I lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which was a polyglot entrepot and one of the most interesting cities on earth (read L. Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet). Then Nasser, who could foul up a free lunch, decided to Arabize the city and cause a war with Israel. It has never been the same since.
Circa 1990, a plane I was in landed in Alexandria for a quick stopover.
If the ‘scenery’ weren’t enough, stench of the slums permeated the cabin as we came in for the landing.
It was the kind of foul, sour, nauseating odor of squalor and decay that can challenge even the toughest stomachs.
That’s my memory of Alexandria, Egypt.