Alexandria
Alexandria’s ancient library was one of the greatest of all classical institutions, and while replacing it might seem a Herculean task, the new…
Must-see attractions in Mediterranean Coast
Alexandria
This excellent museum sets a high benchmark with its summary of Alexandria’s past. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, the small but…
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Alexandria
Mahmoud Said (1897–1964) was one of Egypt’s finest 20th-century artists, even though he is little known outside his country. A judge by profession, he…
Mediterranean Coast
Possibly the most beautiful piece of coastline in the area, Cleopatra’s Beach sits about a 14km drive north-west of Marsa Matruh around the bay’s thin…
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Alexandria
Discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground, these catacombs make up the largest-known Roman burial site in Egypt and one…
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Pompey’s Pillar & the Temple of Serapeum
Alexandria
A massive 30m column looms over the debris of the glorious ancient settlement of Rhakotis, the original township from which Alexandria grew. Known as…
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Alexandria
Kom Al Dikka was a well-off residential area in Graeco-Roman times, with lovely villas, bathhouses and a theatre. The area was known at the time as the…
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Alexandria
The Eastern Harbour is dominated by the bulky walls of Fort Qaitbey, built on a narrow peninsula over the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse by…
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Mediterranean Coast
Agiba means ‘miracle’ in Arabic, and Agiba Beach, about 24km west of Marsa Matruh, is just that. It is a small, spectacular cove, accessible only via a…
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Mediterranean Coast
The Commonwealth War Cemetery is a haunting place where more than 7240 tombstones stand in regimented rows between beautifully tended desert plants. Most…
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Alexandria
This stately mosque was built over the tomb of a revered 13th-century Sufi saint, Abu Abbas Al Mursi, from Murcia in Spain. Several successive mosques…
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Alexandria
The Alexandrian-Greek poet Constantine Cavafy spent his last 25 years in an apartment above a brothel on the former Rue Lepsius, a flat now preserved as…
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Alexandria
About 1km east of Montazah, Mamoura is the ‘beachiest’ of Alexandria’s beaches. There’s a cobblestone boardwalk with a few ice cream shops and food stalls…
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Mediterranean Coast
One of the most impressive of all Rosetta’s fine buildings, with beautiful lantern lights on the facade and vast expanses of windows with mashrabiyya …
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Alexandria
The Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has a well-curated exhibition of artefacts that romp from the Pharaonic, through the Greek and Roman…
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Mediterranean Coast
This gorgeous beach is a real find, with irresistible milky-blue water that’s great for swimming. Even out here, conservative dress for women applies. The…
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Mediterranean Coast
This museum is an excellent introduction to the North African campaigns of WWII, including the Battle of El Alamein. The museum has separate halls…
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Alexandria
This wonderful and little-visited collection of 16th- to 20th-century paintings reflecting the city's cosmopolitan flair is housed in an old villa. Some…
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Alexandria
The beautiful little Terbana Mosque stands at the junction of Sharia Faransa and Wekalet Al Limon. This entire quarter, known as Gumruk, is located on…
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Alexandria
Where northern Anfushi hits the sea, you can wander among huge wooden vessels in various states of construction. In small workshops, craftspeople make…
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Mediterranean Coast
Right at the tip of Marsa Matruh's eastern peninsula, this quiet but rocky piece of shore is good for swimming. Just before the beach is the cave system…
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Alexandria
The 19th-century Montazah palace is off-limits, but the surrounding lush gardens are prime strolling territory. There’s an attractive sandy cove here with…
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Mediterranean Coast
About 11km west of El Alamein, roughly where the front line between opposing armies ran in WWII, the Italian memorial has a wide path rimmed by flowering…
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Alexandria
Among the largest synagogues in the Middle East, this magnificent Italian-built structure served Alexandria’s once-thriving and cosmopolitan Jewish…
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Mediterranean Coast
Across 2km of desert directly in front of the German War Memorial is the tiny and glorious German Memorial Beach, which is relatively rubbish-free. The…
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Mediterranean Coast
About 5km north of Rosetta along the Nile, this fort was built in 1479 to guard the mouth of the Nile 6km further on. It was on this spot that the famous…
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Mediterranean Coast
About 7km west of El Alamein, what looks like a hermetically sealed sandstone fortress overlooking the sea is actually the German War Memorial. Inside…
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Alexandria
For archaeologists the discovery of the port of Herakleion-Thonis in Aboukir has been a triumph. Excavations have revealed a huge amount of treasure…
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Alexandria
This royal-quarter area in the Eastern Harbour has yielded some of Alexandria's most interesting underwater antiquities. Today divers can see a couple of…
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Mediterranean Coast
Although recently restored, the Rachid Museum just off the main square is a dusty provincial museum in a very beautiful example of the town's Ottoman…
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Mediterranean Coast
The House of Abu Shaheen has a reconstructed mill on the ground floor, featuring enormous wooden beams and planks. You can actually see the gears and…
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Alexandria
This site, just offshore from Fort Qaitbey, contains sphinxes, columns, capitals and statues dating from the Pharaonic, Greek and Roman eras as well as…
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Alexandria
The World of Shadi Abdel Salam, named for the late cult-film director, painter, script writer and set designer born in Alexandria in 1930, shows a display…
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Alexandria
Along Alexandria's western shore, past the shipyards, you’ll spot Ras El Tin Palace. It is most spectacular seen from the Mediterranean Sea. Originally…
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Alexandria
The Shatby area of central Alexandria has been a home to the city's necropolis for centuries, although this Coptic cemetery is a more recent (for…
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Mediterranean Coast
At the tip of the strip of land west of Marsa Matruh, you'll find Shaati Al Gharam (Lovers’ Beach). The water here is sublime, but the sand is only…
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Alexandria
The Manuscript Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina hosts a beautifully displayed collection of ancient texts, antiquarian books and maps, including a…
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Alexandria
The planetarium at Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a futuristic neon-lit sphere, looming on the plaza like a mini Death Star from Star Wars. It shows 3D films…
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Mediterranean Coast
Just before Rommel's Beach is the cave system where Colonel Rommel planned the Axis forces' military operations during WWII. The caves are now home to a…
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Alexandria
Miami Beach (pronounced me-ami) has a sheltered cove with a water slide and jungle gym set up in the sea for kids to frolic on, but note that these get…
