Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria, Egypt “Qaitbay Fort” | facts, history, entrance fee, why the Ottomans cared about it, and more
The history of the establishment of the most important Islamic monuments, facts you did not know before, how much the ticket for Qaitbay Castle, why the Ottomans cared about it, and more.
Qaitbay Castle in Alexandria is one of the famous historical castles; Given the events that have been through, so we show you below a set of information that you should know about the castle, such as when it was built and who ordered it.
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Where is Qaitbay Citadel located?
The castle is located at the end of an island called Pharos, in the far west of Alexandria.
Who owns Qaitbay Castle?
Sultan Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Nasr Qaytbay is the one who ordered the construction of the fortress.
When did the construction of the castle start and when did it end?
The construction of the castle began in the year 882 AH, and construction was completed in the year 884.
What is the reason behind building Qaitbay Citadel?
Egypt was facing many direct threats to it from the Ottoman Empire, so the Sultan was interested in building a fortified fortress that would protect Egypt.
Description of Qaitbay Citadel
• The castle was built on the ruins of the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria, which was destroyed in the year 702 AD as a result of being affected by a devastating earthquake.
• Sultan Qaytbay visited in the year 882 AH and went to the site of the lighthouse, and ordered the soldiers to build the castle on the basis of the tower, which was called Tabiya Qaitbay.
• The construction of the tower was completed within only two years from the date of commencement of construction.
• Some of the old stones were used for the lighthouse, some of which date back to the ruins of the Pharaonic cities, including Memphis and Thebes.
• But then another order was issued by the Sultan to build the Qaitbay Citadel in order to be able to confront the threats and protect Egypt.
• The castle is square in shape with an area of 150 x 130 meters.
• The castle surrounds the sea on three sides.
• The castle contains surrounding walls, in addition to a main tower located in the northwest.
• The castle has a wall inside, which includes the soldiers’ barracks in addition to the weapons stores. A comprehensive external wall includes the four sides of the castle and defensive towers.
• There is a wall located in the east and contains a set of openings, especially for the possibility of defense against enemies and the protection of soldiers.
• The main tower of the castle comes in the inner courtyard and takes the form of a castle, meaning the tower is square in shape, with a side length of 30 meters and a height of 17 meters.
• The castle consists of three square floors, and in the corner of each tower there is a circle text that ends with prominent balconies.
• The main tower is designed with holes so that soldiers can shoot arrows.
• On the first floor there is the Castle Mosque, which is a component of the Castle Mosque. This mosque contains a courtyard and defensive corridors for the passage of soldiers.
• The second floor also contains corridors and internal rooms in addition to halls.
• On the third floor comes Sultan Qaytbay’s seat so that he can see the ships.
The interest of the sultans in the castle throughout the ages
• In the Mamluk era, Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghouri was one of the sultans who cared about the castle, even working to provide it with weapons and equipment.
• When the Ottomans conquered Egypt, they used the castle as a center for their protection, so that they made a large group of knights, artillery and garrisons in it.
• When Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt ruled, he ordered the fortification of Egypt in an impregnable manner. He even ordered the army to renew the castle walls, so that it developed a defense.
• In the aftermath of the Ahmed Orabi revolution in 1882 AD, the castle was vandalized until some cracks occurred in it, but in 1904 AD the Committee for the Preservation of Arab Antiquities ordered that it be re-repaired.
The Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria
The date and history of the establishment of the most important Islamic monuments in Alexandria, Egypt. Information and details about the citadel, visit dates, ticket price to enter, how to reach it and more to start your journey to Tourist Attractions in Alexandria Egypt.
The archaeological attractions the most important archaeological, Tourist Attractions in Alexandria and cultural sites that represent the heritage in Egypt and tourism in Alexandria.
The citadel was built in 1480 AD, 884 AD, to defend Egypt from attack by the Ottoman Turks, and Governor Mohammad Ali Pasha renovated the citadel between 1805 and 1848 AD, and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities was interested in restoring the citadel more than once with the same type of stones used in construction, especially after the destruction of part of it during the War of 1882 to repel the English fleet that successfully completed the operation of the English occupation of Egypt
The most important Tourist Attractions in Alexandria places and archaeological sites of Alexandria in addition to knowing the price of the entrance ticket to the citadel and the dates of visit and more for everything you want to know when you visit the archaeological place and visit the Library of Alexandria from the inside
Located west of Alexandria, a smaller version of the famous Qaitbay Fort, which was the first to face the French Expedition against Egypt in the late 18th century, was built by the honorable Mamluk Sultan Abu al-Nasr Seif Eldine Qaitbay.
About the establishment of the citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria
The citadel is surrounded by the sea from 3 Sides. the citadel includes a main tower on the northwest side, as well as weapons storage areas and soldiers’ provisions and an outer fence containing defense towers and defense openings in the east wall of the citadel.
The citadel is designed in a square form of 130 meters by 150 meters, with a coastline length of 30 meters high and 17 meters high and built on 3 floors in the same square form.
On the first floor you will see a mosque, which is a central room (Sahn) and 4 wings (iwans) in addition to the corridors for soldiers, there was a minaret, but it was destroyed.
When you climb to the second floor of the Qaitbay Citadel, you will find corridors, private rooms inside and meeting rooms, and then on the third floor we find the main hall containing the seat of Sultan Qaitbay, where Sultan Qaitbay sat on the chair to see the warships a full day of sailing to Alexandria.
On the third floor you will find the kitchen and ovens and a mill for preparing meals for the soldiers and the sultan.
Many eras passed through the citadel of Qaitbay, such as the Mamluk period during the reign of Sultan Qonsoa al-Ghouri, and then the Ottoman era, where it was used to defend northern Egypt.
But with the weakness of the Ottoman Empire, the French Expedition commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte took over the entire citadel in 1798 and was the gateway to the French campaign to colonize Egypt, and Sultan Mohammad Ali Pasha restored the castle in the 19th century.
In 1882, the British occupation of Egypt destroyed large parts of the citadel, and in 1904 the cracks were restored under the supervision of the Egyptian Committee for the Conservation of Antiquities of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Culture.
The Citadel of Qaitbay is Alexandria’s most famous monument in history, a limestone citadel, just by the sea built on the ancient site of the lighthouse of Alexandria at the eastern end of the island of Pharos in the late Mamluk state.
Before being redeveloped and improved by Mohammad Ali Pasha it was brought back to life, after being destroyed by the British during their invasion of Egypt at the end of the 19th century.
When the Ottomans conquered Egypt, they used this citadel as a place to defend themselves, took care to preserve it, and made sure that there were groups of infantry soldiers, knights, artillery and various garrisons to defend it, and then defend the gate of Egypt on the north coast.
What do you see during your visit?
The citadel of Qaitbay overlooks the city and the Mediterranean Sea, which allows you to take a wonderful collection of photos, and you can see inside the citadel several Mamluk monuments.
From the inside, the citadel of Qaitbay takes the form of a square with an area of 150 m × 130 m surrounded by the sea on three sides. This citadel has walls and the main tower. The walls are divided into an inner wall and an outer wall.
The inner fence includes soldier barracks and weapons depots, and in the outer wall, defensive towers rising to the fence level are visible on all four sides, except for the east wall, which includes defensive openings for soldiers. The main tower in the inner courtyard takes the form of a large square castle 30 meters long and 17 meters high.
When you visit Qaitbay Castle, you can discover three floors at the four corners of the tower, with semicircular towers ending at the top with prominent balconies with dart openings on two levels.
The first floor of the main castle is the citadel mosque, which consists of a flat, four iwans and defensive corridors that allow soldiers to pass easily during the defense operations of the castle.
The second floor contains corridors, and private bathrooms, and the third floor, which represents a large room (Sultan Qait Bai Seat) sits there to see the ships coming from Alexandria in a day of sailing covered by a cross vault.
Address of the citadel of Qaitbay in the governorate of Alexandria
The citadel of Qaitbay is in the western corner of the city of Alexandria, located in the al-Anfoushi district of the province, and can be visited via the Google map.
Entrance ticket prices
The price of tickets is 20 pounds per person, for Egyptians and Arabs and 5 Egyptian pounds for an Egyptian student.
The price of an entrance ticket for foreigners is 60 Egyptian pounds and international students only pay 30 Egyptian pounds.
Qaitbay Citadel Visit Dates
Tours of Qaitbay Citadel start daily from 9:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Times to visit the Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria
Entry to the castle is available on all days of the week from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Entrance ticket price
The price of the entry ticket is 60 pounds for an Egyptian adult and 30 pounds for an Egyptian student.
Qaitbay Citadel address
Al-Sayala east of the customs department – Alexandria – Egypt.
