Alexandria

Alexandria, Egypt

The honey-coloured stone of Qaitbey Citadel at sunset, viewed from the rocky shore with a fishing boat in the foreground.

Alexandria is a Mediterranean port of Greek, Roman and Islamic layers, worth a few slow days on the seafront and among its ancient tombs.

The place

Alexandria sits on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, at the western edge of the Nile Delta, and runs for a long ribbon of seafront along the water. It is Egypt's main seaport and the country's second city after Cairo, home to about 5.4 million people. Locals have nicknamed it the Bride of the Mediterranean, a name that suits the faded grandeur of the Corniche, where old apartment blocks with balconies look out over fishing boats and the long curve of the bay.

The city is less a single monument than a set of layers. Greek and Roman remains lie scattered among medieval forts, Ottoman-era streets and the palaces of the khedives' era. The modern city is both an industrial centre and a cultural town, with shipyards, port traffic, a sizeable financial sector, an opera house and a well-known library. The waterfront stays busy, so the main roads bring lorries, taxis and plenty of honking.

Mornings suit the ancient sites while it is still cool, afternoons fit a slow walk on the Corniche or a long coffee, and evenings belong to seafood by the harbour. The sea breeze makes the city more comfortable than inland Cairo in summer, though the humidity is real. Alexandria is noisy, crowded and spread out, and it rewards patience more than a packed itinerary.

Its story

Alexandria was founded in April 331 BCE by Alexander the Great, who wanted a major Greek city on Egypt's coast bearing his name. The ground was not empty. Radiocarbon dating of shells and traces in the soil point to people using this stretch of coast in the Old Kingdom, and a small Egyptian fishing settlement called Rhakotis had grown up nearby long before Alexander arrived. Ancient sources also mention a trading post here in the age of Rameses the Great, but it had vanished by the time the Macedonians came.

Alexander's plan was ambitious. He envisioned a causeway out to the island of Pharos, which would enclose a pair of natural harbours either side of the land. Those harbours turned the new town into a commercial port linking Egypt to the Greek world and beyond. Nearby settlements such as Canopus and Heracleion were already important by then, and Heracleion has since been found underwater.

Under the Ptolemies, the dynasty that took Egypt after Alexander's death, the city became a centre of learning. The royal library and the Museion, a temple of the Muses where scholars were housed and fed, drew writers and mathematicians from across the Mediterranean. The library's collection was lost over time through fires and neglect, and historians still argue about how much was destroyed and when. Later Roman rule, earthquakes and shifting harbours reshaped the city, and the medieval Mamluk period left the Qaitbey fortress, built from stone recycled out of older ruins. Today the modern city sits over much of the ancient grid, so remains still surface during building work.

What to see

Culture

Alexandria's sense of learning is still visible. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern library and cultural centre, stands near the site of the ancient royal library, and the city hosts an annual Mediterranean film festival there. Alexandrians are proud of their reputation as a meeting point of cultures, and Greeks, Italians, Levantines, Jews and Egyptians all shaped its streets, its cafés and its cooking.

Daily life runs in Arabic, and most people are warm towards visitors who make an effort with a simple greeting. Friday is the main day of rest for many families, and the call to prayer marks the rhythm of the day. Keep your voice low near places of worship and during prayer times.

Photography needs care. Ask before photographing people, especially women and families, and avoid the port area and military sites altogether. Public displays of affection draw attention, so keep them private. Tips are expected in restaurants, by taxi drivers who help with bags, and by guides, so keep small notes handy. Dress modestly in residential districts and at religious sites, and always ask before taking a close photo of someone's face.

What to wear

Traditional dress in Alexandria belongs to the wider Egyptian tradition of loose, practical clothing. The galabiya, a long full-length robe, is worn by men and by many older people across the country, usually in cotton or a light blend. Women's traditional dress often includes a headscarf with a long dress, a robe or a shawl. Cotton and linen have long been central to Egyptian textiles, and the Nile Delta's fields and workshops supplied much of the fabric worn along this coast.

What people wear now is a mix. In the central streets and along the Corniche, jeans, shirts and fashionable dresses sit alongside headscarves, abayas and galabiyas. Younger residents tend towards Western styles, while older residents and many women in conservative neighbourhoods keep to modest, covered clothing. Few people dress for the beach outside the seafront resorts, so the modest norm applies on most streets.

Visitors should dress with light cotton or linen, long trousers or skirts, and covered shoulders. A scarf is useful for mosques and churches, and shoes that slip off easily suit mosques, while sturdy shoes with grip suit the uneven stone at the ancient sites. Pack a sun hat, sunglasses and a light layer for cooler evenings on the sea wall.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons, when the sea breeze keeps the city cooler and the ancient sites are comfortable to walk around. Summer is hot and humid along the coast, so plan outdoor sightseeing for early morning and save the afternoons for cafés and museums.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly into Cairo, Egypt's main gateway, then take a train from Ramses Station in central Cairo. The fast express services are the quickest way to reach Alexandria. Domestic flights also run from Cairo and other Egyptian cities, but the train is usually the easiest final leg.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources