotonous cycle.
I took a peek on my travel partner and be grateful for her, just be there with me, enjoying every single minute of our time in the historic city. It doesn't matter whether I am in thick smog of the city or in the serenity of the countryside, all I need to do is awaken my senses and focuses myself on the present.
On that moment, I know that I am living my life the best that I could.
- 17:32
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