Alexandria
The second largest city and the main port of Egypt, Alexandria was built by the Greek architect Dinocrates (332-331 BC) on the site of an old village, Rhakotis, at the orders of Alexander the Great. The city, immortalizing Alexander's name, quickly flourished into a prominent cutural, intellectual, political, and economic metropolis, the remains of which are still evident to this day.
The Corniche is lined with beaches, with full tourist facilities, from the city centre outwards. In town try the Stanley beach, further east Montazah Beach and Ma'amoura are two of the best. At Abu Qir, a small fishing town, you can sunbathe, fish, swim and eat fresh seafood. To the west of the city, try the resorts of Agami or Hannoville.
In spite of miles of white sand beaches and azure sea, Egypt's Med is still undeveloped and relatively unpopulated. There are fine beaches all along the coast from Alex to Mersa Matrouh, including the resort of Sidi Abd al Rahman, a secluded bay with dear waters and a selection of villas and hotels. At Mersa Matrouh itself, the natural bay and long white beach make for good sunbathing and swimming in calm transparent waters. Hired bicycles, carettas or open-sided tuf-tuf buses will take you to other good bathing spots nearby including the outstar beach at Al-Abyad and Ageebah cove, surrounded by beautiful scenery. As well as beaches there are other attractions in the Mersa Matrouh area: Cleopatra's Bath, a rock-hewn whirlpool bath off- shore which was supposedly used by Antony and Cleopatra, a ruined temple fort built by Ramses II, an early Coptic chapel and "Rommel's Hideout", a cave where the general planned his military campaigns and which has now been tumed into a military museum.
Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, 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 center of learning in the ancient world. But ancient Alexandria declined, and when Napoleon landed, he found a sparsely populated fishing village. It was the renowned capital of the Ptolemies, The Ptolemaic City (323 BC - 30 BC)
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; Lawrence Durrell described it as 'the capital city of Asiatic Europe, if such a thing could exist".
Then, as now, she belonged not so much to Egypt as to the Mediterranean.
E.M. Forster
Upon Alexander's death, no single successor emerged to claim his kingdom. Rather, the widespread territories were divided among several rulers. Egypt was the share of the most skilled of these: Ptolemy. He was Macedonian by birth, but witnessed the birth of Alexandria and wanted her to be the cultural and intellectual capital of the world. He ruled in 323 BC, reigned in 304 BC, and expanded his kingdom to include Cyrene (Lybia), Palestine, Cyprus, and others lands. His royal titles included King Soter (Savior), and Pharaoh. Under the reign of Soter, the golden age of Alexandria, the new capital of Egypt, started.
His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus (King in 287 BC), was a less ambitious person. Unlike his father, he turned his back to military campaigns and focused on buiding Alexandria. He was more "Egyptian" than his father: he married his sister Arsinoe, a custom, then, widely accepted among Egyptians and despicable in the eyes of the Greeks.
His son, Ptolemy III Euergetes (Well-doer), was full of will and motivation. He reigned in 246 BC, and was praised as a military leader and a supporter of science. He married his cousin Berenice. Their reign, marked the peak in Alexandria's glamour and fame.
Ptolemy Euergetes was succeeded by less influential Kings. The list includes:
· Ptolemy IV Philopator (King 221 BC)
· Ptolemy V Epiphanes (King 205 BC)
· Ptolemy X Alexander I (King 107 BC)
· Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus (King 80 BC)
· Cleopatra VII Philopator (Queen 51 BC)
The reign of the Ptolemaic Dynasty ended in 30 BC, when Cleopatra lost the famous battle of Actium in the Adriatic. Egypt then became a Roman province, under the rule of Octavian.
Alexandria thrived during the reign of the first three Ptolemies and grew into one of the largest, if not the largest metropolis in the world and became the world's scientific and intellectual Mecca. The legacy of the Ptolemies is highlighted by major achievements. The Pharos Lighthouse was built; the Mouseion/Great Library system was founded; the Palace was constructed; the Heptastadion Dyke was completed; and the Temple of Serapis was erected.
On the other hand, one must acknowledge the pitfalls of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Under their rule, common Egyptians suffered from economical hardships. Except for the earlier period, taxes imposed were the highest in the Ancient World. The Royal Palace was frequently the site of family scandals, including Kings executing their parents and relatives, and Queens killing their step-children. In conclusion, it is fair to say that the reign of the first three Ptolemies marked Alexandria's golden age. The Lighthouse,
Painting © M. Larrinaga
Sostratus, the son of Dexiphanes, the Cnidian, dedicated this to the Saviour Gods, on behalf of those who sail the seas.
Dedicatory inscription of the Lighthouse
Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one had a practical use in addition to its architectural elegance: The Lighthouse of Alexandria. For sailors, it ensured a safe return to the Great Harbor. For architects, it meant even more: it was the tallest building on Earth. And for scientists, it was the mysterious mirror that fascinated them most... The mirror which reflection could be seen more than 50 km (35 miles) off-shore.
Location: On the ancient island of Pharos, now a promontory within the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
History
Shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, his commander Ptolemy Soter assumed power in Egypt. He had witnessed the founding of Alexandria, and established his capital there. Off of the city's coast lies a small island: Pharos. Its name, legend says, is a variation of Pharaoh's Island. The island was connected to the mainland by means of a dike - the Heptastadion - which gave the city a double harbor. And because of dangerous sailing conditions and flat coastline in the region, the construction of a lighthouse was necessary.
The project was conceived and initiated by Ptolemy Soter around 290 BC, but was completed after his death, during the reign of his son Ptolemy Philadelphus. Sostratus, a contemporary of Euclid, was the architect, but detailed calculations for the structure and its accessories were carried out at the Alexandria Library/Mouseion. The monument was dedicated to the Savior Gods: Ptolemy Soter (lit. savior) and his wife Berenice. For centuries, the Lighthouse of Alexandria (occasionally referred to as the Pharos Lighthouse) was used to mark the harbor, using fire at night and reflecting sun rays during the day. It was even shown on Roman coins, just as famous monuments are depicted on currency today.
When the Arabs conquered Egypt, they admired Alexandria and its wealth. The Lighthouse continues to be mentioned in their writings and travelers accounts. But the new rulers moved their capital to Cairo since they had no ties to the Mediterranean. When the mirror was brought down mistakenly, they did not restore it back into place. In AD 956, an earthquake shook Alexandria, and caused little damage to the Lighthouse. It was later in 1303 and in 1323 that two stronger earthquakes left a significant impression on the structure. When the famous Arab traveler Ibn Battuta visited Alexandria in 1349, he could not enter the ruinous monument or even climb to its doorway.
The final chapter in the history of the Lighthouse came in AD 1480 when the Egyptian Mamelouk Sultan, Qaitbay, decided to fortify Alexandria's defense. He built a medieval fort on the same spot where the Lighthouse once stood, using the fallen stone and marble.
Of the six vanished Wonders, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was the last to disappear. Therefore we have adequately accurate knowledge of its location and appearance. Ancient accounts such as those by Strabo and Pliny the Elder give us a brief description of the "tower" and the magnificent white marble cover. They tell us how the mysterious mirror could reflect the light tens of kilometers away. Legend says the mirror was also used to detect and burn enemy ships before they could reach the shore.
In 1166, an Arab traveler, Abou-Haggag Al-Andaloussi visited the Lighthouse. He documented a wealth of information and gave an accurate description of the structure which helped modern archeologists reconstruct the monument. It was composed of three stages: The lowest square, 55.9 m (183.4 ft) high with a cylindrical core; the middle octagonal with a side length of 18.30 m (60.0 ft) and a height of 27.45 m (90.1 ft); and the third circular 7.30 m (24.0 ft) high. The total height of the building including the foundation base was about 117 m (384 ft), equivalent to a 40-story modern building. The internal core was used as a shaft to lift the fuel needed for the fire. At the top stage, the mirror reflected sunlight during the day while fire was used during the night. In ancient times, a statue of Poseidon adorned the summit of the building.
Although the Lighthouse of Alexandria did not survive to the present day, it left its influence in various respects. From an architectural standpoint, the monument has been used as a model for many prototypes along the Mediterranean, as far away as Spain. And from a linguistic standpoint, it gave its name -- Pharos -- to all the lighthouses in the world... Just look up the dictionary for the French, Italian, or Spanish word for lighthouse.
Egypt Opens New Library of AlexandriaChad Cohen
National Geographic Today
October 16, 2002
The Eastern Harbor of Alexandria has been a crossroads of culture and continents for 2,300 years. This is where the Pharos lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, guided people from all nations safely into port; where Queen Cleopatra first laid eyes on Julius Caesar.
Today, in an event that speaks of renewal even as the threat of war looms in the Middle East, Alexandria is trying to recapture the spirit of perhaps its richest legacy—the Great Library of Alexandria—by opening the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
The ancient library dominated the ancient world of learning from approximately the third century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. The new one sits on the Eastern Harbour on or near the site of the original. /
A microchip, a rising sun, a flying saucer, the new Library of Alexandria—Bibliotheca Alexandrina—gleams on the edge of the Mediterranean, on the Eastern Harbor near the site where archaeologists believe the ancient library once stood.
Photograph courtesy of Bibliotheca Alexandrina
In an opening ceremony worthy of pharaohs, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak is welcoming heads of state, royalty, and dignitaries from around the world. There is even a performance by Sinead O'Connor.
Clash of Civilizations "In a world worried about the clash of civilizations, about war, about hatred and about killing, I think it's significant that out of Egypt comes this new library, a place of understanding, learning, tolerance and brotherhood," said Ismail Serageldin, the library's director and a former World Bank vice president.
"Egypt is the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of three monotheistic religions, so the library will very much reflect religious tolerance," said Mohammed Aman, dean of the School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who wrote the Bibliotheca's manuscript-selection policy.
During the 1980s, Egypt and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization resolved to build the Bibliotheca Alexandrina with the same universal goals as the ancient one: a focal point for research, the advancement of knowledge and the open exchange of ideas.
An international design competition chose the Norwegian firm Snohetta to build the library. The building—in the shape of a massive disc inclined toward the Mediterranean—evokes the image of the Egyptian sun illuminating the world.
International Effort
Countries from around the world—especially the Middle East—contributed to the U.S. $220 million-plus building effort. Saddam Hussein's $21-million check cleared just days before the Gulf War.
An international spirit still reigns at the Bibliotheca. Italians and Egyptians are working together to preserve rare manuscripts. Greeks are helping with antiquities; the French, with a science museum; and Americans, with computer systems. Dozens of countries are sending books.
The legacy demands a high standard.
Around 295 B.C., the scholar Demetrius of Phalerum convinced the new pharaoh, Ptolemy I Soter, that Alexandria could rival Athens as a center of culture and learning—by establishing a library that would house all the books in the world.
History says that the Ptolemies became so hungry for knowledge that they seized books from every ship that came into harbor. They made a copy for the ship but kept the originals for themselves.
The library housed the masterpieces of classical civilization: the works of Aristotle and Plato; original manuscripts of Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides; Egyptian treatises on astronomy and medicine; Buddhist texts; and the first translations of the Hebrew scriptures. Eventually historians believe Alexandria amassed 700,000 scrolls,.
Original Library, Up in Flames
While today's library plans to have a broad general collection, it isn't trying to gather the entire creative legacy of humankind under one roof.
Right now they have about 250,000 books on the shelves, less than a typical college library in the United States. Although the Bibliotheca has room for about five million books, the Library of Congress, the world's largest, has nearly 20 million.
Rather than competing, the Bibliotheca is building up special collections on Egypt, the Middle East, and Islam.
The library will also try to attract researchers and scholars from around the world. "It is a vision that was realized on this very spot over 2,300 years ago when the library was founded," said Serageldin.
Alexandria is where Euclid devised geometry; Herophilus discovered that the brain, not the heart, was the seat of thought; Aristarchus, 1,800 years before Copernicus, determined that the Earth revolved around the sun; and Eratosthenes set up a simple experiment that measured the Earth's circumference. In tribute to these discoveries, the new library features a museum dedicated to science history and a large planetarium graces the entrance.
The first and most famous blow to the ancient library came in 48 B.C., when Julius Caesar laid siege to Alexandria and set fire to the city. Historians believe flames consumed about 10 percent of the library.
By midpoint in the new millennium, the library had fallen completely. Historians believe that not a single scroll survives.
Today the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina proves that perhaps the most important element of the ancient library persists—its spirit. And this time the building is fireproof.
What happened to the Royal Library of Alexandria? We can be certain it was there once, founded by Ptolomy II Soter, and we can be equally certain it is not there now. It formed part of the Museum which was located in the Bruchion or palace quarter of the city of Alexandria. This great ancient city, occupying a spit of land on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, had been founded by Alexander the Great in his flying visit to Egypt and became the capital of the last dynasty of Pharaohs descended from Alexander's general Ptolemy. The Great or more properly Royal Library formed a part of the Museum but whether or not it was a separate building is unclear.