Alexandria Is the Mermaid of the Miditerranean Sea and a Mixture of the Glamour of the East and the Culture of the West. It Stan
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Alexandria is the mermaid of the miditerranean Sea and a mixture of the glamour of the East and the culture of the West. It stands magnificently on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea as a blue pearl coated with the splendor history has given it and the grandeur of the philosophers and scientists who had taken it as a residence long centuries ago. Alexandria is the city whose gorgeous coasts extend to more than 40 km, and gets the fresh Nile water coming from northwest Delta and Mariout Lake. It enjoys a unique nature, which bestows on it a wonderful weather all year long. Alexandria is Egypt’s second most important and largest city and the biggest seaport on the Mediterranean Sea. It houses treasures of ancient landmarks that date back to more than 5000 years. It has a lot of ancient and modern tourist attractions, such as castles, museums and Pharaonic, Greco-Roman and Islamic monuments. Moreover, the manifestations of tolerance stand side by side through mosques, churches and ancient temples to make of Alexandria a rare cultural and reli- gious beacon. Alexandria was one of the ancient world’s most important cities. It was well- known for its bright marble buildings and awesome palaces, which made of it a masterpiece of no less status than that of Rome or Athens. One of its distin- guished cultural landmarks is Bibliotheca Alexandrina that was rebuilt to serve as an international cultural and civilizational edifice. The city is famous for its many soft sand beaches, which extend from Al-Aga- mi in the west to Abu Qir in the east. Thus, it has become the most important Egyptian summer resort visited by millions from all over the world. 3 ABNAA ALWATAN Alexandria in History ter the advent of Christianity by Saint Marcos Alexandria was playing a pioneering role the Apostle in 45 BC. At that time, Alexan- in history, starting from its establishment by dria School, which constituted a great source Alexander the Great, who arrived in Egypt of knowledge, was established. Alexandria in 332 BC. He found a small village called had also a principal role in the scientific de- Rhakotis on the Mediterranean Sea opposite velopment of Christians, as it had the most to Pharos Island. He decided to link the vil- famous philosophy school in the Hellenistic lage with the island, and built in that place era, i.e. The Modern Platonic. a city after his name to serve as a capital of Egypt instead of Memphis. Alexander’s de- The Islamic Era cision was driven by some strategic targets Alexandria held a distinguished status as mainly: it became the most important maritime base - To make Alexandria a centre for the Helle- in east Mediterranean Sea, not to mention nistic civilization in the surrounding regions. its geographical and historical potentials - Its location will help the Macedonian army in connecting east with west. Therefore, it in its invasions across the Mediterranean flourished in the economic, cultural and civi- Sea. lizational domains, which was reflected in its - To serve as a trade centre in the region. Islamic architecture, shown in the schools, Alexander the Great entrusted the Greek ar- mosques, palaces, houses, hotels, walls, tow- chitecture Dinocrates to build the city, whose ers and forts. design was close to the architecture of the Late in the 2nd Hegira century, Alexandria ancient Greek cities. was the most important centre for the Maliki doctrine, since it served as a bridge between The Ptolemaic Era Andalusia in the west and Makkah al-Mu- With the inception of the Ptolemaic era, karamah in the east. It was a visiting place Alexandria was prospering and becoming and a destination for some Arab translators, more important, because it turned from a who came to learn the Greek language in the semi-military city for the Greek soldiers into 3rd and 4th Hegira centuries. In the Islamic a royal one rich in gardens and white marble era, Alexandria was booming to the extent columns. Thus, Alexandria became a cultur- that it was said that learning and education al, political and economic centre, in which had not stopped there night or day. many monuments were erected, most promi- However, during the Ottoman era, Alexan- nent of which was Alexandria Lighthouse dria passed through a recession period that that was one of the seven wonders of the lasted for a few centuries. Later on, after Mo- ancient world. That 135 meters-long Light- hamed Ali became Egypt’s ruler and with the house used to be there until it was destroyed increase in the number of foreign communi- by an earthquake in 1307. ties living in the country, especially in Alex- Moreover, in the Ptolemaic era, Bibliothe- andria, life started to flourish once again in ca Alexandrina was set up as the first gov- the city, where competition among western ernment-owned library in the ancient times. countries was taking place through establish- However, it was destroyed after the Roman ing consulates, commercial houses and cul- invasion and fall of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. tural activities. Alexandria has witnessed golden eras and The Roman Era played a major role in disseminating culture Alexandria continued to gain importance and civilization. It was one of the biggest cit- under the rule of the Romans, especially af- ies that support arts, politics and heritage, ABNAA ALWATAN 4 given the fact that it reflected European and oriental features. Furthermore, Alexandria was a city that included various landmarks, the most salient of which are: Qaitbay Citadel It is one of the most distinguished Islamic landmarks. It is located on Pharos Island to the west of Alexandria on the ruins of the old lighthouse that collapsed in 720 AH. Due to the then direct threats facing Egypt and the whole Arab region from the Ottoman Em- pire, Sultan Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Nasr Qait- bay built this wonderful citadel in two years Citadel of Qaitbay (882-884 AH). Afterwards, Sultan Qansuh Qaitbay Citadel was one of the most im- el-Ghori paid further attention to the citadel portant citadels on the Mediterranean Sea and therefore he increased the number of its coast. It was the focus of attention of Egypt’s garrison and provided it with huge quanti- sultans and rulers along history. However, ties of weapons. However, the citadel was the citadel lost its strategic and defense im- neglected during the Ottoman rule of Egypt portance during the last years of the Ottoman era, allowing the French Campaign, under Architectural Planning of the Cit- the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, to oc- adel cupy Alexandria. When Mohamed Ali came The total area of the citadel reaches 17,550 to rule, he worked for strengthening Egypt’s m. It is 60 meters long and 50 meters wide defense, especially the northern coasts. and its walls are 4.5 meters thick. It over- Therefore, he renewed the walls of the cita- looks the sea from three directions and in- del and added some architecture works to suit cludes various walls. The main tower is on the advancement of defense in the 19th Cen- the northwest side. The walls are divided tury. Thus, he fortifies its walls, renovated its into interior and exterior ones, with the in- buildings and provided it with coastal guns. terior wall including the barracks of the gar- He had also built many forts along Egypt’s rison and the weapons warehouses, while the northern coast. external one includes semicircular towers Then came the Orabi Revolution in 1882, on the four corners that end with protrusive followed by the British occupation of Egypt balconies. These towers are higher than the that caused heavy damage to the citadel. In main one and include two-level openings for 1904, the Commission for the Conservation launching arrows. of Arab Antiquities carried out a lot of main- The first floor includes the citadel’s mosque, tenance works of the citadel based on the which consists of a courtyard and defensive studies conducted by the French Campaign corridors that give the soldiers an easy pas- scientists, which were published in the De- sage when defending the citadel. The mosque scription of Egypt book, and by traveler Cas- used to have a minaret, which has collapsed sius in his book that was published in 1799. lately. The second floor includes corridors, halls and internal rooms. The third floor has The Roman Theater a large room (Seat of Sultan Qaitbay) where It was established in Kom el-Dikka in the he used to sit for watching the ships. 4th Century AD during the Roman era. It is the only Roman theater in Egypt and it was 5 ABNAA ALWATAN discovered accidently by a Polish mission commemorate Abul Abbas Al-Morsi. during their search for the tomb of Alexan- The mosque overlooks the eastern harbor der the Great in 1960. Archeologists called it in Al-Anfushi neighborhood. It followed the the Roman Amphitheater because of its mar- Andalusian style and it has unique octago- ble semicircular steps. In this respect, much nal columns made of marble and copper; in controversy had been raised over such a his- addition to its distinctive Arabian and An- torical building that took 30 years of exca- dalusian decorations. The western dome of vation. This amphitheater building was used the mosque overtops the shrine of Abul Ab- both as a musical concert hall and a theater bas and his two sons. King Fouad I ordered during ceremonies. It takes the shape of the the construction of a large square known letter U and consists of 13 rows of marble as Midan El- Masaged, or the Square of steps carrying Greek letters and numbers to Mosques, to include a large mosque of Al- organize the sitting of the spectators.