The Northern Coast is dominated by Alexandria, conquered and designed by Alexander the Great. More Mediterranean than Arabic, it was always considered affluent and liberal, and still attracts wealthy Cairenes as a summer retreat. Egypt’s second city is less chaotic than Cairo, and famed for its numerous Hellenistic and Roman relics from the age when it was the cultural capital of Europe.
The newly constructed Bibliotheka Alexandria, costing over US$300m, is the greatest library in the ancient world and a major research center for scholars. Relics from the third century BC are exhibited in the Graeco-Roman Museum, and there is a recently excavated Roman Amphitheater. Fort Qait Bey is a 15th-century fort built on the foundations of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The modern Mosque of Abu al-Abbas Mursi dominates the main square on Sharia Tatwig, and other places of interest include the Museum of Fine Arts, and Montazah Palace with attractive gardens, often the summer venue of theater performances.
Swimming and diving are popular, although beaches tend to be overcrowded in summer. Ma’amoura is a more liberal and Westernised beach, and further out of the city Agami and Hannoville are cleaner and less crowded. Diving is possible on Montazah beach.