Alexandria is considered Egypt’s second capital and was its ancient capital. It is the capital of Alexandria Governorate and its largest city, located on the Mediterranean coast, stretching about 55 km northwest of the Nile Delta. It is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea and to the south by Lake Mariout, extending to kilometer 71 on the Cairo–Alexandria Desert Road. To the east, it is bordered by Abu Qir Bay and the city of Edku, and to the west by the Sidi Kerir area, reaching kilometer 36.30 on the Alexandria–Matrouh Highway.
Alexandria hosts many remarkable landmarks, including Egypt’s largest seaports, Alexandria Port and Dekheila Port, through which about 80% of the country’s imports and exports pass. It is also home to the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina, which can hold over 8 million books, and numerous museums and archaeological sites such as Qaitbay Citadel and Pompey’s Pillar. Alexandria has a population of approximately 4,123,869 (according to the 2006 census), engaged in commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities. The city is divided into nine administrative districts: Montaza First, Montaza Second, East, Central, West, Gamark, Agami, Amreya First, and Amreya Second.
Construction of Alexandria began under Alexander the Great in 332 BC by filling in part of the waters separating an extended island off the main coast called “Pharos,” which had an old harbor, and a small village called “Raktos” or “Racoda,” surrounded by other small villages scattered between the sea and Lake Mariout. Alexander and his successors made it the capital of Egypt for nearly a thousand years until the Islamic conquest of Egypt by Amr ibn al-As in 641.
Throughout history, Alexandria became famous for many landmarks, including the ancient Library of Alexandria, which held over 700,000 volumes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, with a towering height of about 120 meters. The lighthouse remained standing until it was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 1307.
Historians believe that Alexander chose Alexandria as the capital of his empire guided by the advice of his spiritual mentor, Homer, in the epic *Odyssey*. In the story, Telemachus, son of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, visits Menelaus, king of Sparta, asking about the fate of his missing father. Menelaus recounts the horrors of war and the bravery of the king of Ithaca and his lost army. After their armies were exhausted, they reached the shores of Egypt near the island of Pharos, where, as the king of Sparta says: “We drank from the abundance of this land through which rivers flow beneath.”
