Alexandria Egypt tours and vacations
The city of Alexandria, christened “The Pearl of the Mediterranean” is the second largest city of ancient Egypt and an important tourist resort. Located some 200km from Cairo, Alexandria boasts a good share of Egypt’s major tourist attractions.
Alexandria, a city with a population of more than 3 million people, was founded by the renowned Alexander the Great in 331 BC and designed by architect Denokrates II in the shape of a chessboard.
Alexandria became the capital of Graeco-Roman Egypt, its status as a beacon of culture symbolised by Pharos, the legendary lighthouse that was one of the Seven Wonders of the World The setting for the stormy relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Alexandria was also the centre of learning in the ancient world. However ancient Alexandria declined, and when Napoleon landed, he found a sparsely populated fishing village.
From the 19th century Alexandria took a new role, as a focus for Egypt’s commercial and maritime expansion. This Alexandria has been immortalised by writers such as E-M- Forster and Cavafy. Generations of immigrants from Greece, Italy and the Levant settled here and made the city synonymous with commerce, cosmopolitanism and bohemian culture. Read the rest of this entry »
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