Alexandria — Greco-Roman Capital

📍 Location: Mediterranean coast, 220 km north-west of Cairo · 🏺 Period: Ptolemaic & Roman · 🎟️ Tickets: vary per site, see below

Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC, Alexandria became the intellectual capital of the ancient Mediterranean — home of the legendary Library, the Pharos Lighthouse (one of the Seven Wonders), and the Ptolemaic dynasty that ended with Cleopatra VII. Most of the ancient city now lies under the modern one (or under the harbour, where divers find sphinxes and palace blocks), but a remarkable string of Greco-Roman monuments is still above ground.

The Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa are the most spectacular: a three-level rock-cut tomb complex from the 2nd century AD that blends Egyptian, Greek and Roman funerary art in one extraordinary mash-up. Pompey's Pillar — a 27 m red-granite Roman column from c. 298 AD — towers over the ruins of the Serapeum, the daughter library of Alexandria. The open-air site of Kom el-Dikka preserves a small Roman amphitheatre, bath complex, villa with bird mosaic, and lecture halls of the late-antique university.

Above water, Mamluk-era Qaitbay Citadel stands on the foundations of the Pharos itself, recycling lighthouse stone in its walls.

Highlights

Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa — multi-level Greco-Egyptian tombs
Pompey's Pillar & Serapeum — Roman triumphal column
Kom el-Dikka — amphitheatre, baths and villas — see also Kom el-Dikka
Qaitbay Citadel — on the site of the ancient lighthouse
Alexandria National Museum — see our page

Visiting

Best time: spring or autumn — even Alexandria's summer is humid
Tickets: typically 100–200 EGP per site for foreign adults
Getting there: 2.5 hrs by train from Cairo Ramses station
Nearby: Graeco-Roman Museum, Royal Jewelry Museum

Don't skip the underwater archaeology exhibits — much of Cleopatra's palace quarter still lies beneath the Eastern Harbour, and dive operators run trips for certified divers.