The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 333 B.C, When he was en route to visit the Oracle Temple of Amun at the Siwa Oasis, he stopped overnight at the village it`s known in Greek as “Racotis”. Alexander decided to build a city there carry his name and charged one of his architects Dinocratis to build it and then Alexander continued on to Siwa to consult the oracle about his destiny. Alexander the Great died in Babylon in 323 B.C. without ever seeing the city that bears his name; in fact, it was not until the reigns of Ptolemy I, and his successor Ptolemy II (Philadelphus) that the building of the city was completed and it became the main capital of the region.
Alexander's architect Dinocratis planned the city in squares like a chessboard, with two main streets interlaced vertically and horizontally, extending from east to west as well as from north to south. Alexandria's initial design had five districts, each one named after a letter of the first five letters in the Greek Alphabet: A (Alpha); B (Beta); G (Gamma); D (Delta) and E (Epsilon).
These five letters represent the initial letters of the text: "Alexander the king, the descendant of the gods, erected the city".
Alpha was the royal district where the royal palaces, the main temple, the museum, the libraries, and the gardens were built.
Beta was the district of the Greek aristocracy.
Gamma was dedicated to the settlement of the Greek commoners.
Delta was the district of the foreign minorities such as the Syrians, the Persians, and the Jews.
Epsilon was the district for the native Egyptians.
Drinking water was supplied by a canal starting from the western Canopic branch of the Nile
In Alexandria, there are many sightseeing locations like:
The Catacombs (Kom El-Shoukafa tomb)
Pompey's Pillar (The Memorial Of Diocletian)
The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria
The Library of Alexandria - Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Roman Amphitheatre of Alexandria in Kom El Dekka
The Montaza Palace Gardens