Citadel of Qaitbay

The three-story fortress rises on a narrow peninsula with a rectangular footprint, surrounded by the Mediterranean on three sides, while thick exterior walls of local limestone blocks protect the compound and feature narrow openings for cannons.

Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay erected the defensive complex between 1477 and 1479 CE at the site of the destroyed Pharos, using its remains as building material, while later Ottoman conquerors added further fortifications in the 16th century and British forces bombarded the fortress in the 19th century.

The structure served for centuries as a monitoring point for merchant vessels and now houses a maritime museum displaying artifacts from sunken ships and discoveries from the eastern harbor floor, including pharaonic objects and relics from the Ptolemaic period.

The fortress opens daily from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM with different admission fees for international visitors and Egyptian or Arab nationals, while microbuses and taxis run from central Alexandria to the eastern Corniche, from where the compound is reachable on foot within minutes.

Each of the four corner towers features semicircular floor plans with crenellated tops and contains underground cisterns that collected rainwater and ensured water supply for the garrison and their horses during sieges, with some basins holding up to 2,800 cubic feet (80 cubic meters).