Alexandria - Day 3 - Rosetta

This morning we are driving to the town of Rosetta, which is now called Rashid.  It takes about an hour to drive there but we are taking our time to explore the area between Alexandria and Rashid.  It's a fishing village where the Nile meets the Mediterranean.  However, its claim to fame is where the Rosetta Stone was found.  On the way to Rashid we stopped at a date farm.  

Date Palms are very common in the Middle-East.  They are like coconut trees in the tropics.  Only the female trees produce the fruit.  Male trees are used as pollinators so you don't find many male trees in a date farm.  Most of the fruits are hand-pollinated.

A Date Farm

Dates ready to be sold

Dates in a bunch

Below is a two-part video on how they harvest the dates:

Harvested dates

Roadside stand

Prior to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, few could understand the ancient Egyptian scripts.  It is a stele* (see explanation below) of granodiorite* (see below) with three versions of a decree that was issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemic Dynasty of Egypt.  The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts, respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek.  This makes the Rosetta Stone the key to deciphering the Egyptian scripts.  Without the Rosetta Stone we may not fully understand the history of Egypt.

Replica of the Rosetta Stone

Explanation of what was said in the Stone

So, what happened to the real Rosetta Stone?  It is now in the British Museum.  It was originally found by a French soldier.  The French government was taking it back to France when they were engaged in a battle with the British.  The British won and took the Stone to London.

We drove along the coast and saw many fishing communities along the way.  We stopped at some of them to meet the families.

All along the coast you will see these strange structures.  I guess they are intended to be used as breakwaters, i.e. to slow down the waves or currents coming to shore.

What better way to end the day than to have a beautiful and bountiful lunch.

Of course, we ate everything!  They were so good!

*stele - A stele (/ˈstiːli/ STEE-lee) or stela (/ˈstiːlə/ STEE-lə)[note 1] is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. The surface of the stele often has text, ornamentation, or both. These may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted.

*Granodiorite - Granodiorite (/ˌɡrænoʊˈdaɪ.əraɪt, ˌɡrænəˈ-/ GRAN-oh-DY-ə-ryte, GRAN-ə-)[1][2] is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar.