Most of the citizens of Alexandria adhere to the religion of Islam and the most famous mosque there is the El-Morsi Abo El-Abbas Mosque in the Bahary neighborhood. There are Christians too. After Rome, Alexandria was considered the major seat of Christianity in the world. The Pope of Alexandria was the second among equals, second only to the Bishop of Rome until 430. The Church of Alexandria had jurisdiction over the entire continent of Africa.

          Modern Alexandria is divided into six districts; Al-Montazah District حيّ  المنتزه , Sharq (Eastern) District حى شرق , Wassat (Central) District حى وسط , Al-Amriyah District العامرية , Al-Gomrok District حى الجمرك ,  Agamy District حى العجمى . There is also the New city of Borg Al-Arab برج العرب that is under the jurisdiction of the Alexandria Governorate. These districts consist of other smaller famous neighborhoods. Alexandria has some very famous squares like the (Ahmad) Orabi Square ميدان عرابى or as it is widely known by the Manshiyyah Square. There is also the famous Saad Zaghlool Square ميدان سعد زغلول in downtown.

         Alexandria has some palaces قصور  like the Montaza Palace in Montaza, Ras Al-Teen Palace and the Presidential Palace in Ma’moura. The city has some wonderful recreational places like the Montaza Royal Gardens, the Antoniadis Park, the Shallalat Gardens, the Alexandria Zoo, the Green Plaza, the Ma’moura Beach and the Marina Village. It has so many Cinema houses beside the Alexandria Opera House where classical music, opera and ballet are performed. There are also some great museums like the Alexandria Aquarium, the Graeco-Roman Museum, the Royal Jewellery Museum, the Cavafy Museum and the Alexandria National Museum. It has many sports centers and clubs.

         Alexandria has many hotels فنادق and is considered a main summer resort and tourist  attraction. That is because of  its public and private beaches and ancient history and museums. The Bibliotheca Alexandria is considered a masterpiece in its architecture and is based on reviving the ancient Library of Alexandria.

        Alexandria has two international airports, a huge railway system and a tram network that was built in 1860 and is the oldest in Africa. It has also many public buses operated by Alexandria Governorate’s Agency for Public Transport. Modern air-conditioned red double-decker buses run the whole way along the Kourniche الكورنيش . There are also taxis and minibuses.

        Alexandria has a number of higher education institutions and public and private schools. Alexandria University جامعة الإسكندرية  is a public university that follows the Egyptian system of higher education. Many of the faculties (colleges) it contain, are internationally renowned. The most notable are the Faculty (College) of Medicine and that of Engineering. Nobel Laureate; Professor Ahmad Zewail أحمد زويل is a graduate from the College of Sciences كلية العلوم  there. In addition, the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport is a semi-private educational institution that offers courses for high school, undergraduate level and postgraduate students. It is considered the most reputable university in Egypt after the AUC (American University in Cairo).

        Alexandria is a twin-sister of some international cities including; Cleveland and Baltimore in the United States, Thessaloniki in Greece, Odessa in Ukraine, Constanta in Romania, Durban in South Africa, Shanghai in China and Kuching in Malaysia.

*******

* Adapted and translated from wikipedia

*********

Check us back soon

Peace  سلام   /Salam/