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Alexandria

City in EgyptAlexandria stretches for about 40 km along Egypt's northern coast on the Mediterranean Sea, at the western edge of the Nile Delta.

What it's known for

Alexandria is Egypt's main seaport and its second-largest city after Cairo. Alexander the Great founded it in 331 BC, and it became the capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and a leading centre of learning, with a Great Library that was the largest in the ancient world.

Fun facts

  1. The Great Lighthouse on Pharos was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the Citadel of Qaitbay was built on its site in 1477–1479.
  2. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, opened in 2002 in memory of the ancient library, has a glass roof tilted toward the sea like a sundial and granite walls carved with characters from 120 scripts.
  3. Alexandria is nicknamed the 'Bride of the Mediterranean', and at one time it was the most populous city in the ancient world.

Finding it on the globe

Find the Nile Delta, the fan of green land where the Nile meets the Mediterranean, and tap its western corner on the coast, about 180 km northwest of Cairo.

Easy to mix up

Alexandria was Egypt's capital for almost 1,000 years, until a new capital was founded at Fustat in 641. Fustat is now part of Cairo, the present capital.

Sources: Wikipedia: Alexandria, Wikipedia: Citadel of Qaitbay, Wikipedia: Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Wikipedia: Fustat