Ads
related to: alexandria egypt historical sites and placesGo beyond the landmarks to discover seldom-seen sights with National Geographic Experts. Join inspiring experts including Egyptologists & National Geographic photographers.
- 13-day Nile River Cruise
Explore with expert Egyptologists
and a certified photo instructor.
- Sail from Egypt to Greece
Egypt, Greek Isles, & Suez Canal.
12-day voyage through antiquity.
- Egypt, Greece, Suez Canal
See the Pyramids, Sphinx, Valley of
the Kings, Santorini, & the Red Sea
- Get a Free Trip Catalog
An Inspiring Coffee Table Book Full
of Beautiful Imagery & Adventures.
- 13-day Nile River Cruise
Audley provides 100% tailor-made trips to fit your budget, interests, & tastes. Uncover the best places to visit in Egypt with tailor-made trips from Audley Travel.
Search results
People also ask
Where is Alexandria Egypt located?
Which Alexandria landmark is worth visiting?
Is the Library of Alexandria a historical monument?
Is Bibliotheca Alexandrina a historical monument?
Top Alexandria Landmarks: See reviews and photos of sights to see in Alexandria, Egypt on Tripadvisor.
- Overview
- Character of the city
- City site
- Climate
Alexandria, major city and urban muḥāfaẓah (governorate) in Egypt. Once among the greatest cities of the Mediterranean world and a centre of Hellenic scholarship and science, Alexandria was the capital of Egypt from its founding by Alexander the Great in 332 bce until its surrender to the Arab forces led by ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ in 642 ce. One of Egypt’s...
Alexandria has long occupied a special place in the popular imagination by virtue of its association with Alexander and Cleopatra. Alexandria played an important role in preserving and transmitting Hellenic culture to the wider Mediterranean world and was a crucible of scholarship, piety, and ecclesiastical politics in early Christian history. Although it has been asserted that Alexandria declined as a result of its conquest by Muslim Arabs in the 7th century ce, such a statement is misleading. While the city’s political primacy was lost when the capital was moved to the interior, Alexandria remained an important centre of naval operations, maritime commerce, and craft production. As late as the 15th century, the city prospered as a transit point in the trade conducted between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean basin.
Beginning in the 16th century, however, the city suffered a period of protracted decline owing to epidemic disease and administrative neglect; by the end of the 18th century, traces of Alexandria’s former splendour had largely vanished. By the time French troops invaded Egypt in 1798, Alexandria had been reduced to a town of some 10,000 inhabitants, significant mainly for its role in Ottoman maritime networks. Flourishing in the 19th century as a major centre of the booming cotton industry, the modern city had come to bear little in common with the ancient metropolis.
Alexandria has generally been characterized by a cultural ambivalence inherent in the city’s location—extending along a spit of land with its back to Egypt and its face to the Mediterranean. Throughout most of its history, Alexandria has thus remained a cosmopolitan town, belonging as much—or perhaps more—to the wider Mediterranean world as to its hinterland. The revival of the town in the 19th century, however, brought about a profound change in the city’s identity. With the significant increase in agricultural exports, the influx of native Egyptians to the city, and the formation and integration of the Egyptian state, Alexandria became tied to the Nile valley more closely than ever before. As a result, it also became the locus of an emergent Egyptian national consciousness.
Britannica Quiz
Wonders of the World Quiz
Beginning in the mid-18th century, these underlying changes would be overshadowed for roughly a century by the rise to power of a Levantine business community. Foreign dominance was reinforced by the overlay of British colonialism beginning in 1882 and by the formation of a foreign-dominated municipality in 1890. The arts flourished during this century-long interlude, and the city still boasts fine Neoclassical and Art Nouveau architecture dating from this period. The literary side of the city’s flowering is reflected in the works of the Alexandria-born Greek writer Constantine Cavafy, who drew on Alexandria’s fabled past in his poetry. Likewise, the decadent cosmopolitanism of the foreign community in Alexandria was depicted by the English writer Lawrence Durrell in his famous series of novels, The Alexandria Quartet (1957–60). A contrasting portrayal of the modern city is given in Naguib Mahfouz’s Miramar (1967); set in postcolonial Alexandria, Mahfouz’s novella offers a view of the city as an integral part of Egyptian history and society. This process of integration was accelerated after the 1952 revolution, when most of the remaining foreign residents departed.
The modern city extends 25 miles (40 km) east to west along a limestone ridge, 1–2 miles (1.6–3.2 km) wide, that separates the salt lake of Maryūṭ, or Mareotis—now partly drained and cultivated—from the Egyptian mainland. An hourglass-shaped promontory formed by the silting up of a mole (the Heptastadion), which was built soon after Alexandria’s fo...
The prevailing north wind, blowing across the Mediterranean, gives Alexandria a markedly different climate from that of the desert hinterland. The summers are relatively temperate, although humidity can build up in July and in August, the hottest month, when the average temperature reaches 87 °F (31 °C). Winters are cool and invariably marked by a ...
- Explore the Museums of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Most visitors to Alexandria beeline first to this modern re-imagining of Alexandria's ancient Great Library.
- Stroll the Corniche. Downtown Alexandria's wide, waterfront Corniche Road is as much a symbol of the city as any of its monuments. Strolling the Corniche, particularly the section between the main shorefront square of Midan Saad Zaghloul to Fort Qaitbey on the Eastern Harbor's western tip, gives you a real feel for the era of cosmopolitan elegance and decadence that marked this city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Head Underground at the Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa. The Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa are hewn from the rock on the southern slopes of a hill, in the Carmous district.
- Fort Qaitbey. Walk the long shorefront Corniche road of the Eastern Harbor heading west, and you'll finally arrive at Fort Qaitbey. It may be a poor substitute for what was once the site of the mighty Pharos Lighthouse–one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, which was toppled by a violent earthquake in 1303–but this squat fort has been standing guard over Alexandria since 1480.
- The Royal Jewelry Museum. Of all of Egypt’s royals, Tutankhamun is the most famous for the gold bling his tomb contained. But the Ottoman royal family also had a penchant for sparkly things and could really give the boy king’s “wonderful things” a run for their money.
- Kom al Dikka. One of the most popular tour stops in Alexandria is Kom al-Dikka, the site of the so-called Roman Amphitheater, located near the main train station for visitors from Cairo.
- Kom al-Shoqafa (Catacombs) The name of this site means “Mound of Sherds”. It probably was an apt description of the area when a donkey’s leg got stuck in a hole on the site in the early 20th century, uncovering a deep set of catacombs.
- Fort Qait Bey. This fort stands on a promontory at the edge of Alexandria that juts out into the sea. Constructed by Sultan Qait Bey around 1480 CE as part of his defense of the Mediterranean coast, it continued in this role until the British attacked in 1882, starting to fall into ruin.
Jul 18, 2023 · Alexandria is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great. It was the site of the Pharos (lighthouse), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world...
- Joshua J. Mark
- When was Alexandria, Egypt founded and by whom?Alexandria, Egypt was founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great who named it after himself.
- Why was Alexandria, Egypt important?Alexandria, Egypt was an important intellectual, cultural, and commercial center. It was located on the Mediterranean Sea on the Nile Delta and so...
- Where was the Lighthouse of Alexandria located?The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located where the 15th century Fort Qaitbey stands today.
- Why did Alexandria, Egypt decline and when?Alexandria, Egypt began to decline in the 4th and 5th centuries CE due to religious intolerance which sparked civil unrest. By the 7th century CE,...
Apr 15, 2020 · Delve into the local souks, marvel at Pompey’s Column, and explore ancient ruins at every turn. It’s a fascinating place to visit, and to inspire your trip, here are the best things to do in Alexandria Egypt. Don’t leave home without: Lonely Planet Egypt (Travel Guide)
You dive around Cleopatra’s Palace. The sea of Alexandria Egypt takes you to a complete historical city. So you feel as if you are in the heart of Atlantis. You will dive through shiny treasures, giant statues, rare artifacts, sunken ships, and 700 berths for ships among the remains of a magnificent historical city!
Ad
related to: alexandria egypt historical sites and placesGo beyond the landmarks to discover seldom-seen sights with National Geographic Experts. Join inspiring experts including Egyptologists & National Geographic photographers.
