Fortress · Egypt
Qaitbay Citadel
قلعة قايتباي
A Mamluk sea fort raised in 1477–79 on the site of Alexandria's ancient lighthouse, guarding the Eastern Harbour.
Where it is
31.2138, 29.8854
Why go
Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbay ordered this limestone citadel in the late fifteenth century, building it over the ruins of the Pharos lighthouse to defend Alexandria from naval raids. An outer curtain wall with towers encloses an inner courtyard lined with rooms once used as barracks and stores. The entrance leads to the courtyard and the main tower, a massive three-storey square keep with rounded corner towers and projecting balconies, and a cistern nearby once watered soldiers and horses.
Near Qaitbay Citadel
Synagogue
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue
A basilica-plan synagogue on Nabi Daniel Street in Alexandria, rededicated by the antiquities ministry in January 2020 after restoration.
2 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Museum
Bibliotheca Alexandrina Antiquities Museum
A museum inside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina showing finds from the library's own building site and objects raised from Alexandria's seabed.
2 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Museum
Graeco-Roman Museum
Alexandria’s museum devoted to Egypt during the Greek and Roman periods.
3 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Kom el-Dikka
An excavated Roman and Byzantine quarter in central Alexandria with a marble odeon, baths, lecture halls and the Villa of the Birds mosaics.
3 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ