Alexandria is Egypt’s second-largest city and its foremost seaport, built on a strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Maryut. Founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, it became one of the ancient world’s leading centers of learning, a reputation anchored by two structures, the Library of Alexandria and the Pharos Lighthouse, that no longer stand but still define how the city is remembered.

Where Is Alexandria Located?

Alexandria lies on a narrow strip between the Mediterranean and Lake Maryut, a salt lake, about 183 kilometers northwest of Cairo at the edge of the Nile Delta. The ancient island of Pharos, once offshore, is now joined to the mainland by a peninsula that divides the city’s eastern and western harbors. As of a 2013 estimate, the city held about 4.6 million people, making it Egypt’s second-largest city after Cairo.^[2]

A Brief History of Alexandria

Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 332 BCE as a port for Mediterranean shipping, during his conquest of Egypt. After his death, his general Ptolemy I Soter took control of Egypt from Alexandria and founded the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled from the city for nearly three centuries and made it a major hub of Greek culture and trade.^[1][2]

Under the Ptolemies, Alexandria became the ancient world’s foremost center of learning. The Mouseion, a royal research institute, housed the Library of Alexandria, which held the largest collection of classical texts in the ancient world, and the mathematician Euclid wrote his foundational work on geometry in the city. At the harbor entrance stood the Pharos Lighthouse, more than 350 feet (110 meters) tall, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and the model for lighthouses ever since.^[1][2]

Both structures were eventually lost. The Library of Alexandria was destroyed in the late third century CE. The Pharos survived far longer, but after the Arab conquest of Egypt in 642 CE, when a new capital was established at Cairo and Alexandria was largely neglected, the lighthouse gradually crumbled. In 1480, Sultan Qa’it Bay built a fort directly on the lighthouse’s old foundations for coastal defense.^[1][2]

What Is Alexandria Known For?

That fort, the Citadel of Qaitbay, still stands today as a three-story structure at the tip of the peninsula guarding the eastern harbor, now housing a naval museum, and it is Alexandria’s most recognizable landmark precisely because it occupies the site of the ancient Pharos. Alexandria’s ancient reputation for learning also has a modern echo in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a large library and research center inspired by its ancient namesake, which opened in 2002 alongside museums, art galleries, and a planetarium.^[2]

Economy Today

Alexandria remains Egypt’s leading seaport, and most of the country’s foreign trade passes through its harbors and the nearby port of Al-Dukhaylah. Its exports include oil, gas, cotton, and produce, while grain is its largest import, and its industries include petroleum refining and the production of chemicals, cement, textiles, processed foods, and paper.^[2]

Why Alexandria Matters

Alexandria matters as one of the clearest historical examples of a city built specifically to concentrate learning and trade, a model that made it, for several centuries, the intellectual capital of the Mediterranean world. The loss of its two great ancient monuments, and the way the Citadel of Qaitbay and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina now occupy their symbolic places, make the city a frequently cited case study in how cultural institutions and physical monuments rise, fall, and are later reimagined.

Key Takeaways

• Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 332 BCE as Egypt’s chief Mediterranean port.^[1][2]
• Under the Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexandria’s Library and the 110-meter Pharos Lighthouse made it the ancient world’s leading center of learning.^[1][2]
• The Library was destroyed in the late 3rd century CE; the Pharos crumbled after the Arab conquest of 642 CE.^[1][2]
• In 1480, Sultan Qa’it Bay built a fort directly on the lighthouse’s foundations, now the Citadel of Qaitbay.^[1][2]
• Alexandria remains Egypt’s foremost seaport and its second-largest city.^[2]

Sources

• Encyclopaedia Britannica | “Lighthouse of Alexandria” | Undated | https://www.britannica.com/topic/lighthouse-of-Alexandria | Accessed 2026-10-21
• Encyclopaedia Britannica for Students | “Alexandria” | Undated | https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Alexandria/272800 | Accessed 2026-10-21

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed October 21, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue