Citadel of Qaitbay
A fifteenth-century Mamluk fortress on the site of the Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
On the site of the Pharos
The Citadel of Qaitbay stands at the tip of the Pharos peninsula, at the eastern end of Alexandria's harbour, where the Mediterranean meets the city. It occupies the site of the Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built under Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II in the third century BC. Over a hundred metres tall, the Pharos guided ships into Alexandria for more than a thousand years, until it was badly damaged by earthquakes in the tenth to fourteenth centuries and finally collapsed, leaving only ruins.
Qaitbay's fortress
In 1477, the Mamluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbay, concerned by the growing threat of the Ottomans, ordered a fortress to be built on the ruins of the lighthouse, reusing some of its stones; it was completed around 1480. The citadel consists of a massive square keep with corner towers, containing a mosque, surrounded by an outer wall with towers facing the sea and the land. It was garrisoned through the Ottoman period and modernised in the nineteenth century by Muhammad Ali, and was damaged during the British bombardment of Alexandria in 1882. Restored in the twentieth century, it houses a small maritime display.
The view and the sea
From its walls, there are sweeping views over the Eastern Harbour and the Corniche to the city. Beneath the waters around the citadel, underwater archaeologists have found thousands of blocks and statues thought to come from the Pharos and from Ptolemaic monuments, some of which are displayed in Alexandria's museums.
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The best time to come is late afternoon: walk the length of the Corniche, past the fishing boats of the Eastern Harbour, and watch the citadel's pale walls turn golden against the sea as the sun goes down. The waves break on the rocks, families stroll the breakwater, and the whole of Alexandria curves away behind you.
Inside, climb to the top of the keep and look out to sea, and remember that you are standing where the Pharos once rose — the lighthouse that gave its name to lighthouses in half the languages of Europe. Few views in Egypt carry so much history.
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How to find it
The citadel stands at the western tip of the Eastern Harbour, at the end of the Corniche in the Anfushi/Bahary area; take a taxi or walk along the Corniche from Raml Station (about 45 minutes). Enter through the outer gate, cross the courtyard and climb the keep for the views.
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