Alexandria Totally Explained

Everything about Alexandria totally explained

Alexandria (Egyptian: Raqd.t; Coptic: Rakotə; Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Arabic: Al-Iskandariya; Greek, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), with a population of 3.5 to 5 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the largest seaport that serves about 80% of all of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also a very important tourist resort.
   Alexandria extends about 32 km (20 miles) along the coast of the Mediterranean sea in north-central Egypt. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria), and is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria was also an important trading post between Europe and Asia, because it profited from the easy overland connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea
   In ancient times, Alexandria was one of the most famous cities in the world. It was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Greek Macedonian king Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD when a new capital was founded at Fustat, later absorbed into Cairo.
   Alexandria was known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), the Library of Alexandria (the largest library in the ancient world) and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages). Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbour of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhakotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

History

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια (Alexándreia). Alexander's chief architect for the project was Dinocrates. Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile Valley. An Egyptian townlet, Rhakotis, already existed on the shore and was a resort filled with fishermen and pirates. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt for the East and never returned to his city. After Alexander departed, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. In a struggle with the other successors of Alexander, his general Ptolemy succeeded in bringing Alexander's body to Alexandria.
   Though Cleomenes was mainly in charge of seeing to Alexandria's continuous development, the Heptastadion and the main-land quarters seem to have been mainly Ptolemaic work. Inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the center of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and for some centuries more, was second only to Rome. It became the main Greek city of Egypt, with an extraordinary mix of Greeks from many cities and backgrounds.
   Alexandria wasn't only a center of Hellenism but was also home to the largest Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, was produced there. The early Ptolemies kept it in order and fostered the development of its museum into the leading Hellenistic centre of learning (Library of Alexandria) but were careful to maintain the distinction of its population's three largest ethnicities: Greek, Jewish, and Egyptian. From this division arose much of the later turbulence, which began to manifest itself under Ptolemy Philopater who reigned from 221–204 BC. The reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon from 144–116 BC was marked by purges and civil warfare.
   The city passed formally under Roman jurisdiction in 80 BC, according to the will of Ptolemy Alexander but only after it had been under Roman influence for more than a hundred years. In 115 AD Alexandria was destroyed during the Jewish-Greek civil wars which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. In 215 AD the emperor Caracalla visited the city and, because of some insulting satires that the inhabitants had directed at him, abruptly commanded his troops to put to death all youths capable of bearing arms. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami (365 Crete earthquake), an event two hundred years later still annually commemorated as "day of horror".
   In the late 4th century, persecution of pagans by newly Christian Romans had reached new levels of intensity. In 391, Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of all pagan temples, and the Patriarch Theophilus, complied with his request. The Brucheum and Jewish quarters were desolate in the 5th century. On the mainland, life seemed to have centered in the vicinity of the Serapeum and Caesareum, both which became Christian churches. The Pharos and Heptastadium quarters, however, remained populous and were left intact.
   In 616, Alexandria was taken by Khosrau II, King of Persia. Although the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius recovered it a few years later, in 641 the Arabs, under the general Amr ibn al-As during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, captured it decisively after a siege that lasted fourteen months.
   Alexandria figured prominently in the military operations of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798. French troops stormed the city on July 2 1798 and it remained in their hands until the arrival of the British expedition in 1801. The British won a considerable victory over the French at the Battle of Alexandria on March 21 1801, following which they besieged the city which fell to them on 2 September 1801. Mohammed Ali, the Ottoman Governor of Egypt, began rebuilding the city around 1810, and by 1850, Alexandria had returned to something akin to its former glory. In July 1882 the city came under bombardment from British naval forces and was occupied.
   In July 1954, the city was a target of an Israeli bombing campaign that later became known as the Lavon Affair. Only a few months later, Alexandria's Manshia Square was the site of the famous, failed assassination attempt on the life of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Geography

Layout of the ancient city

The Greek Alexandria was divided into three regions:

Brucheum � the Royal or Greek quarter, forming the most magnificent portion of the city. In Roman times Brucheum was enlarged by the addition of an official quarter, making up four regions in all. The city was laid out as a grid of parallel streets, each of which had an attendant subterranean canal;

;The Jews' quarter � forming the northeast portion of the city;

Rhakotis � occupied chiefly by Egyptians (from Coptic Rakotə "Alexandria").

Two main streets, lined with colonnades and said to have been each about 60 metres (200 feet) wide, intersected in the centre of the city, close to the point where the Sema (or Soma) of Alexander (his Mausoleum) rose. This point is very near the present mosque of Nebi Daniel; and the line of the great East–West "Canopic" street, only slightly diverged from that of the modern Boulevard de Rosette. Traces of its pavement and canal have been found near the Rosetta Gate, but better remnants of streets and canals were exposed in 1899 by German excavators outside the east fortifications, which lie well within the area of the ancient city.
Alexandria consisted originally of little more than the island of Pharos, which was joined to the mainland by a mole nearly a mile long (1260 m) and called the Heptastadion ("seven stadia" — a stadium was a Greek unit of length measuring approximately 180 m). The end of this abutted on the land at the head of the present Grand Square, where the "Moon Gate" rose. All that now lies between that point and the modern "Ras Al Teen" quarter is built on the silt which gradually widened and obliterated this mole. The "Ras Al Teen" quarter represents all that's left of the island of Pharos, the site of the actual lighthouse having been weathered away by the sea. On the east of the mole was the Great Harbour, now an open bay; on the west lay the port of Eunostos, with its inner basin Kibotos, now vastly enlarged to form the modern harbour.
In Strabo's time, (latter half of 1st century BC) the principal buildings were as follows, enumerated as they were to be seen from a ship entering the Great Harbour.

The Royal Palaces, filling the northeast angle of the town and occupying the promontory of Lochias, which shut in the Great Harbour on the east. Lochias (the modern Pharillon) has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, together with the palaces, the "Private Port" and the island of Antirrhodus. There has been a land subsidence here, as throughout the northeast coast of Africa.
The Great Theatre, on the modern Hospital Hill near the Ramleh station. This was used by Caesar as a fortress, where he withstood a siege from the city mob after the battle of Pharsalus
The Poseidon, or Temple of the Sea God, close to the Theatre
The Timonium built by Mark Antony
The Emporium (Exchange)
The Apostases (Magazines)
The Navalia (Docks), lying west of the Timonium, along the sea-front as far as the mole
Behind the Emporium rose the Great Caesareum, by which stood the two great obelisks, each of which become known as “Cleopatra's Needle”, and were transported to New York City and London. This temple became, in time, the Patriarchal Church, though some ancient remains of the temple have been discovered. The actual Caesareum, the parts not eroded by the waves, lies under the houses lining the new sea-wall.
The Gymnasium and the Palaestra are both inland, near the Boulevard de Rosette in the eastern half of the town; sites unknown.
The Temple of Saturn; site unknown.
The Mausolea of Alexander (Soma) and the Ptolemies in one ring-fence, near the point of intersection of the two main streets
The Musaeum with its famous Library and theatre in the same region; site unknown.
The Serapeum, the most famous of all Alexandrian temples. Strabo tells us that this stood in the west of the city; and recent discoveries go far as to place it near “Pompey's Pillar” which was an independent monument erected to commemorate Diocletian's siege of the city.

The names of a few other public buildings on the mainland are known, but there's little information as to their actual position. None, however, are as famous as the building that stood on the eastern point of Pharos island. There, the The Great Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, reputed to be 138 meters (450 ft) high, was sited. The first Ptolemy began the project, and the second Ptolemy completed it, at a total cost of 800 talents. It took 12 years to complete and served as a prototype for all later lighthouses in the world. The light was produced by a furnace at the top and the tower was built mostly with solid blocks of limestone. The Pharos lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century, making it the second longest surviving ancient wonder next to the Great Pyramid of Giza. A temple of Hephaestus also stood on Pharos at the head of the mole.
In the first century, the population of Alexandria contained over 180,000 adult male citizens (from a papyrus dated 32 CE), in addition to a large number of freedmen, women, children and slaves. Estimates of the total population range from 500,000 to over 1,000,000, making it one of the largest cities ever built before the Industrial Revolution and the largest pre-industrial city that wasn't an imperial capital.

Ancient remains

Very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbour due to earthquake subsidence, and the rest has been rebuilt upon in modern times.
   "Pompey's Pillar" is the best-known ancient monument still standing today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis — a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery — and was originally part of a temple colonnade. Including its pedestal, it's 30 m (99 ft) high; the shaft is of polished red granite, roughly three meters in diameter at the base, tapering to two and a half meters at the top. The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus. Beneath the acropolis itself are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis were enacted, and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library.
   Alexandria's catacombs, known as Kom al Sukkfa, are a short distance southwest of the pillar, consist of a multi-level labyrinth, reached via a large spiral staircase, and featuring dozens of chambers adorned with sculpted pillars, statues, and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious symbols, burial niches and sarcophagi, as well as a large Roman-style banquet room, where memorial meals were conducted by relatives of the deceased. The catacombs were long forgotten by the citizens until they were discovered by accident in the 1800s.
   The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in Alexandria is known as Kom al Dikka, and it has revealed the ancient city's well-preserved theatre, and the remains of its Roman-era baths.

Antiquities

Persistent efforts have been made to explore the antiquities of Alexandria. Encouragement and help have been given by the local Archaeological Society, and by many individuals, notably Greeks proud of a city which is one of the glories of their national history.
The past and present directors of the museum have been enabled from time to time to carry out systematic excavations whenever opportunity is offered; D. G. Hogarth made tentative researches on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in 1895; and a German expedition worked for two years (1898–1899). But two difficulties face the would-be excavator in Alexandria: lack of space for excavation and the underwater location of some areas of interest.
Since the great and growing modern city stands right over the ancient one, it's almost impossible to find any considerable space in which to dig, except at enormous cost. Also, the general subsidence of the coast has sunk the lower-lying parts of the ancient town under water. This underwater section, containing much of the most interesting sections of the Hellenistic city, including the palace-quarter, is still being extensively investigated by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio

and his team (External Link

) and (External Link

). It raised a noted head of Caesarion. These are even being opened up to tourists, to some controversy (External Link

).
   The spaces however, that are most open are the low grounds to northeast and southwest, where it's practically impossible to get below the Roman strata.
   The most important results were those achieved by Dr. G. Botti, late director of the museum, in the neighbourhood of “Pompey's Pillar”, where there's a good deal of open ground. Here substructures of a large building or group of buildings have been exposed, which are perhaps part of the Serapeum. Nearby immense catacombs and columbaria have been opened which may have been appendages of the temple. These contain one very remarkable vault with curious painted reliefs, now lighted by electricity and shown to visitors.
   The objects found in these researches are in the museum, the most notable being a great basalt bull, probably once an object of cult in the Serapeum. Other catacombs and tombs have been opened in Kom el-Shuqafa (Roman) and Ras et-Tin (painted).
   The German excavation team found remains of a Ptolemaic colonnade and streets in the north-east of the city, but little else. Hogarth explored part of an immense brick structure under the mound of Kom el-Dika, which may have been part of the Paneum, the Mausolea or a Roman fortress.
   The making of the new foreshore led to the dredging up of remains of the Patriarchal Church; and the foundations of modern buildings are seldom laid without some objects of antiquity being discovered. The wealth underground is doubtlessly immense; but despite all efforts, there isn't much for antiquarians to see in Alexandria outside the museum and the neighbourhood of “Pompey's Pillar”. The native tomb-robbers, well-sinkers, dredgers and the like, however, come upon valuable objects from time to time, most of which find their way into private collections.

Modern city

Hais (urban districts)

Modern Alexandria is divided into 6 hais:

Montaza hai: population 943,100

Eastern Alexandria hai: population 933,600

Middle (or Downtown) Alexandria hai: population 566,500

Amreya hai: population 457,800

Western Alexandria hai: population 450,300

Gumrok hai: population 186,900 There are also two cities under the jurisdiction of the Alexandria governorate:

Borg Al-Arab city: population 186,900

New Borg Al-Arab city: population 7600

Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods of Alexandria include: Agami, Amreya, Anfoushi, Assafra, Atttarine, Azarita, also known as Mazarita, originally Lazarette, Bab Sidra, Bahari, Bachus, Bulkeley, also known as Bokla, Burg el-Arab, Cleopatra, Dekheila, Downtown, Eastern Harbor, Fleming, Gabbari, also known as Qabbari, Gianaclis, Glym (short for Glymenopoulos), Gumrok, Hadara, Ibrahimeya, Kabbary, also "Qabbary", King Mariout, Kafr Abdu, Karmous, also known as Karmouz, Kom el-Dik, also known as Kom el-Dekka, Labban, Laurent, Maamoura Beach, Maamoura, Mafrouza, Mandara, Manshiyya, Mex, Miami, Montaza, Muharram Bey, Mustafa Kamel, Ramleh, also known as el-Raml, Ras el-Tin, Rushdy, Saba Pasha, San Stefano, Shatby, Schutz, Sidi Bishr, Sidi Gaber, Smouha, Sporting, Stanley, Syouf, Tharwat, Victoria, Wardeyan, Western Harbor, and Zizinia.

Squares

(Ahmed) Orabi Square, in Downtown

Mansheya Square, in Mansheya

Saad Zaghlul Square, in Downtown

Tahrir Square (formerly Mohammed Ali Square, originally Place des Consuls), in Downtown

Ahmed Zewail Square, near Wabour El Mayah

Palaces

Montaza Palace, in Montaza

Ras el-Tin Palace, in Ras el-Tin

Presidential Palace, in Maamoura

Educational institutions

Educational institutions in Alexandria include:
Colleges and Universities:

Alexandria University

Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport

Alexandria Institute of Technology (AIT)

High Institute For Computers & Information Systems - HICIS Abo Qir

Université Senghor Schools:

Abbas Helmy High School

Al Abaseya High School

Al-Madina Al-Monawara High School

Al-Ramml High School

Alexandria House of English

British School of Alexandria

Collège de la Mère de Dieu

Collège Saint Marc

Deutsche Schule der Borromärinnen DSB A "Saint Charles Borromé"

Ecole Champollion

Ecole Gérard

Ecole Saint Gabriel

Ecole Saint-Vincent de Paul

Ecole Sainte Catherine

Egyptian American School

Egypt Modern School

El Nasr Boys' School

El Nasr Girls' College

Gamal Abdel Naser High School

Institution Sainte Jeanne-Antide

Kaumeya Language School (KLS)

Janaklees National School (JNS)

Lycée Al-Horreya

Manar Language School

Mubarak Technologichal School (MTS)

Modern American School

Riada Language School (RLS)

Sacred Heart Girls' School (SHS)

Schutz American School

Sidi Gaber Language School

Taymour English School (TES)

Victoria College

Zahran Language School (Z.L.S)

Pioneers American sporting school

Libraries

The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the world. It is generally thought to have been founded at the beginning of the 3rd century BC, during the reign of Ptolemy II of Egypt. It was likely created after his father had built what would become the first part of the Library complex, the temple of the Muses — the Museion, Greek Μουσείον (from which the modern English word museum is derived).
It has been reasonably established that the Library, or parts of the collection, were destroyed by fire on a number of occasions (library fires were common and replacement of handwritten manuscripts was very difficult, expensive and time-consuming). To this day the details of the destruction (or destructions) remain a lively source of controversy. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in 2003 near the site of the old Library.

Museums

Alexandria Aquarium

The Graeco-Roman Museum

The Royal Jewelry Museum

The Museum of Fine Arts

The Cavafy museum

Recreational

Montaza Royal Gardens

Maamoura Beach, Alexandria

Marina Village

Religion

Religious institutions include:
Churches
Saint Alexander Nevsky Church (Russian Orthodox Rite), Saint Anargyri Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Church of the Annunciation (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Anthony Church (Greek Orthodox Rite) Archangels Gabriel and Michael Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Catherine Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Catherine Church (Latin Catholic Rite), Pope Cyril I Church, in Cleopatra (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Cathedral of the Dormition, in Mansheya (Greek Catholic Rite), Church of the Dormition (Greek Orthodox Rite), Prophet Elijah Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Georges Church, in Sporting (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Georges Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Ibrahemeya (Greek Catholic Rite), Church of the Jesuits, in Cleopatra (Latin Catholic Rite), Saint Joseph Church, in Fleming (Greek Catholic Rite), Saint Joseph of Arimathea Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Mark Cathedral, in Ramleh (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Mark Church, in Shatby (Latin Catholic, Coptic Catholic and Coptic Orthodox Rites), Saint Mark & Saint Nectarios Chapel, in Ramleh (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Mark & Pope Peter I Church (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Mary Church, in Assafra (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Mary Church, in Gianaclis (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Menas Church, in Fleming (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Mina Church, in Mandara (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Nicholas Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Paraskevi Church (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Sava Cathedral, in Ramleh (Greek Orthodox Rite), Saint Tekle Haymanot Church (Coptic Orthodox Rite), Saint Theodore Chapel (Greek Orthodox Rite),
Mosques
Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque, in Somouha, Bilal Mosque, El-Gamee el-Bahari, in Mandara, Hatem Mosque, in Somouha, Hoda el-Islam Mosque, in Sidi Bishr, Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque, in Anfoushi, El-Mowasah Mosque, in Hadara, Sharq el-Madina Mosque, in Miami, El-Shohadaa' Mosque, in Mostafa Kamel, Qaed Ibrahim Mosque, Yehia Mosque, in Zizinya, Sidi Beshr Mosque, in Sidi Beshr, Sidi Gaber Mosque, in Sidi Gaber, Asr El Islam Mosque, In Sidi Gaber, El Qabany Mosque, In Fleming, Abo El Nor Mosque, In Bakos, El Manara Mosque, In Shatby, Ansar EL Haq Mosque, In Sidi Beshr, EL Sayda Amna Mosque, In Sidi Gaber, El Sadaka Mosque, In Sidi Beshr, Tag EL Ser Mosque, Victoria, EL Fath Mosque, Semouha, and Nour Al-Islam mosque in Camp Cezar

Sightseeing

Demolished monuments

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Existing monuments

The Roman Amphitheatre

'Pompey's Pillar'
Citadels

Citadel of Qaitbay
Famous spots

Bir Massoud, Miami

The Unknown Soldier, Ahmed Orabi Square in Mansheya

El Montaza Royal Gardens

Maamoura Beach
Transportation

Airports
- Alexandria is served by the nearby Al Nozha Airport, located 7 km to the southeast.
- Another airport serves Alexandria named Borg al Arab Airport located about 25 km away from city center. This airport has been in use since about 2003. It was a military airport before that, and until now there's a military section there.
Highways

The International coastal road. (Alexandria - Port Said)

The Desert road. (Alexandria - Cairo /220 km 4-lanes, mostly lit)

The Agricultural road. (Alexandria - Cairo)

The Circular road. the turnpike

Ta'ameer Road "Mehwar El-Ta'ameer" - (Alexandria - North Coast)
Train
Extends from "Misr Station"; the main train station in Alexandria, to Abu Qir. Train stations include:

Misr Station (the main station)

Sidi Gaber Station
Tram
An extensive tramway network built in 1860 and is the oldest in Africa. A single ticket costs 25 Egyptian piastres (2007). The tram network is divided into two parts joined in the "Raml Station". Trams working east of the "Raml Station" are painted blue and usually known as "Tram Al-Raml". The ones operating to the west of "Raml station" are painted yellow and is a little smaller with a single tram working on both routes.
Trams are the slowest means of transport in Alexandria but are convenient for short trips, 2-3 stations. If you're a sightseer with time to spare it's the cheapest way to see most of Alexandria.
Taxis
Taxis are a main means of public transportation in Alexandria. Taxis are painted black and yellow. Fare usually starts from 2 Egyptian pounds (2007). All taxis are required by law to have a meter but almost none is actually used since the fares have not changed in a very long time to keep up with inflation. Exactly what amount to charge a taxi isn't exactly known and is left to the customers to estimate how much the trip is worth (like all other cities in Egypt, including Cairo) but most Alexandrians who use taxis usually know from experience what every trip costs. This creates a problem for travelers and tourists who are usually over-billed for their trips. Tourists are always advised to ask for how much they should pay for a taxi before hailing one.
Other means of public transportation
- Buses and Minibuses.

Port
The port is divided into:

The Eastern Harbor

The Western Harbor
Culture

"Eskendereyya"
This is a list of all words related to the word "Alexandria" in Arabic:

al-Iskandareyya(h) (الإسكندرية) (noun) (formal): Refers to the city of "Alexandria", used in formal texts and speech. Its Egyptian Arabic equivalent is Eskenderreya or Iskindereyya(h). Iskandariyya(h) and Eskendereyya(h) are different in pronunciation, though they've the same spelling when written in Arabic. In Literary Arabic, Iskandariyya(h) always takes the definite article al-, whereas in Egyptian Arabic, Eskendereyya(h) never takes el- (el- is the Egyptian Arabic equivalent of al-). The optional h at the end of both of them is called a ta' marbuta which isn't usually pronounced, but is always written.

"Alex" (noun): Natives of both Alexandria and Cairo refer to Alexandria as "Alex", especially in informal English texts. In an English conversation between two Egyptians (whether Alexandrians or Cairenes), you'd usually hear "I'm going to Alex tomorrow" instead of "I'm going to Alexandria tomorrow."

Esakandarani (اسكندراني) (adjective): Means 'native Alexandrian' or 'from Alexandria' in Egyptian Arabic.
Sports
The main sport that interests Alexandrians is soccer, as is the case in all Egypt and Northern Africa. Alexandria was one of three cities that participated in hosting the African Cup of Nations in January 2006, which Egypt won. Sea sports such as surfing, jet-skiing and water polo are practised on a lower scale.
Alexandria has four stadiums:

Borg El Arab Stadium

Harras El-Hedoud Stadium

Alexandria Stadium

El-Krom Stadium Other less popular sports like tennis and squash are usually played in private social and sports clubs, like:

Alexandria Sporting Club - in "Sporting"

Alexandria Country club

El Etehad Club

El Olympy Club

Lagoon Resort Courts

Smouha Club - in "Smouha"
Writings

Novels

Academic Year (1955, set in late 1940s) by D.J. Enright.

The Alexandria Quartet (1957-60, set in 1930s) by Lawrence Durrell.

The Bat (part of the Drifting Cities trilogy) (1965, set in 1943-44) by Stratis Tsirkas.

The Danger Tree (1977, set in 1942, partly in Alexandria) by Olivia Manning.

The Beacon at Alexandria (1986, set in 4th century) by Gillian Bradshaw.

City of Saffron (tr. 1989, set in 1930s) by Edwar Al-Kharrat.

Girls of Alexandria (tr. 1993, set in 1930s and '40s) by Edwar Al-Kharrat.

No One Sleeps in Alexandria (1996, set during World War II) by Ibrahim Abdel Meguid.

Miramar (1967) by Naguib Mahfouz.

Pashazade (2001, first book of the Arabesk trilogy set in a liberal Islamic Ottoman Alexandria in the 21st century) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood.
History

Alexandria: a history and a guide (1922; numerous reprints) by E.M. Forster.

Alexandria: City of Memory (Yale University Press, 2004) by Michael Haag.
Memoir

Out of Egypt (1994; describes family history in Alexandria) by André Aciman.
Songs

Songs in French:

Alexandrie by Georges Moustaki.
Alexandrie, Alexandra by Claude François.

Songs in Greek:

Alexandrinos by Yannis Kotsiras.

Songs in Arabic:

Shat Eskendereya by Fairouz.
Ahsan Nas by Dalida.
Leil Eskendereya by Moustafa Amar.
Ya Wad Ya Eskandarany by Moustafa Amar.
Ya Eskendereya by Mohamed Mounir (lyrics by Ahmed Fouad Negm).

Songs in English:

"Alexandria" by Kamelot

Tourism
Alexandria is considered a main summer resort in the Middle East, visited by people from all other cities to enjoy the sun and the sea. Beaches become full of umbrellas and families and the city is usually crowded in summer.
Beaches of Alexandria are famous of having lots of cafeterias and umbrellas. There are both public beaches (which anyone can use for free, and are usually crowded) and private beaches (which can be used upon paying a small fee). There are also private beaches that are dedicated only to the guests of some hotels.
Notable People

Ahmed Nazif (Egyptian Prime Minister)

Alkistis Protopsalti (Greek singer)

Alypius (4th century BC) Greek writer on music

André Aciman (American writer)

Antonis Benakis (1873-1954) Greek art collector

Arius (4th century) who sparked the Arian controversy

Pope Athanasius the Apostolic (Champion of Christianity)

Cleopatra VII (Egyptian Ruler)

Constantine P. Cavafy (1863-1933) Greek poet

Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th century) Greek monk, geographer and writer

Demis Roussos (Greek singer)

Eric Hobsbawm (British historian)

Farouk Hosny (Egyptian Minister of Culture)

Princess Fawzia (Egyptian princess)

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (Italian poet and artist)

Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egyptian President)

Georges Moustaki (Greek-French singer and composer)

Gideon Gechtman (Israeli sculptor)

Giuseppe Ungaretti (Italian poet)

Haim Saban (American billionaire)

Hend Rostom (Egyptian actress)

Hypatia (4th-5th century AD) Greek philosopher

Jean Desses (1904-1970) Greek fashion designer

Konstantinos Parthenis (1878-1967) Greek painter

Bayram Al-Tunsi (Egyptian poet)

Mohamed Al-Fayed (Egyptian businessman)

Moustafa Amar (Egyptian singer)

MTM (Egyptian music band)

Omar Sharif (Egyptian actor)

Pappus (4th century AD) Hellenized Egyptian Mathematician

Penelope Delta (1874-1941) Greek author

Rudolf Hess (German deputy fuhrer of the Nazi Party)

Sayed Darwish (Egyptian music composer)

Tawfiq al-Hakeem (Egyptian writer)

Youssef Chahine (Egyptian film director)
Gallery
Image:Cornelius de Bruyn, view of Pompey's Pillar with Alexandria in the background, 1681.jpg|view of Pompey's Pillar with Alexandria in the background, 1681. Image:Panorama Alexandria.JPG|A panoramic view of modern Alexandria Image:Alexandria 12-9-2005 3.JPG|Alexandria at night Image:Image-DSC00289.JPG|Modern Alexandria, from "Citadel of Qaitbay" Image:Alexandria 2122972.jpg|Skyline from the corniche Image:Alexandria 2122988.jpg|Planetarium by Bibliotheca Alexandrina Image:Alexandia 2122995.jpg|Bibliotheca Alexandrina & reflecting pool Image:Alexandria 2123021.jpg|Alexandria beach Image:Alexandria 2123028.jpg|Citadel of Qaitbay Image:Alexandria 2133187.jpg|Crossroad of Saad Zaghloul and Safeya Zaghloul streets at sunset Image:Qaitbay citadel Alexandria.JPG|ceiling of Citadel of Qaitbay Image:Cornelius de Bruyn, view of Pompey's Pillar with Alexandria in the background, 1681.jpg|view of Pompey's Pillar with Alexandria in the background, 1681.

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