christopherbradford.com - Alexandria Photographs

Alexandria (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια, Coptic Rakotə, Arabic: الإسكندرية Al-ʼIskandariya), (population of 3.5 to 5 million), is the second largest city in Egypt, and its largest seaport. Alexandria extends about 20 miles (32 km) up and down the Mediterranean sea in northwest Egypt. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria, and is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.

In ancient times, the city was known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and the Library of Alexandria (the largest library in the ancient world). Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbour of Alexandria (which began in 1994) is revealing details of Alexandria during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Text courtesy of wikipedia.org