More than 2,000 years ago, the predecessor of Alexandria was just a small city in ancient Egypt. After Alexander the Great incorporated Egypt into his territory, he took a fancy to this location.
This place was close to the Nile Delta, but it was far enough away to avoid the flooding of the Nile due to silting. At the same time, it was convenient for transportation. It faced Africa to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Middle East to the east. Outside the port, there was also Fallows Island, which could protect the port with its horns. It had a unique geographical advantage.
So he decided to build a new city there and named it after himself.
After his death, his Ptolemy General took the opportunity to secede from ancient Egypt and declared himself the Pharaoh. He set the last capital of ancient Egypt here until Cleopatra died in battle. Ancient Egypt was annexed by ancient Rome and became a province of ancient Rome.
During the 300 years that Alexandria existed as the capital, the Ptolemy family used the power of the whole country to build and transform the city. They built the Alexandria Lighthouse and the Great Library. Unfortunately, they were destroyed by natural disasters and man-made disasters, especially the latter. Although it was not listed in the Seven Wonders of the World, the destruction of the Great Library caused an even greater loss to human civilization.
It was also during that time that the worship of the cat god in ancient Egypt reached its peak. Although the Temple of Bastet was located in Zagazig, the tradition of cat love in Alexandria had been preserved until now.
Like Cairo, Alexandria was also divided into the old city and the new city. The fish market where the stray cats lived was located in the old city. Although the overall situation was better than that of Cairo, it gave people the impression that it was more dilapidated than a small county in China. There were Chinese 90s-style low-rise buildings everywhere.
Although they were attracted to the fish market by the stray cats, the elfins were not interested in the Egyptian-style grilled fish. Zhang Zian still had a bitter taste in his mouth after eating the grilled fish with scales in the morning, so he didn't plan to eat grilled fish again.
There was a saying that if you didn't know what to eat when you were abroad, you could find KFC or McDonald's and have a big cup of Coca-Cola. These fast food were similar in countries around the world, so at least you wouldn't die from eating them.
Zhang Zian found a KFC and ordered a lot of takeout, solving the problem of lunch for him and the elfins. While they were eating, Vladimir took the opportunity to run out and deal with the local stray cats.
There wasn't much time left for Vladimir to establish a local Meow Meow branch.
Although Alexandria had a long history, its glorious past was long gone. Everything that could be destroyed had been destroyed, and everything that could be moved away had been moved to other countries. The library was rebuilt on the original site, but it could not be said to have been restored because no one knew what the Great Library originally looked like. The original site of the Alexandria Lighthouse had even been occupied. The two obelisks known as the Cleopatra's Needle had been moved to the banks of the Thames River in London, and the other to Central Park in New York. This led to the feeling that there was not much to see after arriving in this city, and there was no place left for Fina to mourn, which made her a little disappointed.
Zhang Zian drove the car to the beach and found a remote corner to enjoy the scenery while eating.
The advantage of a coastal city was that the air was not as dry as inland. There were just enough clouds floating in the sky to block out the overly violent sun in Egypt, and the sea breeze dispersed the scorching heat of the past few days.
The two breakwaters were like two arms embracing the East Port, leaving only a narrow passage for ships to enter and leave. As early as the 8th century, the East Port had been abandoned due to an earthquake and could only be used as a place for leisure and entertainment. Now, the main port was the West Port.
Private yachts of all sizes floated on the blue sea, showing the great gap between the rich and poor in Egypt.
On the breakwaters, couples were strolling hand in hand, and parents were running happily with a few children. As a city at the intersection of Asia, Africa, and Europe, the geographical characteristics were also reflected in the skin color of the local children. Many of them were beautiful mixed-race children, and couples often had different skin colors.
Further away on the beach, sunshades were densely packed like mushrooms after a rain. A large number of tourists from Europe had come here for a holiday. They could not only enjoy the exotic scenery, but also enjoy the cheap local prices.
There was a significant difference between the beaches here and those in other parts of the world. The swimmers were generally wearing more cloth, regardless of gender. Zhang Zian was very disappointed. He even saw a few local women in robes and headscarves walk directly into the sea, standing waist-deep in the water to play with their children. Those who did not know better would think that they were going to commit suicide by drowning.
Fina squatted on a rock by the sea, looking at the sea where thousands of boats were competing. No one knew what she was thinking.
More than 1,600 years ago, the palace of Cleopatra of Egypt had sunk to the bottom of the sea in an earthquake, just under the waves that were not too deep. Many archaeologists and divers were very interested in this. They organized many diving archaeological expeditions, trying to find the secrets of the Ptolemaic Dynasty from the ruins at the bottom of the sea. What they were most eager to find was, of course, Cleopatra's tomb or sarcophagus.
There were many speculations about the location of Cleopatra's tomb, but there was no evidence to support it.
After she died, all information about her disappeared. Even the cause of her death could not be determined. All the relevant descriptions came from the biography written by the historian Plutarch, and the famous movie was also based on it. Unless the person involved was resurrected, no one knew what the truth was.
Although she was the last ruler of ancient Egypt, the tomb or sarcophagus of a ruler generally could not be located in the palace, so the search at the bottom of the sea was probably in vain.
Octavian would probably give her a decent burial, because the Egyptians loved her very much at that time. He did not need to risk angering the Egyptians for a dead woman.
Fina's golden hair reflected the appropriate sunlight, and the blowing sea breeze made its fur rise and fall like a smooth brocade, attracting the attention of passers-by. In this cat loving city, they had seen many cats, but none of them had hair like Fina's.
It might know some secrets about Cleopatra's death, but it had no intention of revealing them for the time being. As long as the trip to Egypt continued, if it was served well, maybe it would reveal some clues about the past, which would satisfy Zhang Zian's curiosity and gossip a little.
After dinner, Vladimir hurried back. Zhang Zian took the elfins to the car and continued to head west, leaving the port city that had once been so beautiful but now only had memories left.
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