October 9
Alexandria and El Alemain
One of my most memorable photos with my dad
Alexandria is a City at the northernmost and westernmost end of the Nile Delta. It has a population of almost six million people. It is famous for more than one thing. At one point, it was home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
Its founding by Alexander the Great in 331 BC was only surpassed by Rome. At that time, the Romans ruled the entire Mediterranean Sea. Since then, a succession of invasions has taken place, each one leaving its indelible mark on the history of the country. It was taken over by the Arabs in 641AD, then fell into a long decline. The Ottoman period saw it decline to slightly better than a fishing village. Napoleon and his army captured it in 1798; then, the British captured it from the French and ruled it for 150 years.
During that time, it was the second-largest city in the world, second only to Rome. At the time, that was the Ptolemaic period. During that time, the Great Library of Alexandria was also established. The new one is amazing.
When Alexander the Great passed away, he was buried there, and his site became a tourist attraction/
El Alamein is a town one hour west of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Coast. It was made famous by a significant battle in World War II in 1942. It was commemorated with cemeteries for German, Italian and British soldiers.
The battle was a significant victory for British general Montgomery, who defeated Field Marshal Rommel’s army, thus expelling the Axis forces from Northern Africa and changing the war dramatically.
El Alamein
The last trip I remember with dad was to El Alamein we took this picture. That was about 63 years ago. The most important part of reconnection with dad was to duplicate this photo, but with Chris.
We almost missed it, because it was way behind the fence, but thankfully, Chris saw the structure. We snuck in through an unmanned gate and the guard stopped us a hundred steps in. He was about to kick us out and I showed him the first picture. Told him about how I wanted to duplicate it with my son. I’m almost in tears now, because of his and the many other’s reactions when I tell them my story in my broken Arabic.
Their reaction, to a man, basically saying that I brightened Egypt with my presence. Was so gracious and heartwarming. I could hug all of them.
Full credit goes to Ed Farquharson for the idea. Thank you Ed.
Finally figured out the problem with importing the images, it was me trying to import large images for picture quality. Next step, make sure what is posted, is still a good visual quality. The tenth is a travel day and it’s one of those that are hurry up and wait. However, now that, I’m not wasting literally hours on mechanics, I can get back to writing and editing. Some great content coming up, stay tuned to the same bat channel and thank you for your patience.