Alexandria has changed dramatically in the past 60 years. In the 1940s the city was largely comprised of foreigners and had a population of about forty thousand. Today, it is home to five million people, the majority of whom are Egyptian. In addition to the resident population, everyone and their neighbour visits the city in the summer months. Despite the occasional overcrowding, particularly when the weather's warmer, Alexandria can make a pleasant retreat for a few days nearly any time of the year.
Likeanotter


All the guide-books to Egypt I’ve ever read tell you that Alexandria is ‘far more European’ in its ‘vibe’ than any other city in Egypt. With that expectation in mind I was a little disappointed on my first visit there, but the differences between ‘Alex’ and, say, Cairo do become more obvious the longer you spend exploring. You can do it at a push as a day-trip by train from Cairo and the journey through the delta is interesting in itself.

The new library, opened a few years back, has the relaxed feel of a mini university campus and the food and flower markets just back off the seafront provide all the clichéd sights, sounds and smells you could possibly need. Last time I was there, there were also more and more companies springing up offering diving trips on the now submerged ‘palace of Cleopatra’ out in the harbour.
Therouxian