The following is a travel log documented by Nancy Prager-Kamel, Chairwoman of the Association of Foreign Press Corrrespondents (AFPC-USA).

What was it like to travel to Alexandria, one of the cradles of Hellenic civilization? Not easy.

It all began when we traveled by Turkish Air—appropriately ranked as #5 in the entire world—which was housed in the old and dilapidated International terminal in Newark airport with access only to a shared mediocre lounge that shut down two hours before our scheduled and further delayed departure. Hard and unpleasant rows of passenger seating, resplendent with inappropriately (un)dressed and unbelievably noisy travelers surrounded us in the public waiting area. Consistent loud security calls to the gates exacerbated our existing discomfort. It was hardly an auspicious beginning but once we boarded our flight, luxury, comfort, and surprisingly excellent food awaited us.

Upon landing in Istanbul for our connecting flight to Cairo, we had to make a mad dash to the gate. We thankfully arrived just before it closed—unfortunately, our luggage did not. We made it, and this journalist certainly arrived in dramatic fashion after that truly wonderful flight on Turkish Air! As we rushed down to the waiting car, I dramatically fell face first down a flight of stone steps miraculously breaking only my lower foot!

I tell you the story so that I can report on the extraordinary attention provided in the local medical facilities in Alexandria, not to mention the kind gesture of a local merchant who supplied vast quantities of ice and refused any payment as he felt a moral duty to assist. But each leaf also has a reverse side: I must equally report on the extraordinarily atrocious response to delayed luggage as was displayed by Egypt Air whose responsibility it is to manage all international luggage that arrives on a later flight! The airline delivered our luggage at four in the morning after it sat in the airport for four days.

The intended purpose of our trip to Alexandria, Egypt at the height of the summer heat was to attend a dear cousin’s wedding which was representational of the dichotomy in Egypt today between traditional and thoroughly modern families. Our cousin is a successful consultant for the international pharmaceutical industry who married a Microsoft IT consultant. They represent the middle ground, a bridge between the moderrn and conservative members of the population.

As for us, we wound up celebrating the wedding in an entirely differeent and unforeseen fashion; my husband donned attire supplied to him by his two brothers while I was (non)glamorously accessorized in flip flops gifted to us by the airline. What a sight we were!

Wedding traditions and celebrations may differ, but love is consummated with amazing consistency throughout the world. The universality of marriage is the pervasive and resonant theme, a celebration in any culture and any nation worldwide. In Egypt, as in many other parts of the Middle East, these weddings can host multitudes of guests. Here the traditional protocol is for the groom’s family to orchestrate and pay for the wedding and honeymoon; the wife’s family’s responsibility is to set up the future home and furnishings for the bride and groom.

This celebration was hosted by my brother-in-law at his luxurious and beautiful villa with flowering gardens and dancing palm trees. The table decor was sumptuous albeit artificial; the food, bountiful, and delicious; and the music, international and motivational. Even those guests under the age of 10 hit the dance floor with vigor.

There is one anamoly I have to mention as it appears to be a tradition there but not one which any of us were familiar with. We waited with great anticipation for the beautiful wedding cake to be cut and served by the bride and groom. To our utter amazement, it appears the tradition is to have a “fake” cake! Much to my chagrin, we learned this after preparing to be very critical of the caterer the next day upon his failure to distribute our expected wedding cake… new traditions, ancient country!

Egypt has recalibrated its lifestyle since 2011, when former President Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak was overthrown, through the short-lived and violent activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, the inspired leadership of former President Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayyat, and the more controlled reconstructive leadership of President Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi, a former general. Bringing this discipline to restore crumbling cities and infrastructure, President Sisi has modernized and beautified this oldest of glorious civilizations.

Citizens reside in the extended residential area constructed to escape from the crumbling remnants of ancient and beautiful Alexandria. This area stands around Lake Mariout, an ancient lake that lies south by southwest of Alexandria. It was a principle thoroughfare during the Ptolemaic era, a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled as the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 to 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, and with its downfall came the engulfing rule of Rome.

After the Roman conquest, the Mariout region flourished greatly The multiple remains of developments around Lake Mariout, which are still visible, confirm the existence of a large number of ancient small ports. These were essential to an efficient and economic transport system for local people and goods that supplied Alexandria’s markets on a daily basis, a “highway” for merchandise coming from Alexandria’s hinterland to the rest of Egypt.

Left inhabited only by the Bedouin tribes, it offered a ripe opportunity for residential development in the past 30 years. These days the Bedouin tribe’s men are often employed as guards, cooks, or gardeners for the affluent landowners. We had the pleasure of dining in one of the well established restaurants (to which I would give a resounding four stars, if such a system existed). The establishment, Khattab Oasis, is owned by a third generation tribal family that owns other restaurants along the elite northern coast. Bedouin cuisine is meat-based, centered around indigenous animals such as goats, camels, sheep, and gazelles. Traditionally, the food is baked in stone-based ovens with local desert herb broth.

Today, Lake Mariout is an airy and spacious opportunity to escape crowded and neglected Alexandria while still being considered an integral part of the region thanks to the extraordinary new roads and highway systems Egyptian leadership has mandated and delivered.