A Tour of Egypt 23Alexandria ( al-Iskandariya)
Beautiful Alexandria! After conquering Egypt south to
Memphis in 332 BC, Alexander the Great (Iskandar al-Akbar)
chose the site of current-day Alexandria to be the capital
of his empire. What became known as Alexandria ( al-
Iskandariya in Arabic) was positioned on the west side of
the Nile Delta at the site of a small fishing village. Alexandria
was envisioned by Alexander to be not only the political
and economic centre of his empire, but a naval base and
great trading port. Alexandria was nearly destroyed when
the Arabs captured it in AD 642. An earthquake devastated
the famous lighthouse in 1324, another of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World built on the Island of Pharos
in 280 BC.
Alexandria was well designed with streets crossing at right
angles. It is wide, stretching some 20 km (12 miles) from west
to east. The hub of Alexandria is the Midan Saad Zaghloul,
which runs to the waterfront. Just to the east is the Midan
The Corniche winds along Alexandria’s irregular coastline.