Alexandria Mosque - before the protest begins

A different story today. The internet and cell phones have been cut off. (I'm backblipping this...) We did get our sightseeing in and I have quite nice photos of the roman ruins and mosaics and many pieces that have been recovered from under water in the harbor, and the Fort Qaitbey that stands in the spot of the old Pharos lighthouse, (one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world that was built in he 3rd century BC and stood for 1000 years.) However, this being my journal of events, I'm choosing a lesser quality photo - for it's significance. (It is that dilemma with a photo journal -which has priority?) This is the mosque which is the sight of the "Friday of Rage" protests in Alexandria. Our guide made sure we got to see the Fort but were out of this part of town before the end of Friday noon prayers.(skipping the planned fish lunch nearby) So this was taken about 12:10 -from the bus, with some rain drops, of the crowd just beginning to gather - you can see a few flags draped over some people. Without much other means of communication, The mosque at noon on Friday holds the biggest concentration of people, so it was a logical time and place to gather. We headed back to our hotel on the grounds of a park that holds the palace of King Farouk. (we did enjoy a good restaurant lunch there) and that was that for the sights. We missed a museum or so.(but frankly, we were museumed out - we didn't miss anything important!) Fortunately we didn't wait til today for the library. We were planning to take a train through the Delta in the morning to get back to Cairo, but our guide decided a nonstop bus, earlier, would be safer. He considered a police escort, but since most of the police were gone, and a target, decided against it. The police station right at the gate of the park (guarded by tanks) was burned down this night. We usually traveled with an armed guard on the bus from the beginning. Having just read Cleopatra, it was hard to imagine her time in this city and how it was the richest and most important city in Egypt. Now it seems to be a place for the rich Egyptians to have a summer place or cabana. Building the new library is an attempt to bring more intellectual and cultural pursuits to Alexandria. (It has a fanastic website, www.bibalex.org - you can find anything!!!)
Sorry this is so long - it's just to record the experiences of this trip! Also I regret not having closer photos of the protesting -but there is an abundance of those in the media now.