“What’s old collapses, times change, and new life blossoms in the ruins.”
Friedrich Schiller
The Mediterranean Citadel of Qa’itbay, Alexandria
When destiny presented me with a chance to visit Cairo in 2021 amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, I had no dilemma. And more than Cairo, my excitement towards the largest city on the Mediterranean coast, Alexandria, knew no bounds. You may wonder why. But Alexandria is not only a port city founded by Alexander the Great, it boasts three wonders of the world from the Ancient and Middle ages.
Ruled by Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Ottoman Turks in its early days and later by French and British rulers, Alexandria is truly cosmopolitan. It had human settlements from the 27th – 21st centuries BC. Excavations today continue to reveal submerged quarters from various eras.
The Citadel of Qa’itbay
Alexander the Great established the city of Alexandria on an isthmus opposite the island of Pharos, on the western edge of the Nile delta. On this island, Ptolemy I commissioned a lighthouse in the 3rd century BC that was completed in 12 years’ time. Roughly 100 metres tall, it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. For many centuries, it remained the tallest man-made structure in the world. The damage caused by three earthquakes led to its collapse in the mid-14th century.
It is from the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria that the Qa’itbay Citadel rose at the same spot. Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qa’itbay made use of the surviving platform of the lighthouse and the stones to build the fort in 1477 AD.
Military architecture of the Mamluks
The Mamluk dynasty ruled Egypt and regions around the Mediterranean Sea and western Arabia around the mid-13th to early 16th centuries. Theirs was a shorter rule compared to the Greeks, Ottomans and the others, but their contribution to Egyptian architecture is superlative.
The Mamluk architecture focuses more on religious structures such as seminaries, mosques and mausoleums.Very little information is available on the fortifications and military structures built by them apart from the Qa’itbay citadel. In the period of their rule, the Mamluks did not build walls around the city, instead preferring to defend their borders by the use of a network of forts. The centre of this network would be the citadel that overlooks the city and monitors the surrounding sea.
Features of the citadel
Entrance to the citadel is through a massive hexagonal curtain wall. Interjected with circular bastions, the citadel rises above within. There are two layers of walls in between which there is a carriageway of sorts. The central square structure with four circular corners sits on a platform. A vaulted porch marks the doorway into the tower.
Upon entering, the straight entrance leads to passages, one each to the left and right. The main chamber on the ground floor is a vaulted rectangular hall, with a small mosque in the centre under the skylight. Considering this is a military fort, the mihrab doesn’t face the direction of Mecca. Many small rooms dot the passage and hallways on both floors of the citadel. The third floor has a circular hall that is the king’s seat.
This spectacular citadel offers sweeping views of the Mediterranean through its multiple windows. Situated close to the corniche, the Mediterranean citadel of Qa’itbay in Alexandria, is a great start to a day and not to be missed.
Wondering what else to do in a day in Alexandria? Check out my next post…
Pin the Mamluk fortress!
