Citadel of Qaitbay

The Citadel of Qaitbay is a 15th-century Mamluk fortress standing on the eastern tip of the Pharos peninsula in the Anfushi district, built directly on the foundations of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Sultan Qaitbay ordered its construction in 1477 using stone salvaged from the collapsed lighthouse, and the fort's thick limestone walls and square keep still show blocks bearing traces of the original structure. Visitors walk through the outer defensive walls, the main keep with its vaulted halls and small mosque, and a mezzanine level housing a modest naval museum with model ships and salvaged artifacts. The rooftop terraces give sweeping views over the Eastern Harbour and the Mediterranean, and are the highlight for most visitors. A typical visit takes about an hour to ninety minutes, enough time to walk the ramparts, the keep interior, and the museum rooms. Late afternoon is the best time to visit, both for softer light on the pale stone walls and for the sunset views over the harbor from the upper terraces; mornings are cooler but can draw larger tour-bus crowds arriving from cruise excursions. The narrow stone stairways inside the keep can get crowded at peak times, so visitors touring in the late morning should expect to queue briefly at the stairwells. The citadel is a short walk from the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque, making the two easy to combine in a single outing along the Anfushi waterfront.