Alexandria is located in the country of Egypt, on the southern coast of the

Mediterranean.

Climate
Alexandria has a borderline hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification:
BWh),[28] approaching a hot semi-arid climate (BSh). As the rest of Egypt's
northern coast, the prevailing north wind, blowing across the Mediterranean, gives
the city a less severe climate from the desert hinterland.[29] Rafah and
Alexandria[30] are the wettest places in Egypt; the other wettest places are
Rosetta, Baltim, Kafr el-Dawwar, and Mersa Matruh. The city's climate is influenced
by the Mediterranean Sea, moderating its temperatures, causing variable rainy
winters and moderately hot summers that, at times, can be very humid; January and
February are the coolest months, with daily maximum temperatures typically ranging
from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) and minimum temperatures that could reach 5 °C (41
°F). temperature sometimes gets lower than 5 and it sometimes rains snow.

Alexandria experiences violent storms, rain and sometimes sleet and hail during the
cooler months; these events, combined with a poor drainage system, have been
responsible for occasional flooding in the city in the past but don't happen
anymore.[31] July and August are the hottest and driest months of the year, with an
average daily maximum temperature of 30 °C (86 °F). The average annual rainfall is
around 200 mm (7.9 in) but has been as high as 417 mm (16.4 in)[32]

Port Said, Kosseir, Baltim, Damietta and Alexandria have the least temperature
variation in Egypt.

The highest recorded temperature was 45 °C (113 °F) on 30 May 1961, and the coldest
recorded temperature was 0 °C (32 °F) on 31 January 1994.[33]

Climate data for Alexandria

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 29.6
(85.3) 33.0
(91.4) 40.0
(104.0) 41.0
(105.8) 45.0
(113.0) 43.8
(110.8) 43.0
(109.4) 38.6
(101.5) 41.4
(106.5) 38.2
(100.8) 35.7
(96.3) 31.0
(87.8) 45.0
(113.0)
Average high °C (°F) 18.4
(65.1) 19.3
(66.7) 20.9
(69.6) 24.0
(75.2) 26.5
(79.7) 28.6
(83.5) 29.7
(85.5) 30.4
(86.7) 29.6
(85.3) 27.6
(81.7) 24.1
(75.4) 20.1
(68.2) 24.9
(76.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 13.4
(56.1) 13.9
(57.0) 15.7
(60.3) 18.5
(65.3) 21.2
(70.2) 24.3
(75.7) 25.9
(78.6) 26.3
(79.3) 25.1
(77.2) 22.0
(71.6) 18.7
(65.7) 14.9
(58.8) 20.0
(68.0)
Average low °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4) 9.3
(48.7) 10.8
(51.4) 13.4
(56.1) 16.6
(61.9) 20.3
(68.5) 22.8
(73.0) 23.1
(73.6) 21.3
(70.3) 17.8
(64.0) 14.3
(57.7) 10.6
(51.1) 15.8
(60.4)
Record low °C (°F) 0.0
(32.0) 0.0
(32.0) 2.3
(36.1) 3.6
(38.5) 7.0
(44.6) 11.6
(52.9) 17.0
(62.6) 17.7
(63.9) 14
(57) 10.7
(51.3) 1.0
(33.8) 1.2
(34.2) 0.0
(32.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 52.8
(2.08) 29.2
(1.15) 14.3
(0.56) 3.6
(0.14) 1.3
(0.05) 0.0
(0.0) 0.0
(0.0) 0.1
(0.00) 0.8
(0.03) 9.4
(0.37) 31.7
(1.25) 52.7
(2.07) 195.9
(7.7)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.01 mm) 11.0 8.9 6.0 1.9 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.2 2.9 5.4 9.5 46.8
Average relative humidity (%) 69 67 67 65 66 68 71 71 67
 68 68 68 67.92
Mean monthly sunshine hours 192.2 217.5 248.0 273.0 316.2 354.0 362.7 344.1 297.0
282.1 225.0 195.3 3,307.1
Source 1: World Meteorological Organization (UN),[34] Hong Kong Observatory for
sunshine and mean temperatures,[35] Climate Charts for humidity[36]
Source 2: Voodoo Skies[33] and Bing Weather[37] for record temperatures
Alexandria mean sea temperature[38]
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
18 °C (64 °F) 17 °C (63 °F) 17 °C (63 °F) 18 °C (64 °F) 20 °C (68
°F) 23 °C (73 °F) 25 °C (77 °F) 26 °C (79 °F) 26 °C (79 °F) 25 °C
(77 °F) 22 °C (72 °F) 20 °C (68 °F)
Cityscape

Egypt – Obelisk, Alexandria. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival

Collection.

Roman Amphitheater

Roman Pompey's Pillar

Due to the constant presence of war in Alexandria in ancient times, very little of
the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic
quarters sank beneath the harbour due to earthquake subsidence in AD 365, and the
rest has been built over in modern times.

Kom El Shoqafa
"Pompey's Pillar", a Roman triumphal column, is one of the best-known ancient
monuments still standing in Alexandria today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient
acropolis—a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery—and was
originally part of a temple colonnade. Including its pedestal, it is 30 m (99 ft)
high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in diameter at the base,
tapering to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) at the top. The shaft is 88 feet (27 m) high, and made
out of a single piece of granite. Its volume is 132 cubic meters (4,662 cubic feet)
and weight approximately 396 tons.[39] Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using
the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. The Romans had
cranes but they were not strong enough to lift something this heavy. Roger Hopkins
and Mark Lehrner conducted several obelisk erecting experiments including a
successful attempt to erect a 25-ton obelisk in 1999. This followed two experiments
to erect smaller obelisks and two failed attempts to erect a 25-ton obelisk.[40]
[41] The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop
decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it
has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly
in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus. Beneath the acropolis itself are
the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis
were enacted, and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow
storage space for the ancient Library. In more recent years, many ancient artifacts
have been discovered from the surrounding sea, mostly pieces of old pottery.

Alexandria's catacombs, known as Kom El Shoqafa, are a short distance southwest of

the pillar, consist of a multi-level labyrinth, reached via a large spiral
staircase, and featuring dozens of chambers adorned with sculpted pillars, statues,
and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious symbols, burial niches, and
sarcophagi, as well as a large Roman-style banquet room, where memorial meals were
conducted by relatives of the deceased. The catacombs were long forgotten by the
citizens until they were discovered by accident in 1900.[42]

The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in Alexandria is

known as Kom El Deka. It has revealed the ancient city's well-preserved theater,
and the remains of its Roman-era baths.
Persistent efforts have been made to explore the antiquities of Alexandria.
Encouragement and help have been given by the local Archaeological Society, and by
many individuals, notably Greeks proud of a city which is one of the glories of
their national history. Excavations were performed in the city by Greeks seeking
the tomb of Alexander the Great without success. The past and present directors of
the museum have been enabled from time to time to carry out systematic excavations
whenever opportunity is offered; D. G. Hogarth made tentative researches on behalf
of the Egypt Exploration Fund and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
in 1895; and a German expedition worked for two years (1898–1899). But two
difficulties face the would-be excavator in Alexandria: lack of space for
excavation and the underwater location of some areas of interest.

Side view of The Temple of Taposiris Magna.

Since the great and growing modern city stands immediately over the ancient one, it
is almost impossible to find any considerable space in which to dig, except at
enormous cost. Cleopatra VII's royal quarters were inundated by earthquakes and
tsunami, leading to gradual subsidence in the 4th century AD.[43] This underwater
section, containing many of the most interesting sections of the Hellenistic city,
including the palace quarter, was explored in 1992 and is still being extensively
investigated by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team.[44]
It raised a noted head of Caesarion. These are being opened up to tourists, to some
controversy.[45] The spaces that are most open are the low grounds to northeast and
southwest, where it is practically impossible to get below the Roman strata.

The most important results were those achieved by Dr. G. Botti, late director of
the museum, in the neighborhood of "Pompey's Pillar", where there is a good deal of
open ground. Here, substructures of a large building or group of buildings have
been exposed, which are perhaps part of the Serapeum. Nearby, immense catacombs and
columbaria have been opened which may have been appendages of the temple. These
contain one very remarkable vault with curious painted reliefs, now artificially
lit and open to visitors.

The objects found in these researches are in the museum, the most notable being a
great basalt bull, probably once an object of cult in the Serapeum. Other catacombs
and tombs have been opened in Kom El Shoqafa (Roman) and Ras El Tin (painted).

The German excavation team found remains of a Ptolemaic colonnade and streets in
the north-east of the city, but little else. Hogarth explored part of an immense
brick structure under the mound of Kom El Deka, which may have been part of the
Paneum, the Mausolea, or a Roman fortress.

The making of the new foreshore led to the dredging up of remains of the
Patriarchal Church; and the foundations of modern buildings are seldom laid without
some objects of antiquity being discovered. The wealth underground is doubtlessly
immense; but despite all efforts, there is not much for antiquarians to see in
Alexandria outside the museum and the neighborhood of "Pompey's Pillar".

Temple of Taposiris Magna

The temple was built in the Ptolemy era and dedicated to Osiris, which finished the
construction of Alexandria. It is located in Abusir, the western suburb of
Alexandria in Borg el Arab city. Only the outer wall and the pylons remain from the
temple. There is evidence to prove that sacred animals were worshiped there.
Archaeologists found an animal necropolis near the temple. Remains of a Christian
church show that the temple was used as a church in later centuries. Also found in
the same area are remains of public baths built by the emperor Justinian, a
seawall, quays and a bridge. Near the beach side of the area, there are the remains
of a tower built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The tower was an exact scale replica
of the destroyed Alexandrine Pharos Lighthouse.[46]

Places of worship
Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Muslim mosques.[47] There are
also Christian churches and temples : Coptic Orthodox Church, Coptic Catholic
Church (Catholic Church), Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile) (World
Communion of Reformed Churches).

Places of worship in Alexandria

El-Mursi Abul Abbas Mosque

Latin Catholic church of Saint Catherine in Mansheya

Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue

Islam
See also: List of mosques in Alexandria
The most famous mosque in Alexandria is Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Bahary.
Other notable mosques in the city include Ali ibn Abi Talib mosque in Somouha,
Bilal mosque, al-Gamaa al-Bahari in Mandara, Hatem mosque in Somouha, Hoda el-Islam
mosque in Sidi Bishr, al-Mowasah mosque in Hadara, Sharq al-Madina mosque in Miami,
al-Shohadaa mosque in Mostafa Kamel, Al Qa'ed Ibrahim Mosque, Yehia mosque in
Zizinia, Sidi Gaber mosque in Sidi Gaber,sidi besher mosque, rokay el-Islam mosque
in elessway, elsadaka mosque in sidibesher qebly, Elshatbi mosque and Sultan
mosque.

Alexandria is the base of the Salafi movements in Egypt. Al-Nour Party, which is
based in the city and overwhelmingly won most of the Salafi votes in the 2011–12
parliamentary election, supports the president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.[5]

Christianity