07 May 2024
-Poverty-ridden city, so manage your expectations (dirt and trash everywhere, underfed animals everywhere, occasional animal cruelty, flies and dirt on raw meat hanging at restaurants, different gender social norms, etc.)
-Mohammed was a very interesting, educated, and informative guide. He really knew his information and seemed excited about sharing it. He was funny and made the trip interesting.
-The tour company changed our meeting time last minute to an hour early, which was pretty frustrating, as we are not glued to our phones on an international vacation (and did not want to start an hour early, hence our decision to book at the time we did).
-The meeting location was very confusing. The port took a few minutes of walking to get out of and the meeting spot was not accurate, so we had to call the tour guide to find out where to meet. There also wasn't clarity on how many people could be on the tour and the bus was very small for the number of tourists they booked.
-the tour company offers different options for different costs, such as viewing the manuscript room in the library and eating lunch. Frustratingly, everyone was grouped on the same bus regardless of what they had booked, so those who did not book the extras had to linger without a guide and waste time while he took care of the manuscript room and meal.
-the tour spots (Roman ruins, catacombs, modern Alexandria library, castle in the spot of the previous lighthouse of Alexandria, and a mosque that had previously been a church) were each interesting and informative
-Egypt has different social norms than many parts of the world, so it would have been helpful for the tour company and tour guide to explain ahead of time…for example, you can’t go to the restroom without needing to pay someone at the door and the mandatory shoe removal also required paying the man who did nothing but put our shoes in a cubby and hand them back (without us wanting him to do it). We had no small bills prepared to pay these people and therefore had to grossly overpay for these non-valuable services.
-Make sure you wear socks, as you have to take your shoes off at the mosque. And women have to wear a headscarf, so bring your own or you will have to borrow one from the mosque.