Alexandria

Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that country's second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. It is located at {{coor dm|31|12|N|29|15|E|}}, 208 km (129 miles) northwest of Cairo. The Canopic mouth of the Nile (now dry) was 19 km (12 miles) east, near the ancient city of Canopus. It has a population of approximately 3,341,000.

Geography

Layout of the ancient city

The Greek Alexandria was divided into three regions:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• The Jews' quarter, forming the northeast portion of the city;
• Rhacotis, on the west, occupied chiefly by Egyptians;
• 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 rose the Sema (or Soma) of Alexander (his Mausoleum). 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 remains 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.

Related Topics:
Metre - Feet - Mausoleum - 1899

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alexandria consisted originally of little more than the island of Pharos, which was joined to the mainland by a mole nearly a mile long and called the Heptastadion ("seven stadia" — a stadium was a Greek unit of length measuring approximately 200m). The end of this abutted on the land at the head of the present Grand Square, where rose the "Moon Gate". All that now lies between that point and the modern Ras et-Tin quarter is built on the silt which gradually widened and obliterated this mole. The Ras et-Tin quarter represents all that is 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.

Related Topics:
Mole - Stadium

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
Strabo - 1st century BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 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 stood a siege from the city mob after the battle of Pharsalus
• The Poseideion, 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 later known as "Cleopatra's Needle," and now removed to New York City and London. This temple became in time the Patriarchal Church, some remains of which have been discovered; but the actual Caesareum, so far as 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 to place it near "Pompey's Pillar" which, however, 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 is no information as to their position.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the eastern point of the Pharos island stood the Great Lighthouse, one of the "Seven Wonders," reputed to be 122 meters (400 feet) high. The first Ptolemy began it, and the second completed it, at a total cost of 800 talents. It took 12 years to construct. It is the prototype of all lighthouses in the world. The light was produced by a furnace at the top. It was built mostly with solid blocks of limestone. The Pharos lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake.

Related Topics:
Talent - Prototype - Lighthouse

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A temple of Hephaestus also stood on Pharos at the head of the mole. In the Augustan age the population of Alexandria was estimated at 300,000 free folk, in addition to an immense number of slaves. The total population has been estimated to range from 500,000 to 1,000,000 people.

Related Topics:
Hephaestus - Augustan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The modern city

The city is built on the strip of land which separates the Mediterranean from Lake Mareotis (Mariout), and on a T-shaped peninsula which forms harbors east and west. The stem of the T was originally a mole (breakwater) leading to the island of Pharos which formed the cross-piece. In the course of centuries this mole has been silted up and is now an isthmus half a mile wide. On it a part of the modern city is built. The cape at the western end of the peninsula is Ras et-Tin (Cape of Figs); the eastern cape is known as Pharos or Kait Bey. South of the town — between it and Lake Mareotis — runs the Mahmudiya canal, which enters the western harbour by a series of locks.

Related Topics:
Lake Mareotis - Peninsula - Isthmus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Place Mehemet Ali, usually called the Grand Square, is an oblong open space, tree-lined, in the center of which there is an equestrian statue of the ruler after whom it is named. The square is faced with handsome buildings mainly in the Italian style. The most important are the law courts, exchange, Ottoman bank, English church and the Abbas Hilmi theatre.

Related Topics:
Mehemet Ali - Equestrian - Italian - Theatre

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the Ras et-Tin promontory, overlooking the harbour, is the khedivial yacht club (built 1903) and the palace, also called Ras et-Tin, built by Mehemet Ali. In the district between the Grand Square and the western harbour, one of the poorest quarters of the city, is an open space with Fort Caffareli or Napoleon in the center.

Related Topics:
Khedivial - 1903 - Mehemet Ali - Napoleon

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A major new library and cultural complex, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, was recently built with the help of the United Nations. The original library contained authentic books from the time of Cleopatra but they were later burned when the library was destroyed.

Related Topics:
Bibliotheca Alexandrina - United Nations

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The predominant languages spoken, besides the Arabic of the natives, are Greek, French, English and Italian.

Related Topics:
Arabic - Greek - French - English - Italian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alexandria is served by a network of trams traveling east and west roughly parallel to the Corniche, or sea wall.

Related Topics:
Tram - Corniche

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~