Greece in Egypt — Cleopatra's city, the Great Library, and Mediterranean seafood
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC and became the cultural capital of the ancient world — home to the Great Library (largest in antiquity), the Lighthouse of Pharos (one of the Seven Wonders), and the mixed Greek-Egyptian civilisation that produced Cleopatra. Modern Alexandria is Egypt's second city on the Mediterranean coast — a linear city of beautiful Corniche promenades, art deco buildings, and one of Egypt's greatest seafood scenes.
Alexandria was the greatest city of the ancient world for 300 years after Alexander's death — under the Ptolemaic dynasty it became home to Archimedes, Euclid, Eratosthenes, and Cleopatra, and its Library held an estimated 700,000 scrolls. The city declined after the Arab conquest of 641 AD and the capital moved to Cairo (then Fustat). The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (2002), a modern replacement for the ancient Library, and the 15th-century Citadel of Qaitbay (built over the Lighthouse ruins) anchor the modern city.