Alexandria

The pearl of the Mediterranean

the second largest city in Egypt and the greatest summer resort in the middle east. located on the mediterranean sea cost to the north west of Delta alexandria has an atmosphere that is more mediterranean than middle Eastern : its ambience and cultural heritage distance it from the rest of the country although it is only 225 KM. from cairo

Named after Alexander the Great who ordered its foundation in 331B.C. on the site of small village called Rhakotis. it became the capital of Graeco Roman Egypt and a Greek cultural centre. since its foundation alexandria remaind for many centuries a center of cultural radiation in the whole world and status as a beacon of culture is symbolized by ' pharos' the legendary lighthous that was on of the seven wonders of the world.

it is the setting for the story relationship between Cleopatra and Marc Anthony , Alexandria was also the centre of knowledge in the ancient world. but ancient Alexandria declined.

since the 19th century , Alexandria has plated a new role , as focus for Egypt's commercial and maritime expansion.

Alexandria has been immortalized by writers such as E.M. Forster and Cavafy. Generations of immigrants from greece. italy and the East settled here and made the city an international centre of commerce and bohemain cultural : Lawerence Durrell described it as ' the capital city of Asiatic Europe , if such a thing could exist'.