Africa

Alexandria

On the north coast of Egypt, west of where the Rosetta branch of the Nile leaves the Delta and the desert sands meet the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean, lies the charming city of Alexandria, once the shining gem of the Hellenistic world.

Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and then developed by Ptolemy, the city became one of the major ports on the trade route between Europe and Asia, as well as a renowned centre for scientific, philosophical and literary thought and learning with a famed library containing more than 500,000 volumes. The beacon of Pharos, which was built on an island offshore, served as a symbol of Alexandria’s greatness and was counted as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

After falling into decline with the end of the Roman Empire and the Muslim invasions of the 7th Century AD, Alexandria’s revival did not come about until the 19th Century as one of the Mediterranean’s busiest ports with a multicultural influx of peoples from all over Europe.

Nowadays you can explore the Rosetta with its date palms, fishing boats and stunning old Turkish houses, make a foray into the catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa and eat excellent grilled fish at one of the city’s open-air restaurants. Nearby is the famous town of El Alamein, where the tide of the WWII North African campaign turned in the favour of the allies; beyond that to the west lie several attractive Mediterranean resorts.

Our preferred hotels include:

The Four Seasons
The Metropole
Windsor Palace
El Salamlek Palace