Full-Day Alexandria Private Tour with Tour Guide from Cairo

What is the trip about

Start your private tour with hotel pickup in Cairo or Giza, and travel north to Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, hearing snippets about Alexandria’s illustrious history from your Egyptologist guide on route. After roughly 2.5 hours, arrive in Alexandria and savor the sea air at your first stop; the harborfront Fort Qaitbey. Take in the pretty, 15th-century fort, and learn how it was built over the ruins of Alexandria’s ancient lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Next, pay a visit to the Serapeum: the remnants of an Egyptian-Greco temple to the god Serapis, before strolling to the neighboring Pompey’s Pillar, a 3rd-century Roman triumphal column. Gaze up at the still-standing column and hear how it was carved to commemorate a victory by the Emperor Diocletian. Break for lunch at a local restaurant, and travel to the Roman Kom al-Dikka amphitheater, built in the 4th century and capable of seating more than 600 spectators. After viewing the horseshoe-shaped theater, make your way to the Kom ash-Shuqqafa catacombs, Egypt’s largest known Roman necropolis. Descend by the stairs and explore the eerie tunnels, lined with empty tombs and statues, as you hear about Roman funerary rituals. Lastly, view the new Alexandria Library (Alexandrina Bibliotheca), built to commemorate Alexandria’s ancient library. Admire the outside of this stunning building — shaped like a sundial — and hear how it can hold a staggering eight million books.