Alexandria

Alexandria with a population of 4.1 million is the second-largest city in Egypt and is the country's largest seaport also an important tourist resort.Alexandria extends about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in north-central Egypt.It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library) It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez, another city in Egypt.

History

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641 when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its lighthouse (Pharos) one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World its library (the largest library in the ancient world) and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbour of Alexandria, which began in 1994 is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander when a city named Rhacotis existed there and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
From the late 19th century it became a major centre of the international shipping industry and one of the most important trading centres in the world.

Climate

the Mediterranean gives the city a different climate from the desert namely mild, variably rainy winters and hot, dry summers which, at times, can be very humid; January and February are the coolest months with daily maximum temperatures typically ranging from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F). Alexandria experiences violent storms, rain and sometimes hail during the cooler months. July and August are the hottest and most humid months of the year with an average daily maximum temperature of 30 °C (86 °F).

Ancient remains

Districts

Modern Alexandria is divided into six districts:

* al-Montaza District: population 1,190,287
* Sharak (Eastern Alexandria District: population 985,786
* Wassat (Central Alexandria) District: population 520,450
* al-Amriya District: population 845,845
* Agamy (Western Alexandria) District: population 386,374
* al-Gomrok District: population 145,558

There are also two cities under the jurisdiction of the Alexandria governorate forming metropolitan Alexandria:

* Borg Al-Arab city: population 186,900
* New Borg Al-Arab city: population 7,600