Alexandria “The Mediterranean Pearl”

The city of Alexandria got the biggest role in ancient history as it was associated with famous rulers like Alexander the Great and Cleopatra, the last active Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. The city was responsible for transmitting Hellenic culture to the rest of the Mediterranean after it was built by Alexander the great himself in 332 BC to be the center of the Hellenistic civilization. It served as the capital of Egypt during the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine for about a thousand-year until the Muslim conquest in 641 AD where the official capital became the city of Fustat.

Location of Alexandria City

The city also acts as the second largest city after Cairo with a population of 3.5 million people on a 2,679 km². Alexandria’s location extends 32 km on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and is 138 km (114 mi) northwest of Cairo on the western edge of the Nile Delta, it also enjoys a wonderful climate with warm humid summer and rainy winters throughout the year. It accounts for two-fifths of the country’s industrial production and acts as a cultural stage for art and beauty.

Alexandria History and Attractions

Alexandria Attractions - Egypt Tours Portal

Alexandria is a popular tourist destination because of the unbelievable number of monuments and levels of greatness and allure. It was constructed in 331 BCE by Alexander the great on a village called Racotis during his visit to Amun Temple in Siwa. He ordered his chief architect Dinocrates to build a city that will reflect his vision and immortalize his legacy. It is quite famous for once containing the Legendary Lighthouse of Alexandria a.k.a Pharos of Alexandria that was built during the Ptolemaic dynasty in 280 BC at the height of 120-137 m (394-449 ft) which became the second tallest construction after the pyramids. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a series of earthquakes in 1303 and 1323 AD, and in the same location using the remaining blocks of the lighthouse in 1477 AD the powerful citadel of Quitbey was constructed to protect the city from any foreign Navel attack. The city also houses the enchanting Catacombs which was a final resting place for a greek Nobel family during the` Greco-roman period which is very praised for perfectly combining Greek and ancient Egyptian art in the finest possible manner.

Alexandria Famous For

Alexandria Famous For - Egypt Tours Portal

Alexandria was famous back in the day for containing various ethnic groups like the largest Jewish community in the world at that time and the first Greek translation of the Hebrew holy Book. The ancient library of Alexandria was the source of enlightenment and a center for art and science across the Mediterranean as it contained millions of scrolls and books on every possible subject. It was constructed in the 3rd century BC in the Ptolemaic dynasty, in the reign of Ptolemy II between 285-246 BC, it was destroyed by a fire in 48 BC and in 2002 a new library by the name of Bibliotheca Alexandria was constructed to commemorate its memory and keep the spirit of the original ancient library alive. Alexandria lays the pillar of Pompey which is the largest construction of its kind to be built outside the imperial capitals of Rome which represents the level of wealth and power Alexandria enjoyed under the Roman rule. The Serpeum of Alexandria which is an ancient Greek temple constructed by Ptolemy III  Euergetes (246-222 BCE) during the Ptolemaic Kingdom west of the Alexandria library to honor the Greco-Roman deity Serapis. The Islamic Rule didn’t leave any touches on the city of Alexandria as the Mamluk and Fatimid dynasties spend most of their time in Cairo and settled with transforming the city to a naval port and a shipping port, Plus there is the famous El-Mursi Abul Abbas Mosque which is located near the Citadel of Qaitbay, built in the honor of the 13th century Murcian Andalusi Sufi saint Abul Abbas al-Mursi. When Alexandria fell under Ottoman rule, it lost all meaning to beauty, glory, or elegance but in 1805 under the reign of Muhammad Ali, the city regained its lost allure and became of the world’s most attractive destinations.

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