Cittadella di Qaitbay

La cittadella è una compatta fortezza mamelucca con mura spesse, torri angolari, e un cortile interno che conduce alla torre principale — un possente mastio quadrato con merli, feritoie per arcieri e corridoi interni che si possono esplorare su più livelli. Il materiale da costruzione racconta una storia straordinaria: molti dei blocchi di granito e colonne nelle mura sono elementi riciclati dall'antico Faro — si possono identificare blocchi di granito rosso e grigio, basi di colonne e frammenti architettonici che un tempo appartenevano a una delle strutture più famose dell'antichità.

Le acque intorno alla cittadella nascondono centinaia di blocchi, statue e frammenti architettonici dell'antico Faro e del palazzo reale tolemaico, scoperti durante campagne archeologiche subacquee negli anni '90. Sebbene le rovine non siano visibili dalla superficie, la consapevolezza che giacciono appena sotto le onde — e che si cammina letteralmente sopra i resti di una delle Sette Meraviglie — aggiunge una dimensione straordinaria alla visita.

Beneath the hilltop site, a network of tunnels and chambers carved into the bedrock once served as storage for part of the overflow collection of the Great Library of Alexandria — the famous 'daughter library' that housed scrolls that could not fit in the main library complex. Some of the subterranean niches that held papyrus scrolls are still visible in the rock-cut walls, their regular spacing and uniform dimensions clearly designed for systematic storage rather than random use. The chambers are partially accessible to visitors, and walking through these dimly lit underground corridors — knowing they once held some of the most valuable written knowledge in the ancient world — creates a powerful sense of intellectual loss. The destruction of the Serapeum in 391 AD and whatever scrolls remained in these galleries represents one of the final chapters in the long, tragic story of the Great Library's disappearance.

Scattered across the hilltop around the column are the fragmentary foundations and architectural remains of the Serapeum of Alexandria — once a grand temple complex dedicated to the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis, built by Ptolemy III Euergetes in the 3rd century BC and described by ancient writers as one of the most magnificent buildings in the world. The temple served simultaneously as a place of worship, a center of healing (devotees slept in the temple hoping for curative dreams), and a library that housed part of the Great Library's collection. In 391 AD, the Serapeum was destroyed by a Christian mob led by Bishop Theophilus under orders from Emperor Theodosius I — an act that marked one of the most dramatic moments in the suppression of paganism across the Roman Empire. Today, only scattered column bases, wall foundations, and underground chambers survive, but they span a large enough area to suggest the temple's original grandeur, and the hilltop setting provides fine views across Alexandria's rooftops to the sea.

Il Faro di Alessandria (Pharos), costruito intorno al 280 a.C. sotto Tolomeo II, era alto circa 100 metri e fu una delle Sette Meraviglie del Mondo Antico — una torre a tre sezioni (base quadrata, sezione centrale ottagonale, sommità circolare) sormontata da una statua e una fiamma che guidava le navi nel porto di una delle città più importanti del Mediterraneo antico. Il faro sopravvisse per oltre 1.500 anni prima di essere progressivamente danneggiato da terremoti tra il X e il XIV secolo, fino al crollo definitivo. Quando il sultano Qaitbay costruì la sua fortezza nel 1480, le massicce rovine del faro fornirono un'abbondante riserva di materiale da costruzione già tagliato.

The site once held the magnificent Serapeum of Alexandria — described by the 4th-century historian Ammianus Marcellinus as the most splendid temple in the ancient world, second only to the Roman Capitol itself. The temple housed a famous cult statue of Serapis made of precious materials, was adorned with gold, silver, and bronze decorations, and contained a daughter library of the Great Library that preserved tens of thousands of scrolls on philosophy, science, literature, and religion. In 391 AD, following Emperor Theodosius I's decree banning pagan worship throughout the Roman Empire, Bishop Theophilus of Alexandria led a Christian mob that stormed the temple, destroyed the cult statue, burned any remaining scrolls, and systematically demolished the building — an event that sent shockwaves through the ancient Mediterranean and symbolized the definitive end of the classical pagan world. The destruction of the Serapeum remains one of the most debated events in late antiquity, with scholars still arguing about how many books were lost and whether the library was already diminished by that point.