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After entering Egypt, in January 331BC the Egyptians hailed Alexander the Great as their ruler, pharaoh and god. He sailed down the western branch of the Nile to inspect the Greek trading colony of Naucratis, but he saw no space for development there, so Alexander pressed on toward the coast to reach the Egyptian fort of Rhakotis referred to by both Herodotus and Thucydides, close to Lake Mareotis where a narrow ridge divides its waters from the sea. He had arrived on the coast at a site mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey: “Out of the sea where it breaks on the shores of Egypt rises an island from the waters: the name men give it is Pharos” (Odyssey IV.354-355). Alexander noticed the deep waters of its well-sheltered, natural harbor and saw opportunity. Alexandria was to be the capital of his new Egyptian dominion and a naval base from where he would control the Mediterranean.

In ancient times, Alexandria was one of the most famous cities in the world. Founded around a small pharaonic town it became and remained Egypt’s capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo).

During Alexandria’s heydays it was the leading cultural centre of the world, housing people of different religions and philosophical orientations. It was famous for the extensive library, which in the 3rd century BC was said to contain 500,000 volumes. Additionally, Alexandria was renowned for the lighthouse of Pharos, listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as antiquity. Alexandria’s Mouseion was a centre of research, with laboratories and observatories. Alexandria was the very first centre for Biblical studies, and it was where the Old Testament was assembled in a form very similar to its present one. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, was produced there too plus it was also home to the largest Jewish community in the world, but most have now migrated to Israel. It was (and remains today) the seat of a patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Although Alexandria witnessed a 1,000 years of prosperity, it then fell into decline over a time span covering centuries, and when Napoleon landed, he found a sparsely populated fishing village. It wasn’t until in 1819 the city gradually regained importance, when the Mahmudiyah Canal to the Nile was completed by Muhammad Ali Pasha (the Ottoman Governor of Egypt), who developed Alexandria as a deepwater port and a naval station.

Very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbor due to earthquake subsidence, and the rest has been built over in modern times.

Alexandria is the second largest city in Egypt, known as “The Pearl of the Mediterranean”, and it has an atmosphere that is more Mediterranean than Middle Eastern; its ambience and cultural heritage separate it from the rest of the country although it is actually only 225 km. from Cairo.

Through out its history Alexandria has been invaded by many a different culture. Starting with Julius Caesar in 47 BC and was under Roman influence for more than a hundred years. With the persecution of pagans by newly Christian Romans, in 391 Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of all pagan temples in Alexandria. In 619, Alexandria fell to the Sassanid Persians but was recovered by the Byzantine Emperor Heracles in 629, and in 641 the Arabs under the general Amr ibn al-As, captured it after a siege that lasted fourteen months. Napoleon’s troops stormed the city on July 2, 1798 and it remained in their hands until in 1801 when the British expedition won a considerable victory over the French at the Battle of Alexandria, but after 6 months and a siege of the city it fell back to the French.

The city gradually regained some of its former glory after Mohammed Ali Pasha rebuilding the city around 1810. During the 17th century, the plague killed many of the cities inhabitants. Then again in July 1882 the city came under bombardment from British naval forces and was occupied. In July 1954, the city was a target of an Israeli bombing campaign that later became known as the Lavon Affair. Although during the 19th century many foreigners settled in Alexandria, and in 1907 they made up about 25% of the population. During World War II, as the chief Allied naval base in the Mediterranean, Alexandria was bombed by the Germans.

Today Alexandria remains one of the most beautiful cities in the country and popular summer destination for most Egyptians, attracted by its 32 km (20 mile) coast line.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

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“Horus, the strong ruler, he who seizes the lands of the foreigners, beloved of Amun and the chosen one of Ra - meryamun setepenra Aleksandros“.

Alexander the Great’s image was replicated all over Egypt in both monumental statuary and delicate relief, he appeared in the company of the Egyptian gods wearing traditional Egyptian dress including the rams horns of Amun as worn by pharaohs including Amenhotep III before him.

Although the cause of his death is still a mystery, Alexander the Great, the Macedonian King and great conqueror, died at the age of 33, on June 10, 323 BC in Babylon (modern Iraq).

In 331 BC he left Egypt for Babylon and on his way back to Macedonia he became ill, with fever. It may have been from malaria or perhaps of being poisoned, but with in a few days he died suddenly, without designating a successor.

On his deathbed he asked for his generals and gave his ring to Perdikkas, who was appointed regent of the empire until Alexander’s queen, Roxane, gave birth to their child. This child, Alexander IV inherited his father’s Empire only briefly, for he and his mother were assassinated by Cassander, who assumed the throne my marrying Thessaloniki, Alexander the Great’s sister. In the wake of Alexander’s death and with the endless conflicts among his successors, his body played a symbolic role which influenced the power struggles of these men and eventually led to the fall of the Macedonian Empire.

Yes the cause of his death was a puzzle but the real enigma was the actual disappearance of Alexander the Great’s mummified body and tomb! No one can claim to have seen this tomb after the end of the 4th century and locating the place where Alexander is buried seems to have become an impossible mission for archeologists.

Perdikkas, is thought to have commissioned a magnificent funerary cart for the soul purpose of transporting the mummified remains of Alexander the Great back to Aigai, the old Macedonian capital, for burial. The body was placed in a gold anthropoid sarcophagus which was then encased in a second gold casket and covered with a purple robe. Alexander’s coffin was placed, together with his armor, in a richly decorated gold carriage which had a vaulted roof supported by an Ionic peristyle.

By which time Ptolemy Lagos, one of Alexander’s generals, had secured the wealthy territory of Egypt for himself, attacked the funerary procession carrying Alexander’s body and redirecting it to Memphis in Egypt, where Alexander was initially buried. It was later moved by Ptolemy II Philadelphos, the son of the first Ptolemy, to Alexandria. After an elaborate ceremony, the body was laid to rest in a Mausoleum called Soma or Sema, an ancient Greek word meaning “dead Body”.

Alexander the Greats tomb was in public display for almost 600 years and was visited by many important personalities such as the Roman emperors Augustus and Julius Ceasar, as well as common tourists. Although Alexander was laid to rest in a golden sarcophagus, King Ptolemy IX replaced it by one made of glass, as he melted down the gold one in order to strike emergency gold coinage.

The tomb was eventually closed to the public by Septimus Severus (early third century AD) out of concern for its safety on account of the hoards of tourists who came to visit the site. By the 4th century, the location of Alexander’s tomb was lost. The oblivion lasted until the 19th century, when the Egyptian astronomer Mahmud el-Falaki attempted to locate the tomb. According to El-Falaki the tomb would have been located under the mosque of Prophet Daniel, where he was not allowed to dig. But most archaeologist are convinced that he was buried in Alexandria, the city that he founded in Egypt.

Others have tried to find the tomb, but to no avail! In 1737 a Danish sea captain by the name of Norden visited the city and tried but failed to locate the tomb. James Bruce came in 1768, but his efforts were also in vain. At the end of the 18th century, Sestrini visited the city looking for the Alexander the Great’s tomb, but he was shown the Attarine mosque.

Until today no one can be sure where the tomb of one of the greatest men who changed history lies, but besides Alexandria, there have been claims that he rests in Asia, Macedonia, and the Siwa Oasis. There has even been a wild allegation that Alexander the Great could be buried “down under” in Broome in Western Australia!

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

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Born in the northern Greek kingdom of Macedonia in July 356 BC, and during the short span of his life, Alexander III of Macedon(356-323 BC) was able to link three continents in a vast international network of trade and commerce. This vast empire was united by a common Greek language and culture, whereas its emperor himself borrowed different foreign customs for him to be able to rule the millions of ethnically diverse subjects.

He was the son of Philip II of Macedon, and his wife Olympias. King Philip was assassinated in 336 BC and at the age of 20, Alexander inherited a powerful yet turbulent kingdom from him father. He was educated by the philosopher Aristotle and was trusting his mother, Olympias with is secrets he often consulted her for advice. On assuming power, he quickly avenged his father, dealing with his enemies at home, and then turning to affirm Macedonian power within Greece, having done so he set out to expand the Greek Empire by conquering the massive Persian Empire.

In the time span of eight years as Emperor, Commander and Explorer, Alexander the Great managed to found over 70 cities and secure an area covering around two million square miles, across three continents. This empire stretched from Greece in the west, north to the Danube, south into Egypt and as far to the east as the Indian Punjab.

Besides being a powerful king and skilled warrior, he was also a strong politician and philosopher. The Greeks believed that philosophy originated in Egypt, and keen on learning Alexander attended lectures given by the Egyptian philosopher Psammon. Believing in his teachings that “all men are ruled by god, because in every case that element which imposes itself and achieves mastery is divine”, Alexander further expanding on this from his own life experience that whilst god is indeed the father of all mankind, “it is the noblest and best whom he makes his own” (Plutarch).

Alexander entered Egypt in 332 BC, and was warmly welcomed by its people, who had been living under the oppressive rule of the Persians. The Egyptians immediately handed the crown of Egypt to Alexander the Great, proclaiming him a god. He submitted to the Egyptian ceremonies, even going so far as to wear Egyptian dress.

While in Egypt, Alexander made another legendary journey, crossing the perilous sands of the western desert to the temple of the Oracle of Amun, at the oasis of Siwa, were he was declared the son of Amun-Ra, Egyptian god of the sun, whom the Greeks identified with Zeus. This detour confirmed him to be the first pharaoh ever to complete the dangerous journey.

Alexander ordered a city to be built at the mouth of the river Nile, Alexandria would become one of the major cultural centers in the Mediterranean world in the following centuries. With only some six month sojourn, Alexander left Egypt in the spring (mid-April) of 331 BC a changed man. Although he never returned to see the city he founded, it would eventually be his final resting place when his embalmed body was returned there for burial only 10 years later.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

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The Temple of the Oracle of Amun at Siwa has attracted many a visitor over the history of ancient civilizations, the most prominent being Alexander the Great. It is said that he reached the temple by following birds across the desert. Alexander the Great came in 331 BC to consult the Oracle of Amun in order to seek confirmation that he was the son of the gods (Zeus and Amun) and consequently the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt and of course of the other lands he conquered. He continued to correspond with the Oracle of Amun until his death through messengers when he needed answers to important questions.

In the ancient world, people were more than superstitious, so manifestations of the gods or Oracles were greatly revered. They were regularly consulted before important decisions as they were able to see into the future. Oracles existed in Egypt well before the Temple of the Oracle at Siwa, which was built during the 26^th Dynasty. The Oracle of Siwa was reputed to have existed well before the temple and continued to flourish well into the Greek and Roman periods.

The area is known to have been inhabited since the 10^th millennium BC, but it was during the 26^th Dynasty that it gained fame when a necropolis was established, and Siwa at the time was given the name Sekht-am or Palm Land.

Greeks that settled at Cyrene (in modern day Libya) made contact with the oasis at the time and Romans later used it as a place of banishment. The first European to visit the temple was the British William George Browne in 1792, and in 1819 the oasis was officially added by Muhammad Ali Pasha (Egypt’s ruler at the time) to modern Egypt. Siwa was the site of some fighting during World War I and World War II.

In fact, until the battles which took place around the oasis in World War II, it was hardly governed by Egypt, and for the previous thirteen centuries it remained mostly a Berber (Zenatiya) community. Siwans continue to have their own culture and customs and they speak a Berber language, called Siwi, rather than Arabic. Because of their geographical isolation the people have remained relatively unchanged. Women still wear traditional costumes and silver jewelers and Siwa remains one of the best places to buy traditional local handicrafts. Interestingly, each October there is a three-day festival during which Siwans must settle all of their past year’s disputes.

The Siwa Oasis lying 60 feet below sea level and is located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, 560 km from Cairo and 50 km east of the Libyan border. It is one of Egypt’s isolated settlements, inhabited by 23,000 people descendants from the ethnic Berbers of North Africa.

There are approximately 1,000 sweet water springs that are know to have medical properties. But the most striking feature of the Siwan landscape is the presence of several salt lakes, which diminish in size during the summer; this sets it apart from any other oases of Egypt.

Besides its old ruin Temple of Amun, springs and salt lakes, other sites of interest include Cleopatra’s Bath, the old town of Shali, Gebel Dakrur and Gebel El-Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead). In 2007 there was the discovery of what may be the world’s oldest human footprint, dating back 3 million years. Although the revelations of the oracle which has attracted so many, fell into disrepute under the Roman occupation of Egypt, Siwa still lures people who seek peace, beauty and serenity.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours