Custom Walk in Alexandria, Egypt by debibecker_9d345 created on 2025-06-08

Guide Location: Egypt » Alexandria
Guide Type: Custom Walk
# of Sights: 8
Tour Duration: 5 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 14.2 Km or 8.8 Miles
Share Key: AHCZN

How It Works


Please retrieve this walk in the GPSmyCity app. Once done, the app will guide you from one tour stop to the next as if you had a personal tour guide. If you created the walk on this website or come to the page via a link, please follow the instructions below to retrieve the walk in the app.

Retrieve This Walk in App


Step 1. Download the app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" on Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Step 2. In the GPSmyCity app, download(or launch) the guide "Alexandria Map and Walking Tours".

Step 3. Tap the menu button located at upper right corner of the "Walks" screen and select "Retrieve custom walk". Enter the share key: AHCZN

1
Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque

1) Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque (must see)

One of the most significant and marvelous mosques in the city of Alexandria, Abu El Abbas El Mursi, was built in 1775 by Algerians. The mosque was constructed over the tomb of Murcia Andalusanal-Abbas Saint. Abu el-Abbas el-Mursi Mosque is 23 meters high and has a wonderful minaret. It is located on the beautiful Mosque Square that overlooks the Eastern Harbour. The mosque can be seen clearly from the sea.
2
Alexandria Lighthouse

2) Alexandria Lighthouse

It was a tower built in the 3rd century BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lofty tower built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom between 280 and 247 BC with a 393-450 ft (120-137m) height. It was one of the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries, and was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Badly damaged by three earthquakes between 956 and 1323, it then became an abandoned ruin. It was the third longest surviving ancient wonder (after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the still extant Great Pyramid of Giza) until in 1480 the last of its remnant stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay on the site. In 1994, French archaeologists discovered some remains of the lighthouse on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
3
Citadel of Qaitbay

3) Citadel of Qaitbay (must see)

The Citadel of Qaitbay is a 15th century defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast, built upon/from the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It was established in 1477 AD by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'it Bay. The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century AD.

The British fleet bombarded Alexandria violently on 11 July 1882 and damaged a large part of the city, especially in the area of the Citadel. This attack cracked the fortress, causing great damage. The north and western facades were severely damaged as a result of cannon explosions, aimed directly at the structure. The western facade was completely destroyed, leaving large gaps in it. Unfortunately, the Citadel then remained neglected, until 1904 when the Ministry of Defence restored the Upper floors. After the revolution of 1952 the Egyptian Naval troops turned the building to a Maritime Museum. The biggest restoration work dates back to 1984, when the Egyptian Antiquities Organization made ambitious plans to restore the fort.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
4
Bibliotheca Alexandrina

4) Bibliotheca Alexandrina (must see)

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is both a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, and an attempt to rekindle something of the brilliance that this earlier center of study and erudition represented. The idea of reviving the old library dates back to 1974, when a committee set up by Alexandria University selected a plot of land for its new library, between the campus and the seafront, close to where the ancient library once stood.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is trilingual, containing books in Arabic, English and French. In 2010, the library received a generous donation of 500,000 books from the National Library of France which makes it the sixth-largest Francophone library in the world. The main reading room stands beneath a 32-meter-high glass-paneled roof, tilted out toward the sea like a sundial, and measuring some 160 m in diameter. The walls are of gray Aswan granite, carved with characters from 120 different human scripts. The dimensions of the project are vast: the library has shelf space for eight million books, with the main reading room covering 70,000 sq.m. (750,000 sq ft) on eleven cascading levels. The complex also houses a conference center; specialized libraries for maps, multimedia, the blind and visually impaired, young people, and for children; four museums; four art galleries for temporary exhibitions; 15 permanent exhibitions; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory. The library's architecture is equally striking.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
5
Alexandria National Museum

5) Alexandria National Museum (must see)

The Alexandria National Museum in Egypt was inaugurated the 31st of December, 2003 by Hosni Mubarak and it's located in a restored Italian style palace in Tariq Al-Horreya Street, near the center of the city. It contains about 1.800 artifacts that narrate the story of Alexandria and Egypt. Most of these pieces came from other Egyptian museums. The museum mainly focuses on three collections: Ancient Egyptian, Coptic, and the Muslim world. The museum includes works from the Hellenistic period, including pieces from Heraklion and Canopus and it also has a collection of jewelry, weapons, statuary, coins, and glassware. The museum is housed in the old Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace, who was one of the wealthiest wood merchants in Alexandria. Construction on the site was first undertaken in 1926.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
6
Ancient Roman Amphitheater

6) Ancient Roman Amphitheater (must see)

Roman amphitheaters are large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the Ancient Romans. Built in the IV century AD, Ancient Roman Amphitheater in Alexandria is an amazing work of art with a capacity of 800 seats. It was a place for wonderful musical performances and various contests. The Gladiator games were also held here. The theater was built with materials from all over the world. It features great surroundings, marvelous trees and plants.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
7
Pompey's Pillar

7) Pompey's Pillar (must see)

The largest Roman triumphal column constructed outside of the imperial capitals of Rome and Constantinople, Pompey's Pillar is one of the best-known ancient monuments still standing in Alexandria today. The only known free-standing column in Roman Egypt which was not composed of drums, it is one of the largest ancient monoliths and one of the largest monolithic columns ever erected. 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 30 meters high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 meters in diameter at the base, tapering to 2.4 meters at the top. The shaft is 27 meters high made out of a single piece of granite. Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
8
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

8) Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (must see)

A historical archaeological site, the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa lie on the western necropolis of Alexandria and consist of three levels cut through solid rock, the third level being now completely underwater. It houses a series of Alexandrian tombs, statues and archaeological objects of the Pharaonic funeral cult with Hellenistic and early Imperial Roman influences. The Catacombs were named Kom El Shoqafa, meaning Mound of Shards, because the area used to contain a mound of shards of terra cotta which mostly consisted of jars and objects made of clay belonging to those visiting the tombs, who would bring food and wine for their consumption during the visit, but didn't wish to carry them back home from this place of death so they would break them.

The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa is, according to some lists, also one of the seven medieval wonders of the world. One of the more gruesome features of the catacombs is the so called Hall of Caracalla. According to tradition, this is a mass burial chamber for the humans and animals massacred by order of the Emperor Caracalla.

Due to the time period, many of the features of the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa merge Roman, Greek and Egyptian cultural points; some statues are Egyptian in style, yet bear Roman clothes and hair style whilst other features share a similar style. A circular staircase, which was often used to transport deceased bodies down the middle of it, leads down into the tombs that were tunneled into the bedrock during the age of the Antonine emperors. The facility was then used as a burial chamber from the 2nd century to the 4th century, before being rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey accidentally fell into the access shaft. It is believed that the catacombs were only intended for a single family, but it is unclear why the site was expanded in order to house numerous other individuals.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.
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