Founded and named after Alexander the Great, who turned the Greek city-state of Ancient Macedonia into one of the world’s largest empires in less than 13 years.
Located on the southern Mediterranean Sea as well as being close to the Nile River entry into the Mediterranean Sea, which is why this city has thrived for thousands of years and to this day remains one of the most important cities in all of Egypt.
We will be opening your eyes to this great African city so when you travel to the city of Alexandria, Egypt you will know what activities to take part in and what places to visit.
Population of Alexandria.
It is the second-most populous city after Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Alexandria is also trailed by the Nile-side cities of Giza and Shubra El Kheima who have millions of fewer residents.
The location of the city was inhabited according to historical and archaeological finds from 1000 to 800 B.C, but it wasn’t until Greek general Alexander the Great eventually fought his way to Egypt that he decided to create yet another Greek city named after himself. Throughout his fairly short life, Alexander the Great named over twenty cities after himself.
With Egypt being a country that was very dry and sandy, people were naturally attracted to the much greener geography that the city was located in thanks to its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Nile to the east. To this day, it remains the most populous Egyptian city on the Mediterranean Sea.
Notable People Born in Alexandria.
One very famous native from the city is Fawzia Fuad of Egypt who was a member of the Egyptian royal family that went on to become the Queen of Iran when she married the Shah of Iran. She was well-known for her beauty and was sought after, after having a child with the Shan of Iran they promptly divorced, and she moved back to Egypt where she married an Egyptian Diplomat.
Moreover, there are Menas of Constantinople who is an Eastern Orthodox Christian saint that was born in the city and went on to become a prominent religious figure in the city of Constantinople then part of the Byzantium Empire. He is best known for being an outspoken rebel that was excommunicated multiple times for disagreeing with various Popes at the time.
Tawfiq al-Hakim is another famous Egyptian born in this coastal metropolis; he is one of the first major novel and drama authors to write in Arabic.
History of Alexandria.
The city was founded by the famous Greek Emperor Alexander the Great in 331 B.C, a Greek assistant known as Cleomenes of Naucratis to run and expand the city, with Alexander the Great only living in the city for a total of 3 months.
Just 50 years later, one of the ancient world’s great wonders was built in the city, known as the Lighthouse of Alexandria which was a breathtaking feat of early human engineering, and it was the tallest building in the world for many centuries at an estimated height of between 103 and 118 meters.
Alexandria was subsequently controlled by the Romans, and then it was Islamized after the city was conquered by the Sasanian Empire of Persia, and it has remained a majority Muslim city ever since being controlled by a variety of empires such as the British and Ottoman Empires.
Culture of Alexandria.
Without a doubt, like many cities in Egypt if you decide to travel to the city of Alexandria, Egypt you will be able to experience a very diverse culture that has been shaped by the world’s biggest empires.
You can learn a lot about the strong culture of the city by visiting the Library of Alexandria which for multiple centuries was the world’s biggest library rumored to house up to 400,000 unique scrolls and books.
The early history of the city that helped massively shaped it can be studied in The Graeco-Roman Museum that is home to thousands of artifacts leftover from the Greek and Roman cultures following hundreds of years of rule by those ethnic and cultural groups.
Apart from that, the seaside hub is home to a developed arts industry where the millions of locals and visiting tourists can enjoy all sorts of music and arts from orchestras, classical music, Arabic music, and traditional Greek dramas.
Architecture of Alexandria.
One of the main attractions of this coastal Egyptian city is its very diverse architecture that has been added over the years by the new rulers which have left a stunning skyline of western and eastern architectural styles coming together something that you cannot witness in many other cities in the world.
For example, you have the Serapeum and Pompey’s Pillar which is a victory pillar built by the victorious Roman armies during the 2nd century B. C. It was a structure of true magnificence, standing at a height of 33.85 meters which at the time was a very tall height especially for a pillar made from rock.
You also have the Sidi Abo El Abbas El Morsi Mosque which is a 13th-century mosque that is one of the city’s biggest and most iconic mosques, it is noted for its neutral yellowish-white color that originates from the stone that it is built from.
Religions of Alexandria.
For thousands of years, the city has been home to many different groups of people originating from all parts of the neighboring regions of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Originally, the Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs dominated, but over time it was replaced by the major Greek religious beliefs that also influenced heavily the Roman Empire. Today, the biggest religions in the city are Islam, followed by Christianity and Judaism.
Due to its close location to Israel, the city was one of the first major centers for both Christianity and Judaism, and later on, became a key hub for Islam being the main launching point for the spread of Islam to the rest of North Africa and further down south into the Saharan nations.
There are hundreds of churches, mosques, and synagogues located on the city with believers worshipping side by side in peace and harmony.
Climate of Alexandria.
If you take it upon yourself to travel to the city of Alexandria, Egypt you will be able to experience the authentic climate of the many epic stories that you may have read about such as Alexander the Great marching into Egypt, Julius Caesar invasion of the Mediterranean breadbasket, and Napoleon’s expeditions in Egypt.
The climate of the city is a mix of a hot desert and a semi-arid climate; vast deserts are located to the west of the city while to the east towards the Nile you have thick greenery that facilitates key agriculture industries.
Despite average yearly temperatures of 24.9 degrees Celsius, the overall temperature and climate is heavily influenced by the great Mediterranean Sea with rain being very common for a city located in such a part of the world with many instances it sometimes snow occurring in the city.
Also read the article: Vacations In The City Of Hurghada, Egypt
