When I booked my day trip to Alexandria from Cairo, I was looking forward to seeing some incredible ancient history.
A fortress beside the Mediterranean, underground Roman tombs, ancient ruins and a city I’d never visited before.
What I wasn’t expecting was to spend part of the day trying to organise veterinary help for three desperately sick little street cats.
But that’s exactly what happened.
And of everything I saw in Alexandria, those three little faces are what I’ve thought about most since.
First Stop, the Citadel of Qaitbay
Our day started at the Citadel of Qaitbay, an enormous old fortress right on the Mediterranean Sea.
And what a place!
The fortress was built in the 15th century on the site of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Just imagine that. Thousands of years ago, ships were arriving in Alexandria’s harbour, guided by an enormous lighthouse standing right where this fortress is today.
Now there are thick limestone walls, huge wooden doors, arched passageways and beautiful views out across the Mediterranean.
I loved wandering through it.
Our guide was lovely too. Friendly, knowledgeable and clearly someone who enjoyed explaining the history of his city.
Our guide, with Mahatma Gandhi beside him. I told him all he needed to do was change his glasses to round ones, and he laughed. Then we pulled up a photo of Gandhi to show him, and he said, “Oh my God, you’re right.” He had a good laugh about it with us.
Photo of Mahatma Gandhi, probably late 1930s, photographer unknown (public domain)
At one point, a group of local Egyptian boys joined me for photographs. They were all smiles, and it was one of those little encounters you don’t expect when you’re out sightseeing.
Alexandria was already turning out to be an interesting day.
The Other Side of Alexandria
As we travelled through the city towards the next historical sites, I started noticing some of the buildings.
And I’ll be honest, some of what I saw was quite confronting.
Apartment blocks with huge cracks running through the walls, broken windows and buildings that looked as though they were barely holding together.
And people were living in them.
Families going about their everyday lives in buildings that, to me, looked terribly unsafe.
I’m certainly not judging anyone. I don’t know their circumstances or what difficulties they might be facing.
But it really struck me.
Here we were, driving through neighbourhoods where some of the buildings looked ready to fall apart, on our way to visit ancient structures that had survived for nearly 2,000 years.
What a contrast.
You see plenty of photographs of Egypt’s pyramids, temples and historical sites, but not always the ordinary streets and neighbourhoods around them.
And I think they’re part of the story too.
Down Into the Catacombs
Next came the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa.
And yes, more stairs!
Honestly, I reckon I’ve done enough stairs on this trip to last me several lifetimes.
The catacombs are an ancient burial complex carved into the rock beneath Alexandria, with three underground levels.
There are narrow passageways, enormous stone sarcophagi, burial chambers and some incredible carvings.
What I found particularly interesting was how Egyptian, Greek and Roman traditions were all mixed together.
Some of the carvings even show Egyptian gods wearing Roman clothing.
There was also a chamber where families once gathered to share meals while remembering people who had died.
Imagine the amount of work involved in creating all of this underground, without the machinery we have today.
It really is quite extraordinary.
And thankfully, after all those stairs, we eventually made it back above ground!
Pompey’s Pillar and the Roman Ruins
Next was Pompey’s Pillar.
Now here’s something interesting. Despite its name, Pompey’s Pillar has nothing to do with Pompey!
It was erected in honour of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the late third century AD.
It’s a huge red granite column, around 27 metres tall, standing among the remains of an ancient religious complex called the Serapeum.
There are also two sphinx statues and other ruins around the site.
I love visiting places like this. It’s one thing to read about ancient history, but quite another to stand there and see what’s still left after all these centuries.
And we weren’t finished yet.
Our final historical stop was the Roman Amphitheatre at Kom el-Dikka.
The theatre has 13 rows of marble seating arranged in a horseshoe shape.
It’s much smaller than some of the Roman theatres and arenas I’ve seen elsewhere, but it’s still impressive to think people were gathering here so long ago.
There were also the remains of Roman baths and other buildings around the site.
The Romans certainly left plenty behind for us to explore.
But something happened here that ended up being far more important to me than any of the ruins.
Three Little Cats Who Needed Help
The kittens were put in a carrier so they could be taken safely to the vet.
While we were exploring the archaeological site, we came across three little street cats.
And they were in a terrible condition.
All three had badly infected eyes.
One little cat in particular was heartbreaking. Its eye was terribly swollen and covered in pus and discharge.
Our guide tried to gently clean it, but when he wiped some of the discharge away, the poor little thing’s eye started bleeding.
It was awful.
All three needed veterinary attention, and I couldn’t just walk away and forget about them.
The problem was that I was only visiting Alexandria for the day.
I couldn’t take them with me, and I didn’t know anyone locally who could help.
So I got onto my phone and started searching.
I sent messages through WhatsApp, trying to find someone in Alexandria who might be able to rescue them.
Eventually, I managed to contact a lovely local woman who agreed to help.
I also sent money to help pay for the veterinary treatment the cats needed.
At that stage, I still didn’t know whether she’d be able to find them again.
And I was particularly worried about the little one with the badly infected eye.
There wasn’t much more I could do from Cairo, so I had to hope for the best.
The Best News Came the Following Day
On 17 October, I received the message I’d been hoping for.
All three little cats had been rescued!
The woman I’d contacted had managed to find them and take them into her care.
Oh, I was so relieved!
After seeing the condition they were in, knowing they were finally somewhere safe was wonderful.
They still needed medical attention, especially that poor little one with the injured eye, but at least someone was looking after them.
I’d asked the woman to keep me updated with photographs and videos of their recovery.
I haven’t yet confirmed how they’re doing now, and I really hope all three are recovering well.
I know I can’t rescue every sick animal I come across while travelling.
If I tried, I’d probably need another suitcase just for the cats.
And knowing me, I’d still try to fit one more in!
But I was able to do something for these three, and I’m very glad I did.
Is an Alexandria Day Tour from Cairo Worth Doing?
Yes, I definitely think so.
Alexandria is quite different from Cairo, and there’s plenty to see.
You’ve got the Mediterranean coastline, the old fortress, underground catacombs, Roman ruins and thousands of years of history.
Having a guide made a real difference for me. There’s so much history behind these places, and I enjoyed hearing the stories and explanations as we went around.
I booked my Alexandria tour through GetYourGuide, and it’s an experience I’m happy to recommend.
If you’re visiting Cairo and would like to spend a day exploring Alexandria, here’s the tour I booked:
From Cairo: Alexandria shared day tour with lunch (GetYourGuide)
One practical tip from me: be prepared for some stairs, particularly at the catacombs.
My knees certainly knew they’d been sightseeing!
And don’t spend the whole day looking only at the ancient monuments. Take notice of the city around you too.
There’s a lot more to Alexandria than the tourist attractions.
A Day I Won’t Forget
When I left Cairo that morning, I was expecting a day of ancient history and sightseeing.
And that’s exactly what I got.
But I also saw parts of Alexandria that made me think, met some lovely people and ended up trying to find help for three little street cats.
I’m so glad that woman answered my messages and managed to rescue them.
I still wonder how those three little ones are getting on.
I hope they’re doing well, especially the poor little one with the injured eye.
So yes, Alexandria was absolutely worth visiting.
And if I ever go back, I’ll probably still be looking out for cats!
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