Alexandria

The Pearl of the Mediterranean

Alexandria  was  the  greatest  city  of  the  ancient  world  at  the  time of the early Ptolemies. It remained the capital of Egypt for nearly a millennium since its foundation by Alexander the Great in 331 BC till the Arab conquest in AD 641. The city was completed under the reign of Ptolemy II (285 - 246 BC). It was designed  by  the  Greek  architect  Dinocrates  of  Rhodes,  who  connected  the  mainland  (narrow  strip  of  land  between  the  Mediterranean and Lake Mareotis) with the island of Pharos by a dyke "Heptastadion", thus creating Eastern and Western Ports. The layout of the city was like a chess-board, in which there  were  two  main  roads  intersecting  at  right  angles,  and  the  side  streets  ran  parallel  to  these  perpendicular  axes.  Alexandria   was   the   site   of   the   famous   Lighthouse,   the   legendary  Library,  and  the  Museion  (Research  Institution,  which was the home of scientists, philosophers and scholars from  all  over  the  world).  The  remains  of  the  ancient  city  can  be  mainly  found  in  private  cemeteries,  temples,  Roman theatre, as well as underwater antiquities in the Eastern Harbour.