Alexandria history and tourist attractions
Alexandria is one the most important cities in Egypt, it has played a great role during different eras such as Ptolemy, Roman, Greek, and British, thus we will inform you more about Alexandria history and tourist attractions.
- Egypt has been a goal for many invaders, due to its location and valuable natural sources.
- However, each invader who passed through Egypt left a lot of important traces of his culture and art.
- Alexandria has many tourist places that we will talk about, but first, we give you a small hint about Alexandria’s history.
How Alexandria was established?
Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt in 331 BC., so it became the largest city in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Greek engineer (Dinocrates) Bencliffe refers to Alexander and planned its establishment to be located next to an ancient fishermen’s village called “Rakota”.
What is the geographical location of Alexandria?
Alexandria is located in the northwest of Egypt, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The borders:
North: Mediterranean Sea.
South and East: Al-Buhaira Governorate.
West: Matrouh Governorate.
The Area:
Alexandria covers an area of 2818.77 km²
Why it was named” Alexandria”?
The name Alexandria was derived from its founder Alexander the Great, due to he is the one who ordered to build it.
How is the weather in Alexandria?
The summer:
The average temperature is 27 ℃ in Alexandria.
The warmest month of the year is June, with an average temperature of 32 ℃.
The winter:
The average temperature is 19 ℃.
The coldest month in Alexandria is January.
The population:
The population of Alexandria is about 5.2 million people according to the statistics of Oct 2018.
What is the currency of Alexandria?
- The Egyptian Pound is the official currency of Alexandria, and its abbreviation is “EGP”.
What is the national language of Alexandria?
- Its native residents speak the Arabic language with a local Egyptian dialect.
What is the main traditional food in Alexandria?
There are many popular traditional foods in Alexandria such as liver and seafood as well.
What are the kinds of transportation available in Alexandria?
There are different kinds of transportation such as:
- Tram.
- Public buses.
- Taxi
What are the main airports of Alexandria?
Borg el Arab International Airport (HBE)
What are the best famous malls to visit in Alexandria?
- Green Plaza Mall of Alexandria.
- City Centre Alexandria.
- San Stefano Mall.
- Orouba Mall.
Hotels in Alexandria
- Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria, San Stefano.
- Hilton Green plaza Alexandria
- Sheraton Montazah Hotel
- Tolip Hotel Alexandria
- Helnan Palestine Hotel Alexandria.
- Steigenberger Cecil Alexandria
Famous museums in Alexandria
Royal Jewellery Museum
- Its name also is the Jewelry Palace, due to it displays the jewels of the royal families that ruled Egypt from Muhammad Ali Pasha to Farouk I, and its location is in the city of Alexandria.
- They built it in 1919 in the Zizinia area as a palace for Princess Fatima al-Zahra, one of the princesses of the royal family, later it became a museum.
- The royal jewelry that is currently displayed in the museum was confiscated from the royal family in 1952 AD
Greco-Roman Museum
- Khedive Abbas Helmy II ordered to build it to preserve the antiquities of Alexandria.
- It consists of 27 halls, and most of the museum’s monuments date back to the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, as well as the Coptic era.
Alexandria National Museum
- Merchant Asaad Basile built it in an Italian style, later he sold it to the US Embassy until the Ministry of Culture bought it and restored it, and turned it into a museum.
- Then the museum was opened in 2003.
- It contains 1800 artifacts that include all ages such as pharaonic, Islamic, roman..etc from the ancient state to the modern era.
- The Alexandria National Museum is unique, due to its offering a special hall for submerged antiquities, which includes an impressive collection of recovered sunken antiquities.
Museum of Fine Arts
- The museum houses a large collection of works by pioneering Egyptian artists.
- It is the first museum specifically to be a museum of fine arts in Egypt and the Middle East.
Best top 7 places you must visit in Alexandria
1) The Bibliotheca Alexandrina
- The construction of the Library of Alexandria began during the reign of Ptolemy I and ended during the reign of Ptolemy II.
- It was revived again in cooperation with the United Nations and was opened in 2002.
- It includes a number of important museums, such as the Antiquities Museum, and the History of Science Museum.
- There is also a center for international conferences and lectures.
2) Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqqafa
- It is one of the most important Alexandria history and tourist attractions.
- this site dates back to the Greco-Roman era because of its wonderful decorations and its planning.
- They called it that name, due to a large number of broken pottery remains.
- The building was carved in the rock and it was found by chance in 1900 AD.
- It consists of three underground floors, where a lot of monuments were found there for instance 502 rare artifacts and 17 sphinxes.
- The location of this site is in the South Mina Al-Basal district.
- It dates back to the first and second AD, moreover, it has both Egyptian art with Roman art.
3) Qaitbey Fort
- One of the most famous buildings in Alexandria.
- The citadel was built by Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaytabi on the ruins of the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria when he visited Alexandria.
- It is located in the far west of Alexandria on the island of Pharos.
- It took two years to build it.
- The goal of its building was to protect Egypt’s borders from the Alexandria side, due to the many threats at that time.
4) Kom el-Dikka
- It is one of the most important sites in Alexandria, because of its Greco-Roman antiquities.
- They called it “Kom El-Dikka” due to two reasons
Firstly, it became like a bench from the remains of the destroyed buildings near it.
Secondly, there is a legend that says that Alexander the Great buried the golden bench on which he was sitting.
- Among the most important monuments in Kom El-Dikka are the following:
First: Roman Theater
- It is the only Roman theater in Egypt and dates back to the fourth century AD.
- Its discovery was by chance in 1960 during the excavation of the tomb of Alexander the Great, and it was used for ceremonies or as a hall for study and lectures.
Second: Pompey Pillar
- The pillar was erected in the third century AD to memorize Emperor Diocletian, and it is the last surviving relic of the Serapeum temple.
- It is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Alexandria, moreover, it is located between the Koum dikka area and the current Muslim burials.
- In addition, it is the tallest monument in the world, with a length of 27 meters.
Third: Villa of The Birds
Its building was in the first century AD in the era of Emperor Hadrian and is currently the only museum in Egypt for mosaics.
5) Montazah Gardens
- Monatazah garden is a group of gardens located in the east of Alexandria.
- Khedive Abbas Helmy II built it more than a hundred years ago.
- In addition, it has five beaches Aida, Cleopatra beach, Venicia, and Semiramis.
6) Ras el-Tin Palace
- It is one of the most important historical sites that Muhammad Ali built in 1834 AD, as it took eleven years to build.
- The palace lived through the family of Muhammad Ali until its last stages of deposing and banishing King Farouk.
- Moreover, it is the oldest palace in Egypt and is located on the shore of the Mediterranean in Alexandria.
7) Abu Abbas al-Mursi Mosque
- It is one of the oldest and most famous mosques in Alexandria, as it dates back to 706 AH, and the most important in Alexandria.
- Later, Alexandrians called it “Morsi Abu al-Abbas”.
- The mosque was a mausoleum for Sheikh Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas, because he was a relative of the companion Saad bin Ubadah.
- It has characteristics of the Andalusian style and Arab-style decorations, in addition, it has eight marble and copper columns.
In conclusion, Egypt has always proved that it has many treasures from ancient eras. Thus tourists from all over the world visit it. However, Alexandria history and tourism attractions are one of the main purposes for the place that Egypt occupies between other tourist countries.
Source of the photos: Alexandria Portal