The Citadel of Qaitbey, Alexandria

The Citadel of Qaitbey is a fortress located on the edge of the Mediterranean, and was built on the ruins of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria.

History of the Fort

Standing on the foundations of one of the famous “Seven Wonders of the World” is the Qaitbey Citadel, Alexandria, Egypt.

This fortress is seated upon the exact location of the Lighthouse of Alexandria which was completely eliminated by several earthquakes over the centuries, beginning in the 800s and continuing to the eleventh century. By the fourteenth century the entire site had been destroyed and the Mameluke Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay decided to use the location as a defensive fort.

A castle was constructed on the location, with a mosque contained inside of it, and it continued to work its defensive wonders well into the 1800s. The Qaitbey Citadel did experience years of decline and neglect, but was taken in hand by the Egyptian Supreme Counsel of Antiquities within the last century and is now fully restored and open for visitation.

A Defense Against the Turks

Though the Qaitbey Citadel was initially constructed as a defense against the Ottoman Turks it eventually fell into their hands, and they actually maintained the building quite well.

Later the French were able to defeat the Turks and, in turn, took possession of the building, and in the late 1700s were astounded to find that some of the weapons used during the Crusades remained within the Qaitbey Citadel’s walls.

Damaged by the British

Later enhancements to its defenses included cannons and strengthening of the ramparts. When Mohammed Ali became the ruler in Egypt during the early 1800s the Citadel of Qaitbey received a great deal of attention, improvement and restoration.

Again however the city of Alexandria came under attack in the late 1800s and a British bombardment damaged the structure quite badly. For nearly half a century afterward the Citadel of Qaitbey, Alexandria was ignored. Finally, in the mid-1900s it was converted into a museum and then fully restored.

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