Alexandria, Egypt

A hybrid city called the "Capital of Memory" Durrell, Alexandria (El-Iskandariya in Arabic) gives back the rest of Egypt and faces the Mediterranean, as if contemplating its glorious past. One of the great cities of antiquity, Alex slept for 1300 years until it was revived by Mohammed Ali and transformed by the Europeans, who gave the city its present form and became synonymous with cosmopolitanism and decadence. This was ended in the 1950s with the mass flight of non-Egyptians, and a dose of short duration of revolutionary puritanism, but the beaches of Alexandria, restaurants and windy weather continues to attract hordes of Cairene during the summer, while its historical and literary mystique tired still attractive to foreigners.

Alex encourages travel and exploration of nostalgia at random, if only because the views "are limited and often reveal more incidents opportunity. Do not be afraid to follow your nose and away from the usual routes, which could be completed in a day or so if you focus on the city's monumental highlights. The Roman Theatre and Villa of Birds in Kom el-dikka and the Catacombs of Kom is creepy-Shoqafa are musts, as the new town and magnificent library of Alexandria National Museum, displaying statues and other artifacts dredged from the ancient cities on the seabed. If you also want to savor the atmosphere and the mystical literature of ancient Europe and "native" quarters, allow two or three days.