Visit to the Catacombs and Pompey's Pillar, Alexandria..and reality shows..

Visited the Pompey's Pillar and the Catacombs yesterday. Pompey's Pillar and Catacombs are remnants of ancient Alexandria....from the Greco-Roman period. The Catacombs are in fact burial grounds...several levels beneath the ground....and were discovered in 1900 when a donkey accidently fell in a pit. Photography was not allowed in the Catacombs.Its dark and very eerie. It consists of three levels underground....the last level is not accessible as it is flooded with water. There are huge holes cut in the walls which held the bodies...sometimes...some areas held up to 300 bodies!!!! There are also detailings on the walls...either carved or painted...most of the paint is now gone. The detailings show a fusion of Greek-Roman-Egyptian influences. One finds Anobis (the wolf like creature guarding the dead), Medusa and other Egyptian influences in the detailings. There are paintings showing the process of mummification as well.

The site of Pompey's Pillar also has a few Sphinxes , originally from Helipolis. But there weren't any inscriptions...so no details are available regarding them. There are also a series of Underground tunnels at Pompey's Pillar and the site once housed an Ancient library, which is now no longer visible!!! Pompey's Pillar as well as the site housing the Catacombs are bang in the middle of a very congested area of Alexandria and its hard to imagine that such historical sites can exist in such a congested locality!!!

On the whole, it was a good experience. But I wish, the authorities had done more to keep the sites in a better condition , with more signs and details about the scupltures and paintings!!!

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A proliferation of Reality shows (US and UK based) on the channels here. Most of them are downright silly...

*"I know what you ate last summer"!! ( A show about obese children trying to shed weight).
* "Supernanny" ( A nanny who disciplines disordered homes/children).
* "Bachelor" (Where one fellow has to choose a lady from several wannabes).
* " Who wants to be a princess!" ( or something like that )
* Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen"
* Also some show on two women who clean up dirty homes !!!

Whew.....they sure can't get more imaginative than that.....