Alexandria (الإسكندرية)
The Macedonian, Alexander the Great, conquered Greece and then came to Egypt. In 331 BC he chose the small fishing village of Rhacotis on the Mediterranean coast to be its new capital, Alexandria. His embalmed body was laid to rest in the city when he died eight years later, after conquering Asia. Alexandria became Egypt's capital under the Ptolemaic dynasty, until Cleopatra committed suicide and the Romans took over. During the Roman rule the city was one of the most important centers of Christianity in the Middle East. The locals hated the Christian rulers so much that, when the Arabs conquered Egypt in 641 AD, they were welcomed as liberators, even though they plundered most of the city.
Alexandria's decline started in the 18th century when the Turkish Empire started collapsing. In the 19th century it became more important again, as it profited from the overland connection between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton. During both World Wars many troops were stationed in the city. Nowadays Alexandria is Egypt's main industrial center and port. It is the country's second-largest city and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast.
At its historical height the city of Alexandria was a great center of science, philosophy and intellectual thought and learning. It used to have a library containing more than 500,000 volumes. In ancient times, Alexandria was best known for its Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos) and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa. It also used to be an important center of early Christianity. As a result of numerous wars and plundering, little remains of the old glamour, but there are still some interesting sights in the city.
Alexandria is oriented around the big square of Midan Saad Zaghoul, which runs all the way down to the waterfront with its dirty beaches. You will have to go to Agami or Hannoville some 17 km west of the city center for better beaches.
Places to Visit
- The Greco-Roman Museum contains antique relics as old as the 3rd century BC. It is at 5 Sharia al Mathaf al Romani. In the museum you will find a fantastic black-granite sculpture of the sacred bull worshipped by the ancient Egyptians named Apis, mummies, sarcophaguses, pottery, jewelry and tapestries. It is the only museum in the city covering the period between ancient Egypt and the Arab conquest.
- Not far from the museum you will find Kom El Deka, or Kom El Dikka, a series of Ptolemaic and Roman excavations. On the site is the only Amphitheatre the Romans ever build in Egypt. 13 white-marble terraces, still in excellent condition, are arranged around the arena.
- The Pillar of Pompeii is a huge 27-metre high pink granite Roman triumphal column that measures 9 meters around its girth. The pillar was erected in 293 AD in the center of the temple of Serapeum for Diocletian. Around 100 years later the Christian crusaders destroyed the Serapeum and Cleopatra's library and left only the pillar, which they credited to Pompeii, standing. Nowadays it's all that remains of Serapeum. Some remains of Serapeum still lie beneath the acropolis in which the pillar stands.
- The largest known Roman burial site in Egypt are the Catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa, or Kom El Shoqafa, not far from the Pillar of Pompeii. A labyrinth of three tiers of burial tombs, chambers and hallways can be seen there. The Romans began burying their dead there in the 2nd century AD and later the site was expanded to bury more than 300 people. There are numerous chambers, adorned with sculpted pillars, statues and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious symbols, burial niches and sarcophagi. A banquet hall where the grieving would pay their respects with a funeral feast can also be seen.
- The Citadel of Qaitbay, sometimes spelled as Qait Bey, is west of the harbor. It was a defensive fortress and it was established in 1477 on the site of the forementioned ancient lighthouse. There is a naval museum inside and the views from the top of the building are excellent.
- The Temple of Taposiris Magna was built in the Ptolemy era in honour of Osiris. With the construction of this temple Alexandria was completed. The temple is located in the city's western suburb of Abusir. The onl things of the temple that remain today are the outer wall and the pylons. Remains of a Christian church show that the temple area was used as a church in the centuries after its completion. Other ancient remains that were found in the area include the public baths built by the emperor Justinian, a seawall, quays and a bridge. Also not far from there are the remains of a tower built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. That tower is said to have been an exact scale replica of the ancient Alexandrine Pharos Lighthouse.
- Apart from the abovementioned musea, there are several other ones in Alexandria, including the Fine Arts Museum where modern Egyptian art is displayed and the Royal Jewelry Museum where jewels from Mohammed Ali's early rule can be seen.
Alexandria is connected to the rest of Egypt by rail, road, air and boats that run on the Nile river. The city also has sea-connections to many Mediterranean places. Transportation within the city goes by bus or tram. The main station for both is Midan Ramli. There are many hotels in the city and restaurants can be found everywhere.
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; "Image 7 - Kom El Deka ©Dilip Poddar [148kB]")
; "Image 8 - Roman Thaeter at Kom El Deka ©Dilip Poddar [164kB]")
; "Image 9 - Alexandria ©George Youssef [109kB]")
; "Image 10 - Citadel of Qaitbay ©Sohaila I. Darwesh [117kB]")
; "Image 11 - Seafront ©Abdalla Ibrahim [145kB]")
; "Image 12 - Citadel of Qaitbay ©Farah Samy [116kB]")
; "Image 13 - Seafront ©Flo P. [125kB]")
; "Image 14 - Citadel of Qaitbay ©Ali Desouky [147kB]")
; "Image 15 - Alexandria ©Mostafa Saeed [70kB]")
; "Image 16 - Alexandria ©Amr El Neanaey [153kB]")
; "Image 17 - Column of Pompeii ©Malova Yuliya [173kB]")
; "Image 18 - Alexandria ©Juan Nino [205kB]")
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