Alexandria: Old world charm meets modern style

Alexandria was known as the Hamptons of Egypt. It was the summer destination for the Egyptian rich, famous and royalty. The beautiful beach shore side and great weather is a major attraction for both locals and tourists.

Mediterranean is a port city in Egypt. During the Hellenistic period, it was home to a storied library and a lighthouse ranking among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today the library is reincarnated in the disc-shaped, ultramodern Bibliotheca Alexandrina research center. The city has many Greco-Roman landmarks, old-world cafes and European-style parks. Its 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel is now a museum.

1) Montaza Palace and Garden:
The Montaza area is situated along the coast about 20 km east of Alexandria’s old district. The Palace was the late Egyptian King Farouk’s summer palace, this makes it a slightly difficult place to visit for tourists. When they do, they have the opportunity to wander about the grounds of what was once has royal compound. You can get a fairly good view of the building from the various parts of the park, but don’t try to get too close; otherwise you will be warned away by the guards. The park is still well maintained and there are many green spots in which you will find young couples and groups of friends and families having a small picnic and taking photos. The best part of the garden are the views of the city, make sure to take lots and lots of pictures. Once a royal home, it is still part of government property, but the surrounding park can be visited for a small fee and tourists are permitted to get fairly close to the palace in order to take pictures. The palace is typically gaudy, done in a fake Rococo style that, perhaps, emphasizes the king’s dreams of Venetian grandeur, built on the mercantile base of the city.
The palace was supposed to be divided into two buildings. The bigger one was for the wives of King Farouk and the other smaller one was for gentlemen purposes. But for now, the big building is the only one that is still in use for welcoming the guests of Egypt’s president. Wandering through the gardens at Montaza is wonderful, especially in spring and summer when the flowers are in bloom, but even in winter the shrubs and trees are attractive because the gardens have been well landscaped.

2) Bibliotheca Alexandrina :
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major ancient library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It was built in the 17th or 18th century. It comprises 3D Science Film, computers, good lights, lots of information, high security and museums all under one roof. This place will offer you an archaic feeling of the Egyptian culture. It is one of the oldest libraries of the Egyptian civilization. The original library has been remodeled but you will get to experience the depths of it. The library has a free half hour guided tour. It also has a hall of manuscripts. The building is very uniquely designed and has 11 levels. Make sure to go to the roof because the view from the top is spectacular. Around the library premises are other attractions like museums and exhibition of paintings and pictures.


3) The Alexandria National Museum:
The Alexandria’s National Museum was inaugurated on Dec. 31, 2003 by the then president Hosni Mubarak and it’s located in a restored Italian style palace in Tariq Al-Horreya Street. The building used to be the US consulate before it turned into a museum. This excellent museum sets a high benchmark for summing up Alexandria’s past; it displays a good variety of archaeological items that were found in the last decade in Alexandria, such as coins and statues recovered from the sea. There are artifacts from Canopus and Herakleion, Islamic artifacts such as doors inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Coptic steel and friezes, tableware, jeweler and medals. In the underground floor, you can also find wrapped mummies and photos can be taken here and in the entire museum.

4) Citadel of Qaitbay (Fort of Qaitbay):
The Citadel of Qaitbay is a 15th-century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean Sea coast. It was established in 1477 AD by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf Al-Din Qa’it Bay. It is said that the Citadel was built on the exact site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the Lighthouse of Alexandria, or Pharos Lighthouse. Some of the stones and bricks from the lighthouse were used to build the Citadel. An earthquake hit Alexandria in the 11th Century and the lighthouse was fully repaired and continued to function. It is now known as Fort Qaitbey, but what made it somehow magic for me was the fact that here the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria was located. Another quake hit in the 14th century, the lighthouse was destroyed completely. The fort was neglected and sat in ruin until 1904, when King Farouk wanted to turn it into a royal palace for himself. In 1952, the Egyptian Navy turned the fort into a Maritime Museum. Most of the restoration took place in 1984.

5) Corniche and downtown area:
One of the biggest attractions in any Arab port city is the corniche. Alexandria like any other Mediterranean city, enjoys an outdoor culture, the people of Alexandria have built up their long corniche with restaurants, hotels, cafés and small shops and bakeries. Groups of families, friends and couples will stroll along the corniche as a form of evening entertainment. If you are lucky, you will be attending a public wedding celebration with the bride and groom dancing at the corniche. The strip of the corniche from Montaza up to Biblioteca Alexandrina is primarily commercial and the beach area below is built for those wishing to spend some time on the sand and in the sun.
As you go closer to the old city and downtown area, the corniche starts showing more and more of a mixture of official buildings, houses of wealthy families and commercial establishments linked to the city’s maritime history.
Downtown Alexandria might be the most popular neighborhood in the city, which is home to the local market. Visitors will often come across narrow and winding alleyways popularly called Zanqet El-Settat or “the women’s squeeze.” These mazes of small streets — too narrow for cars to fit in — are popular among women due to the hundreds of shops selling women’s clothes, accessories and makeup. Many Egyptian women shop there due to the reasonable prices and good quality. Most of the products are Egyptian-made, but Chinese-made products are also becoming more available.

6) El-Mursi Abu Abbas Mosque:
Right across the local market lies “El-Mursi Abu Abbas Mosque,” a beautiful building with huge granite pillars, colored glass skylights, intricately carved wooden windows and doors as well as paved marble floors. Constructed in 1775 by Algerians, it is said to be the biggest mosque in Alexandria and is located amid six other mosques in the same neighborhood. Its beautiful architecture is not to be missed. Women, however, cannot enter the mosque during prayer times.

7) The Roman theater:
What is left of Roman architecture is the Roman theater, also known as “Kom El-Dikka” (which means hill of rubble), which is situated at Ram Station Square. There, you can find the remains of a theater where assemblies were made for the royal audience.
Until archaeologists from the University of Warsaw began to excavate this site in the 1960s, it looked like what the name suggests. Now, after the removal of more than 10,000 cubic meters (340,000 cubic ft.) of earth and the construction of a new building to protect mosaics, “Kom El-Dikka” is an example of the kind of Roman ruins that likely lie under other sections of modern Alexandria.
Though the site is not huge, it comprises a column-lined street, a third century theater with 13 intact tiers of seats that accommodated an audience of 600, and the remains of a villa with a series of truly lovely mosaics on the floor. The mosaics are worth a careful look due to their intricately detailed and colorful depictions of local wildlife. The curve and size of the theater is impressive, but the most amazing thing about it is that it was originally covered with a roof.

8) Royal Jewelry Museum:
Just a few minutes’ drive from the Roman theater there is the Royal Jewelry Museum, which is installed at the Palace of Nobel Fatma El-Zahraa. The palace is a beautiful example of European art and architectural designs. After purchasing a ticket and turning your cell phone off, visitors are required to wear cloth on their shoes to keep the floors clean. Consisting of an eastern and western wing, the two wings are connected to a long balcony made of colored glass.
The museum includes paintings and a huge collection of royal jewelry and home accessories. Most of the jewelry pieces have the owner’s initials carved on them. The museum is a luxurious place where diamonds, gold, silver, crystals, pearls and coral all exist under one roof.

Every season is good to visit Alexandria, there is a beautiful variety of things to do and things to see in this city.
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