Egypt Guide
Alexandria and the Mediterranean coast
Fort Qaitbey
Opening time: Daily 9am–5pm
Price: £E20
One tram stop after Al-Mursi's mosque, take a short walk past the fishing port and repair yard full of brightly painted boats, and you will come to the promontory bearing Sultan Qaitbey's fort and the Alexandra Yacht Club, which holds an annual regatta in October. Fort Qaitbey is an Alexandrian landmark, a Toytown citadel buffeted by wind-borne spray, its flag forever rippling. Built during the 1480s and later beefed up by Mohammed Ali, it commands great views of the city and the spume-flecked Mediterranean. Within the keep there's a mosque whose minaret was blown away by the British in 1882.
The fort occupies the site of the Pharos, Alexandria's great lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world; the Pharos transcended its practical role as a navigational aid and early-warning system, becoming synonymous with the city itself. A combination of aesthetic beauty and technological audacity, it exceeded 125m – perhaps even 150m – in height, including the statue of Zeus at its summit.