Chapter 1169: The City with a Glorious Past
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
More than 2,000 years ago, Alexandria Port had been a small and insignificant city in ancient Egypt. It was only after Alexander the Great conquered it that the city rose in prominence.
The city was close to the Nile River Delta system, yet far enough away to avoid the annual floods caused by the Nile. At the same time, it was easily accessible with Africa to the south, the Mediterranean to the north, and the Middle East to the east. Outside of the harbor, a group of islands called the Faros Islands surrounded it, providing a natural shelter for the port. These factors combined provided the city with an unfair and unique geographical advantage.
It was so unique that Alexander the Great decided that he would build a new city here and name it after himself.
After his death, his general, Ptolemy, seized the opportunity to separate ancient Egypt from the rest of the greater empire and declared himself the Pharaoh of Egypt. He situated this place as the capital of ancient Egypt, and this continued for many generations until the death of Cleopatra the Queen. After that, Egypt was annexed and captured by the Romans, thereby becoming one of the many provinces of Rome.
In the three hundred years of Alexandria’s existence as the capital of Egypt, the Ptolemy family had built up the nation’s power and vastly transformed the city. The family had constructed the Alexandria Lighthouse and the Great Library. Unfortunately, both buildings were later destroyed in natural disasters and man-made disasters, more severely by the latter. Although it was not included in the Seven Wonders of the World, the loss of the Great Library was a significant loss to the progress of humanity.
It was also during this period that the wors.h.i.+p of cat G.o.ds in ancient Egypt reached its peak. Although the Temple of Bastet was located in the city of Zagazig, the tradition of love and respect for cats in Alexandria remained up until this day.
Like Cairo, Alexandria was divided into the old and new parts of the city. The fish market where the stray cats ran rampant was located in the old city. Although the overall condition of the city was better compared with the city of Cairo, it was still relatively run-down when compared to a small city in rural China. Many low-rise buildings were reminiscent of China in the 1990s.
Although the elfins were lured to the fish markets by the stray cats, they were not interested in Egyptian grilled fish. Zhang Zian still had a bitter taste in his mouth, left behind by the scaled grilled fish he’d eaten in the morning. He had no intention to eat another grilled fish.
There was a saying that, while overseas, when in doubt of what to eat, one should look for a KFC or McDonald’s and add a cup of fizzy soft drink. These fast food joints were similar across the globe, and one was unlikely to die from eating at those places.
Zhang Zian found a KFC and ordered a ton of takeout for the elfins and himself. While they were eating, Vladimir took the opportunity to run about and mingle with the local stray cats.
There was not much time left for Vladimir to establish a local branch for the Meow Meow organization.
Although Alexandria had a long history, her glorious past had all but vanished. Buildings that could’ve been destroyed had been destroyed. Those who could emigrate had already left for other countries. The current Great Library that stood at the original site was a copy, though it was difficult to call it an exact replica. This was because no one knew how it had looked before.
In addition, the original site of the Alexandria Lighthouse had even been taken over by the Magpie. Two obelisks of the lighthouse, called “The Arrows of Cleopatra,” had also been moved to the Thames in London and Central Park in New York. Therefore, the city seemed to have nothing of worth to visit and did not give Fina a place to reminisce in, making her a little disappointed.
Zhang Zian drove to the beach and found himself a remote corner to enjoy the scenery while eating his KFC.
The advantage of a coastal city was that the air was not as dry as it was inland. The sky was covered with just the right amount of clouds and helped to shade people from the harsh Egyptian suns.h.i.+ne. It had the further advantage of a sea breeze that helped to dissipate heat left over from the previous few days.
By the coast, there were two breakwaters that surrounded the eastern port. The breakwaters left a small gap that s.h.i.+ps used to enter and exit the port. However, in the 8th century A.D., the eastern port had been abandoned due to a ma.s.sive earthquake. The port could now only be used as a spot for leisure. Currently, the city’s main port was the western port.
Many private yachts, both small and large, floated gracefully in the deep blue sea. Their presence further reflected the gap between the rich and the poor of Egypt.
On the breakwater, couples walked together. There were also a few parents along with their children, running happily in the sand. As a city that bridged the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, the blend of these three cultures was reflected in the skin color of the local children. Many of them were beautiful mixed-race children, and couples often had different skin tones.
Farther away from the beach, dense umbrellas packed the area like mushrooms sprouting in the forests after the rain. A large number of tourists from Europe came here for their vacations, to enjoy the exotic culture of the city as well as the cheaper prices on just about everything.
There was a significant difference between the beaches here and the beaches in other parts of the world. The beachgoers, both men and women, generally wore a little too much. Zhang Zian was sorely disappointed. He even saw several locals wearing robes and headscarves as they dove straight into the sea. They stood waist-deep in the sea water to play with their children. One could not help but think that they might be going into the water to commit suicide if one did not understand their cultural practices.
Fina half-squatted on a stone and looked out into the vast sea where the sails were moving. No one knew what was on her mind.
More than 1,600 years ago, Cleopatra’s palace had sunk into the seabed after a ma.s.sive earthquake. It happened right under the steady stream of waves cras.h.i.+ng on the sh.o.r.eline. Many archaeologists and divers were interested to find the palace and repeatedly organized diving archaeological expeditions. They hoped to find the secrets of the Ptolemy dynasty from the ruins on the seabed. Of course, they were most eager to find Cleopatra’s mausoleum or the sarcophagus.
There were many speculations about the exact location of Cleopatra’s mausoleum, but there was no evidence to support it.
After Cleopatra disappeared, all information related to her disappeared. Even her death, whether it was a suicide or murder, was a complete mystery. All remaining relevant descriptions were written by the historian Plutarch. His writings formed the basis of the famous biographical movie about Cleopatra. Therefore, unless the man could’ve been resurrected, the truth of her life would almost certainly remain hidden.
However, logically speaking, although she was the last ruler of ancient Egypt, the ruler’s mausoleum or sarcophagus was generally not known to be located in the palace. Therefore, the search on the seabed for their existence was probably futile.
Octavian would have given her a decent enough funeral because Egyptians at that time had loved her very much. He would not have risked angering the Egyptians over the improper burial of a dead woman.
Fina’s golden fur was highly suitable for reflecting the sun’s rays, and the sea breeze made it sway smoothly. She attracted the attention of many pa.s.sersby. This was not something to be surprised about. In this cat-loving city, many had seen cats, but none as majestic as Fina.
Fina might have known some secrets behind the queen’s death, but she had no intentions of making that known. As long as the trip to Egypt continued and she was satisfied with how she was serviced, perhaps she would share some secrets with Zhang Zian. Hopefully it would be enough to satisfy his curiosity and provide him with some gossip to speak of.
After dinner, Vladimir rushed back to join the group. Zhang Zian, together with the elfins, continued their journey to the west, leaving the harbor city that was now nothing but a sh.e.l.l of its glorious past.