Well, well........well.... oh boy. Yes, I made it here.
I AM in Alexandria. I AM in Egypt!
Right outside the door is the great big gorgeous MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
My flights were fine. Not really a big problem. Just a six hour wait at Heathrow but really not too much trouble otherwise. Over Athens the evening sky was amazingly gorgeous, due to a deep band of pollution. The sunset made everything outside the window look like a giant and perfect Mark Rothko painting. Weirdly wonderful.
We made it to the Windsor, where we now are........ It is old fashioned with a funky double elevator that really is l9th century, and wrought iron throughout. The room we now have we will continue to have until the 8th when I return. There is a small balcony which overlooks the great sweeping arc of the bay, and I like sitting there and just looking. AS ALWAYS, NOTHING IS THE WAY YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. The weather is like summer Mediterranean climate truly is divine.
But he best thing is indeed the BIBLIOTHECA !!!! IT IS SUPERB; it puts modern Alexandria on the map in the same dramatic architectural way that Gehry's museum does to the industrial city of Bilbao in Spain.. Jane Alpert (our non-profit associate) had told me that her husband, an architect, was much impressed by the compound, and I truly see why. It is stuck right along the shore along with all the run down concrete apartments and not-so-great hotels, but indeed it is glamorous in the extreme --- and it is USED, like the Pompidieu in Paris, and that gives it an alive and worthy feeling. I am very happy with it; it will be wonderful. IF we can do I this same time of year, i.e. late October, I think it would be just right.. But I do not yet have a date. I will soon.
I am impressed not only with the architecture, but with the people working here, and especially with the spectacular Dr. Serageldin, who is a major person in the world. He way being considered as the head of UNESCO; he is a scholar, a humanist, an engineer, a lover of poetry, an eloquent person in several languages. Today he gave a glorious keynote speech (for the Hendrik Ibsen conference now underway). I cannot tell you how honored I feel to be invited by a person of his scope and quality.; he is truly a progressive and enlightened person, a guiding spirit for an enormous enterprise.
I feel fine and am sleeping well. The food has reminded me of the time in Beirut. Most of the women are veiled, but I am surprised at how sexy and sensuous they look. And there is a kindness and friendliness which Shayma had assured me of and which is evident everywhere. Tomorrow I am going on a small tour with some English people to Rosetta, two hours away, a little place where Champollion found the Rosetta Stone. Should be interesting.
The Queen of Norway is here, with much fanfare, and the hotels are simply taken over by Norwegians. I got to meet the grandson of Ibsen and we talked a while. I met a young Norwegian girl who had been responsible for organizing much of the Production of PEER GYNT, which Olaug had told me about. Turns out it was a great thing; I am so sorry I came too late to see it. The production was part of a SON ET LUMIERE spectacle RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SPHINX----with 300 Norwegians, 30 camels, two horses, Norway's finest theatre director and finest actor, four Norwegian soloists, and the huge Philharmonic and choir of Cairo, performing Grieg's PEER GYNT SUITE.
And all day today was the conference on Ibsen, with an emphasis on his women characters, called "Nora's Sisters" and I fund it stirring and beautifully done. They DO THINGS BEAUTIFULLY at the Bibliotheca, so I am not worried about our event. I just need to raise money, that's all. It should go well.
I can only use this hotel computer infrequently, so I do not know when I can write again, but I must say this is very, very exciting indeed.
More when I can, KH.
Right outside the door is the great big gorgeous MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
My flights were fine. Not really a big problem. Just a six hour wait at Heathrow but really not too much trouble otherwise. Over Athens the evening sky was amazingly gorgeous, due to a deep band of pollution. The sunset made everything outside the window look like a giant and perfect Mark Rothko painting. Weirdly wonderful.
We made it to the Windsor, where we now are........ It is old fashioned with a funky double elevator that really is l9th century, and wrought iron throughout. The room we now have we will continue to have until the 8th when I return. There is a small balcony which overlooks the great sweeping arc of the bay, and I like sitting there and just looking. AS ALWAYS, NOTHING IS THE WAY YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. The weather is like summer Mediterranean climate truly is divine.
But he best thing is indeed the BIBLIOTHECA !!!! IT IS SUPERB; it puts modern Alexandria on the map in the same dramatic architectural way that Gehry's museum does to the industrial city of Bilbao in Spain.. Jane Alpert (our non-profit associate) had told me that her husband, an architect, was much impressed by the compound, and I truly see why. It is stuck right along the shore along with all the run down concrete apartments and not-so-great hotels, but indeed it is glamorous in the extreme --- and it is USED, like the Pompidieu in Paris, and that gives it an alive and worthy feeling. I am very happy with it; it will be wonderful. IF we can do I this same time of year, i.e. late October, I think it would be just right.. But I do not yet have a date. I will soon.
I am impressed not only with the architecture, but with the people working here, and especially with the spectacular Dr. Serageldin, who is a major person in the world. He way being considered as the head of UNESCO; he is a scholar, a humanist, an engineer, a lover of poetry, an eloquent person in several languages. Today he gave a glorious keynote speech (for the Hendrik Ibsen conference now underway). I cannot tell you how honored I feel to be invited by a person of his scope and quality.; he is truly a progressive and enlightened person, a guiding spirit for an enormous enterprise.
I feel fine and am sleeping well. The food has reminded me of the time in Beirut. Most of the women are veiled, but I am surprised at how sexy and sensuous they look. And there is a kindness and friendliness which Shayma had assured me of and which is evident everywhere. Tomorrow I am going on a small tour with some English people to Rosetta, two hours away, a little place where Champollion found the Rosetta Stone. Should be interesting.
The Queen of Norway is here, with much fanfare, and the hotels are simply taken over by Norwegians. I got to meet the grandson of Ibsen and we talked a while. I met a young Norwegian girl who had been responsible for organizing much of the Production of PEER GYNT, which Olaug had told me about. Turns out it was a great thing; I am so sorry I came too late to see it. The production was part of a SON ET LUMIERE spectacle RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SPHINX----with 300 Norwegians, 30 camels, two horses, Norway's finest theatre director and finest actor, four Norwegian soloists, and the huge Philharmonic and choir of Cairo, performing Grieg's PEER GYNT SUITE.
And all day today was the conference on Ibsen, with an emphasis on his women characters, called "Nora's Sisters" and I fund it stirring and beautifully done. They DO THINGS BEAUTIFULLY at the Bibliotheca, so I am not worried about our event. I just need to raise money, that's all. It should go well.
I can only use this hotel computer infrequently, so I do not know when I can write again, but I must say this is very, very exciting indeed.
More when I can, KH.
posted by Kathryn Hohlwein at 11:28 AM
1 comments
