Friday 11 February 2011

Along the Canopic Way


The Municipality building on Sharia Horreya in Alexandria has been burnt down during the insurrection. Sharia Horreya, the former Rue Fuad/Rue Rosette, follows the line of the Canopic Way, the main thoroughfare of ancient Alexandria. Immediately behind the Municipality is the Graeco-Roman Museum; there are reports that it also suffered from fire, but fortunately it is empty while undergoing restoration. The Alexandria National Museum, a bit to the east and near Bab Sharki, seems to have escaped attack. But the destruction done to the Municipality and some other buildings in the city, not to mention the vandalism at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, shows how close Alexandria came to suffering catastrophic loss.