The most popular Sphinx can be found in Cairo, but it is not the only one that we can admire in Egypt.
This one is from the Serapeum site in Alexandria.
The site as not one but two Sphinx.
Big advantage, we can approached them and the site is not as crowded.
From a distance, we can see the huge Corinthian style column placed in the middle of the two sphinx.
This column was installed between 298-302 AD to pay tribute to August Diocletian, the Roman Emperor who had a distinguished military career.
The column is wrongly called Pompey's Pillar; it has no connection with the famous Italian city which disappeared following the eruption of Vesuvius.
Its name is in fact due to a translation error that has remained over time. Ouf!
The site is so easy to access, right in the heart of the city.
Imagine getting up every morning with a view like this on a historic site with a sphinx staring at you. So cool!
Not much remains of the original Serapis temple, it was destroyed a long time ago.
The contents of the underground spaces have been looted, but it is still interesting to walk there since a mystical atmosphere emanates from the place.
In the underground galleries, we can see a big black bull statue.
This is a replica of one of the representations of Serapis.
Who was Serapis? A sort of imaginary god made up of several deities of the time.
This is peculiar!
Photo taken with a Canon PowerShot A620.
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