Alexandria

is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the northern part of the country, directly on the Mediterranean Sea, making it one of the most important harbours in Egypt.

Along with Cairo and Giza, Alexandria is one of three governorates in the country that are also municipalities. It is at the western mouth of the Nile Delta.

The governorate’s capital is the city of Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt. It is home of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Alexandria Governorate has a population of more than four million and an area of 2,900 km².

Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It became an important center of the Hellenistic civilization and remained the capital of Hellenistic and Roman & Byzantine Egypt for almost 1000 years until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo). Hellenistic Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its Great Library (the largest in the ancient world; now replaced by a modern one); and the Necropolis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

From the late 18th century, Alexandria became a major center of the international shipping industry and one of the most important trading centers in the world, both because it profited from the easy overland connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome.

Neighborhoods:

Maamoura, Montaza, Mandara (Bahary – Qibly), Asafra (Bahary – Qibly), Miami, Sidi Bishr (Bahary – Qibly), Saray, Victoria, Seyouf, Laurent, Tharwat, San Stefano, Gianaclis, Schutz, Zezenia, Glim, Bacchus, Saba Pasha, Fleming, Dahria, Bolkly, Stanley, Rushdy, Mustafa Kamel, Kafr Abdu, Smouha, Nozha, Sidi Gaber, Cleopatra, Sporting, Ibrahimiyya, Camp Caesar, Al Shatby, Hadara (Bahary – Qibly – New), Azarita (Originally Lazarette), Muharram Bek, El Raml Downtown, Koum Al Dikka, Eastern Harbor, Anfoushi, Manshiyya, Attarin, Karmous (a.k.a. Karmouz), Ras El Tin, El Labban, Mina El Basal, Western Harbor, Qabbary, Wardian, El Max, Dekheila, Agami (Al Bitaash (Originally “Beau Tache”) – Al Hanuviel (Originally “Hameaux Ville”)), Amreya, King Mariout, Burg al-Arab

Citadels:

Situated in East Alexandria, Qaitbay citadel is one of the few remaining citadels in city from 15th century

Recreational:

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina
(English: Library of Alexandria; Arabic: Maktabat al-Iskandarīyah, Egyptian Arabic: [mækˈtæb(e)t eskendeˈɾejjæ]) is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It is both a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, and an attempt to rekindle something of the brilliance that this earlier center of study and erudition represented.