ALEXANDRIA - EGYPT |
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Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic,
al-iskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that country's second
largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. It is
located at 31°12'N, 29°15'E, 208 km (129 miles) northwest of Cairo. The
Canopic mouth of the Nile (now dry) was 19 km (12 miles) east, near the
ancient city of Canopus.
It was named after its founder, Alexander the Great, and as the seat of the
Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt quickly became one of the greatest cities of the
Hellenistic world – second only to Rome in size and wealth throughout much
of antiquity. However, upon the founding of Cairo by Egypt's mediaeval
Islamic rulers its status as the country's capital was usurped, and it fell
into a decline, which by the late Ottoman period had seen it reduced to
little more than a small fishing village. |
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The modern city
The city is built on the strip of land which separates the Mediterranean
from Lake Mareotis (Mariout), and on a T-shaped peninsula which forms
harbors east and west. The stem of the T was originally a mole (breakwater)
leading to the island of Pharos which formed the cross-piece. In the course
of centuries this mole has been silted up and is now an isthmus half a mile
wide. On it a part of the modern city is built. The cape at the western end
of the peninsula is Ras et-Tin (Cape of Figs); the eastern cape is known as
Pharos or Kait Bey. South of the town – between it and Lake Mareotis – runs
the Mahmudiya canal, which enters the western harbour by a series of locks.
The Place Mehemet Ali, usually called the Grand Square, is an oblong open
space, tree-lined, in the center of which there is an equestrian statue of
the ruler after whom it is named. The square is faced with handsome
buildings mainly in the Italian style. The most important are the law courts,
exchange, Ottoman bank, English church and the Abbas Hilmi theatre.
On the Ras et-Tin promontory, overlooking the harbour, is the khedivial
yacht club (built 1903) and the palace, also called Ras et-Tin, built by
Mehemet Ali. In the district between the Grand Square and the western
harbour, one of the poorest quarters of the city, is an open space with Fort
Caffareli or Napoleon in the center.
A major new library and cultural complex, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, was
recently built with the help of the United Nations. The original library
contained authentic books from the time of Cleopatra but they were later
burned when the library was destroyed.
The predominant languages spoken, besides the Arabic of the natives, are
Greek, French, English and Italian.
Alexandria is served by a network of trams traveling east and west roughly
parallel to the Corniche, or sea wall.
Ancient remains
Very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of
the royal and civic quarter has sunk beneath the harbour due to earthquake
subsidence, and much of the rest has been built upon in modern times. "Pompey's
Pillar" is the most well-known ancient monument still standing. It is
located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis – a modest hill located adjacent
to the city's Arab cemetery – and was originally part of a temple colonnade.
Including its pedestal it is 30m (99 feet) high; the shaft is of polished
red granite, roughly three meters in diameter at the base, tapering to two
and a half meters at the top. It has, however, nothing to do with Pompey,
having been erected in AD 293 for Diocletian. Beneath the acropolis itself
are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god
Serapis were enacted, and whose carved wall niches are believed to have
provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library.
Alexandria's catacombs, known as "Kom al Sukkfa" are a short distance
southwest of the pillar, consist of a multi-level labyrinth, reached via a
large spiral staircase, and featuring dozens of chambers adorned with
sculpted pillars, statues, and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious
symbols, burial niches and sarcophagi, as well as a large Roman-style
banquet room, where memorial meals were conducted by relatives of the
deceased.
The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in
Alexandria is known as "Kom al Dikka", and it has revealed the ancient
city's well-preserved theatre, and the remains of its Roman-era baths.
Antiquities
Persistent efforts have been made to explore the antiquities of Alexandria.
Encouragement and help have been given by the local Archaeological Society,
and by many individuals, notably Greeks justly proud of a city which is one
of the glories of their national history.
The past and present directors of the museum have been enabled from time to
time to carry out systematic excavations when opportunity offered; Mr D. G.
Hogarth made tentative researches on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund
and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in 1895; and a German
expedition worked for two years (1898-1899). But two difficulties face the
would-be excavator in Alexandria.
First, since the great and growing modern city stands right over the ancient
one, it is almost impossible to find any considerable space in which to dig,
except at enormous cost. Second, the general subsidence of the coast has
sunk the lower-lying parts of the ancient town under water.
Unfortunately the spaces still most open are the low grounds to northeast
and southwest, where it is practically impossible to get below the Roman
strata.
The most important results were those achieved by Dr G. Botti, late director
of the museum, in the neighbourhood of "Pompey's Pillar," where there is a
good deal of open ground. Here substructures of a large building or group of
buildings have been exposed, which are perhaps part of the Serapeum. Hard by
immense catacombs and columbaria have been opened which may have been
appendages of the temple. These contain one very remarkable vault with
curious painted reliefs, now lighted by electricity and shown to visitors.
The objects found in these researches are in the museum, the most notable
being a great basalt bull, probably once an object of cult in the Serapeum.
Other catacombs and tombs have been opened in Kore es-Shugafa Hadra (Roman)
and Ras et-Tin (painted).
The Germans found remains of a Ptolemaic colonnade and streets in the north-east
of the city, but little else. Mr Hogarth explored part of an immense brick
structure under the mound of Kom ed-Dik, which may have been part of the
Paneum, the Mausolea or a Roman fortress.
The making of the new foreshore led to the dredging up of remains of the
Patriarchal Church; and the foundations of modern buildings are seldom laid
without some objects of antiquity being discovered. The wealth underground
is doubtless immense; but, despite all efforts, there is not much for
antiquarians to see in Alexandria outside the museum and the neighbourhood
of "Pompey's Pillar." The native tomb-robbers, well-sinkers, dredgers and
the like, however, come upon valuable objects from time to time, which find
their way into private collections. |
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