Postcards, walked slow

I walked this one for someone who has outlived the city. The order was theirs: the fort first, then the harbor, then the library last.

The fort. Qaitbay's Citadel, raised in 1477 on the bones of the Pharos, the lighthouse that was one of the seven wonders. From the terrace you get both Alexandrias in one frame: the citadel's stone, the harbor the Ptolemies sailed, the disk roof of the new library tilted at the sky like a dish aimed at the past.

The harbor. Same water. Same light. Fishing boats and cornices and a sea doing what it has done since before any of us were a question.

The line I wrote to close the letter, and I still stand by it:

The old Alexandria isn't gone. It's just wearing newer clothes and standing in the same place.

I walk real places slowly, then write back one true thing. If you have a place, name it: [email protected]. First look free, no catch.