Hey dear community, first of all I would like to welcome you to my new post and hope you have a day so far that has brought many interesting experiences into your life! In my new post I would like to share an experience with you again which I made in Egypt and I am very happy if you can get to know new places.
As one of the most important places in the country, Alexandria has a lot to offer and one of the highlights is probably in every respect the catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa which are located in the western part of the city. Although it's rather unknown, these catacombs are considered one of the wonders of the Middle Ages, but these were largely unknown over the centuries and were only more or less rediscovered again by chance at the beginning of the 20th century. It didn't take long until the place was more and more explored and also rightly received a positive resonance and one of the greatest peculiarities is in every respect the degree of preservation and it can be said that it's even one of the best preserved catacombs in the world which are extremely complex by architecture.
Even if some suspect it is not so in pure Egyptian heritage and also influences from ancient Greece as well as the Roman empire can be seen here and the interesting thing here is that there was a mixture of the culture and well-known Egyptian gods have been represented in old works of art in Roman clothing. Even if there is much clear about the construction, there are also characteristics of the Roman Empire which left some questions open, however, it's fact that it was originally supposed to serve as an old ritual as well as grave site. Most of the fusions of the culture can be seen quite clearly in the scenes that have been painted on the walls and combine the mythology of all three cultures and with some of the works of art, researchers are even sure that there would have been also influences from other even rarer cults. Typical here is the representation of Egyptian gods in Roman armor or clothing and by and large the works are still well preserved but some have also come into the years, which cannot be avoided and is often related to the temperature or humidity inside the underground facility.
The catacombs are multi-storey and were divided into different corridors or levels and I was extremely amazed at the size of the whole plant and it's sometimes even reminiscent of a small labyrinth in which you can't get lost, but felt getting bigger and bigger during the visit. I did not know the exact opening hours and when I arrived on site, the employee told me that I should hurry, which was not a problem and I could still visit everything and I was also here a little longer and the employee made an exception for me and left the area open for so long that I saw everything. Overall I would say that half an hour is enough to visit the catacombs and also the entrance is extremely fair for what is offered and it was about 200 Egyptian pounds which it cost and it's usually open every day of the week. Those who are in Alexandria should not miss a visit here and people who come to the site will be surprised how empty everything seems but most of it takes place here in the underground and even if much is illuminated, it can still be worth taking a flashlight with you because unfortunately there was no light in some rooms and I can also assure that it will be an interesting experience for others to visit these historical catacombs.
Many thanks for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new and like my post and appreciate my effort! I captured these pictures with my Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm.