The Citadel of Qaitbay, Alexandria: History, the Lighthouse and Visiting Tips

The Citadel of Qaitbay is the stone fort at the tip of the old Pharos island in Alexandria, built by the Mamluk sultan Qaitbay on the site of the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria. It closes the Eastern Harbor on its western side and is one of the city's main sights, usually visited with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina along the same Corniche.

Where the Citadel of Qaitbay stands: Pharos island and the Eastern Harbor

The citadel occupies the eastern tip of what was once the island of Pharos, joined to the mainland in antiquity by a causeway that silted up into today's isthmus. The result is a fort with water on three sides, at the western end of the Corniche in the Anfoushi district, closing off the Eastern Harbor.

The approach along the causeway, with the fishing fleet moored on one side, is part of the visit, and the sea wall around the fort is a local promenade in the late afternoon. In rough weather spray comes over the wall, which is worth knowing if you carry a camera.

Built on the Lighthouse of Alexandria: what is known and what is not

The Pharos was raised under the early Ptolemies and guided ships into Alexandria for many centuries. Arab geographers described it in detail while it still stood, down to a ramp wide enough for pack animals, and earthquakes brought it down in stages until little was left.

Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbay built his fort on the lighthouse's site, and the large granite and marble blocks and column shafts set into its walls are generally accepted as ancient material reused from the ruins. The popular claim that the fort rests directly on the lighthouse's own foundations goes further than the evidence: much of the lighthouse ended up on the seabed just off the citadel, where underwater surveys have recorded huge blocks, column drums and statues.

From Mamluk fort to Ottoman garrison and British bombardment

Qaitbay was one of the great builders of the late Mamluk period, and the fort belongs to a program of coastal defenses along the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Built as Ottoman naval power was growing, it was designed to command the entrance to the Eastern Harbor with artillery: a compact keep inside an artillery enclosure, from a time when gunpowder was reshaping fortification.

After the Ottoman conquest the fort stayed a garrison, but it was neglected as Alexandria declined. Muhammad Ali repaired and rearmed it in the nineteenth century, the British naval bombardment of Alexandria later that century damaged it badly, and the building visitors see today is the result of the restorations that followed.

What to see inside the Citadel of Qaitbay

The keep is the heart of a visit: vaulted chambers, stairways built into the thickness of the walls, slit windows framing the harbor, and a small mosque with its mihrab. Look for the reused ancient columns laid horizontally in the masonry, their round ends showing in the wall faces.

The walk along the enclosure walls gives the views people come for: the Corniche sweeping east with the disc of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina along it, fishing boats working the harbor, and open Mediterranean on the seaward side. The courtyard between the keep and the outer wall gives the best sense of the fort's scale.

Visiting Qaitbay: crowds, comfort and the Anfoushi waterfront

Mornings are quieter, and late afternoon is best for photographs, when the light comes off the water. Fridays and public holidays bring large crowds of Egyptian families, pleasant company but slow going on the keep's narrow stairs.

The surfaces are uneven stone with steep stairs and no elevator, so the keep is not suitable for wheelchairs, though the causeway and the outer courtyard are manageable. There is little shade, and the wind off the sea never stops: welcome in summer, cold in midwinter.

The Anfoushi fish market and the seafood restaurants behind it are close by and are the reason many Alexandrians come to this end of town. The Ptolemaic rock-cut tombs of the Anfoushi necropolis are nearby too, and usually empty.

Opening hours, tickets and the Bibliotheca next door are on our page about the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Qaitbay.

Questions about the Citadel of Qaitbay

Where is the Citadel of Qaitbay?

At the western end of Alexandria's Corniche, in the Anfoushi district, on the tip of the former island of Pharos that closes the Eastern Harbor.

Is the Citadel of Qaitbay worth visiting?

Yes, for the setting, the harbor views and the chance to stand where the Pharos stood. As architecture it is a solid late-Mamluk fort rather than a showpiece, so a short visit is enough.

How long do you need at the Citadel of Qaitbay?

About an hour, a little longer if you walk the full rampart and the sea wall outside.

Can you see the remains of the Lighthouse of Alexandria?

Not from land. Ancient blocks are built into the fort's walls, but most of the lighthouse's remains lie on the seabed just offshore.

To see it with a guide, our Qaitbay and the Bibliotheca tour visits the citadel and the library, and Alexandria in a day includes Qaitbay among the city's sights.