Alexandria Attractions

In the southeast of the city the beautiful Nuzha Gardens incorporate a small Zoo.

Some 28mi/45km southwest of Alexandria we come to Abusir, with the scanty remains of the ancient city of Taposiris Magna, which lay in the plain.

Immediately south of the Nuzha Gardens are the no less attractive Antoniadis Gardens, once the country estate of a wealthy Greek citizen.

Within the harbor archeologists have recently discovered, at a depth of some 26ft/8m, remains of Cleopatra's palaces, of which Strabo gives a detailed account, and other ancient buildings and quays.

A short distance west of the Graeco-Roman Museum is the excavation site of Kom el-Dik, formerly occupied by a fort, where a Roman Amphitheater and remains of baths (third century) and an odeon have been brought to light.

Excavation began in 1947 by the Farouk 1st University in Alexandria.

Southeast of the Graeco-Roman Museum, beyond the railroad lines leading to the Main Railway Station, is the Museum of Fine Art featuring Egyptian and European painting of the 16th-19th C.

To the south of Midan el-Tahrir stands the Roman Catholic St Catherine's Cathedral. In the crypt is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, who died in exile in Egypt in 1947; it is planned to transfer his remains to Italy.

Southwest of the old harbor is the modern western harbor, known in antiquity as Eunostos ("Harbor of the Safe Return"). It consists of the small Inner Harbor within the Coal Pier and the Outer Harbor, protected by a breakwater 2mi/3.2km long, which can accommodate large vessels.