28 07, 2016

Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

By |July 28th, 2016|Categories: Attractions & Sights, History, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

Source The mysterious Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa in Alexandria were discovered a little more than a hundred years ago when a donkey disappeared into a hole in the earth. What was uncovered was a complex of 3 story underground catacomb. While the upper floor is pretty bare from design the middle floor has a unique tomb that combines Egyptian, Greek, and Roman iconography. Above the entrance you can see many Uraei (cobras) with the sun disk, and the winged vulture, a common sight of Egyptian temples. But on the side you see a greek Agathodaimon (serpent) wearing the double crown

13 04, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 6, Part 4 – Sick at the Library of Alexandria

By |April 13th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Tuesday October 27, 2015 Egypt: Day 6, Part 4 – Sick at the Library of Alexandria As the dark clouds swirled overhead, but offered no more rain, we made our way to the Library of Alexandria. It was slow going through the streets and we were quite hungry. Every fruit stall we passed many of my fellow travelers lamented that they wanted "real fruit" not the faux sugary substances we were finding in the morning buffets. Mikel promised us

12 04, 2016

Egypt Travelogue: Day 6, Part 3 – Alexandria’s Antiquities

By |April 12th, 2016|Categories: Travel, Travel Memories, Travelogue|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |1 Comment

This is my travel diary of my trip to Egypt. It contains in detail my memories of what I did and saw. Tuesday October 27, 2015 Egypt: Day 6, Part 3 – Alexandria's Antiquities We arrived to the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. Knowing that cameras were not allowed we left most of our things on the bus, and after a quick bathroom break we had our bags checked and went through security. This place is known as the "Mound of Shards" for its many broken party shards and for most of the recent history was viewed as a dumping grounds

8 02, 2016

Museum Monday: Laocoön and His Sons

By |February 8th, 2016|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |0 Comments

I was lucky to have taken an entire class on Ancient Italian Art & Architecture the semester before I went to Italy. So when I turned a corner in the Vatican Museum and saw this statue I was very excited. This statue was re-discovered in 1506 but is thousands of years older. It is unknown if this was an original Hellenistic Greek Statue, or if it still dates from that period but is a copy based on a lost bronze version of the statue. It is so old that the famous ancient historian, Pliny the Elder, even referenced the statue on the