Alexandria (Arabic: al-Iskandariya) is the chief port and second-largest city of Egypt. The population is 3,382,000 (1994 est.). Alexandria is located on the west side of the Nile Delta on a strip of land between Lake Maryut and the Mediterranean Sea. An isthmus about 1.5 km (1 mi) wide connects the former island of Pharos with the mainland, separating the East and West harbors. The West Harbor serves as the city's port and has modern facilities. The inner harbor of the West Harbor is protected on three sides (by a breakwater, Pharos, and the isthmus) from Mediterranean storms. The West Harbor was joined to the Nile River by a canal in the early 19th century.
Alexandria enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Annual precipitation averages less than 250 mm (10 in), coming mostly during November, December, and January; little or no rain falls in the summer. January is the coolest month, with an average temperature of 18 degrees C (64 degrees F); August is the warmest, with an average of 31 degrees C (87 degrees F). The pleasant climate and sandy beaches make Alexandria a favorite tourist spot.
Contemporary City
Isthmian Alexandria is characteristically Egyptian. The European quarter stands on the mainland south of the East Harbor. The city has numerous mosques, palaces, monuments, parks, and gardens. A suburb, al-Raml, with its fine beaches, is known as the Egyptian Riviera. The West Harbor is the commercial center and has numerous warehouses for cotton, sugar, foodstuffs, grain, and wool. Industries in the city include oil refining, motor-vehicle assembly, food processing, and textile weaving. The bulk of Egypt's foreign trade passes through the port of Alexandria. Excellent railroads and highways connect it with Cairo and other cities.
History
For more than 2,000 years Alexandria was the largest city of Egypt. It was founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great and was well planned. About 6.5 km (4 mi) in length and 2-3 km (1-2 mi) in width, it had streets crossing at right angles. Two main avenues, the present-day Fuad and Nebi Daniel streets, were then as now the center of the commercial, cultural, and political life of the city. A lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was built on the island of Pharos in 280 BC. The island was later connected to the mainland by an isthmus, called the Heptastadium, enclosing the Port of Pharos, now the East Harbor.
Famous buildings in the early city included the Temple of Serapis, the Temple of Poseidon, the Soma (mausoleum of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies), a museum, a theater, an emporium, and the Alexandrian Library, founded by Ptolemy I. Under the Ptolemies, the city was the literary and scientific center of the Hellenistic world. Later, under the Romans, its location made it the center of world commerce. Many artifacts from the ancient city are displayed in the Greco-Roman Museum.
Alexandria was captured by the Arabs in AD 642 and nearly destroyed by them. The lighthouse was devastated by an earthquake in 1324. The new lighthouse that took its place stands at Ras el-Tin, overlooking the West Harbor. Napoleon Bonaparte held the city from 1798 to 1801. In 1882, Alexandria was bombarded and occupied by the British, and during World Wars I and II it served as a British naval base. Emigration of the once-large foreign community since the 1950s has made Alexandria a more Egyptian city.