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Roots Earth in Alexandria: audio stories about 44 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 44 places in Alexandria, Egypt, in Africa. The Alexandria stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Alexandria, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 44 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: alexandria.md

The 44 places in Alexandria with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

  1. Citadel of Qaitbay
  2. Bibliotheca Alexandrina
  3. Pompey's Pillar
  4. Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa
  5. Kom El Deka Roman Theatre
  6. Montaza Palace
  7. Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque
  8. Alexandria National Museum
  9. Graeco-Roman Museum
  10. Stanley Bridge
  11. Ras El Tin Palace
  12. Royal Jewelry Museum
  13. Nabi Daniel Mosque
  14. Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral
  15. Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue
  16. Cavafy Museum
  17. Alexandria Opera House
  18. Cecil Hotel
  19. Palais d'Antoniadis
  20. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos site)
  21. Serapeum of Alexandria
  22. Shallalat Gardens
  23. Alexandria Corniche
  24. Saad Zaghloul Square
  25. Tahrir Square
  26. Alexandria Stadium
  27. Alexandria University
  28. Anfoushi
  29. Abu Qir
  30. Borg El Arab Stadium
  31. El Mansheya
  32. El Attarine
  33. Moharam Bek
  34. Smouha
  35. Sidi Gaber
  36. Stanley
  37. Sidi Bishr
  38. Miami
  39. Agami
  40. Karmouz
  41. Bacos
  42. Mahmoud Said Museum
  43. San Stefano
  44. El Max

Is there an audio guide for Citadel of Qaitbay?

Yes. Citadel of Qaitbay has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 44 Alexandria places in the app, at 31.214, 29.8852. Every one of the other 43 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Alexandria

Open Roots Earth and choose Alexandria. The city has its own map of places with all 44 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 44 places in Alexandria, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 44 places in Alexandria, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Citadel of Qaitbay

Coordinates
31.214, 29.8852
In one line
A honey-coloured Mamluk fortress guarding Alexandria's eastern harbour, built between 1477 and 1479 by Sultan Qaitbay on the ruins of the ancient Pharos Lighthouse, reusing its fallen stones. Today it holds a maritime museum.

2. Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Coordinates
31.20888889, 29.90916667
In one line
A vast tilted disc of glass and granite on the seafront, opened in 2002 and designed by the Norwegian firm Snøhetta. Conceived as a revival of the ancient Library of Alexandria, it holds a sweeping reading room beneath an angled roof.

3. Pompey's Pillar

Coordinates
31.1825, 29.89641667
In one line
A towering Roman column of red Aswan granite, raised around 298 of the common era to honour the emperor Diocletian, not Pompey, despite its misleading name. Standing nearly 27 metres tall at the ruined Serapeum, it is the largest ancient column in Egypt.

4. Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa

Coordinates
31.178558, 29.892954
In one line
An underground necropolis cut into rock in the 2nd century of the common era, the largest Roman burial site in Egypt. Rediscovered by accident in 1900, its chambers fuse Egyptian, Greek and Roman funerary art in startling combinations, reached by a spiral stair.

5. Kom El Deka Roman Theatre

Coordinates
31.196687, 29.90564
In one line
The only Roman theatre found in Egypt, a small marble-tiered odeon unearthed in central Alexandria from 1960 by Polish archaeologists. Set among baths, lecture halls and the mosaic-floored Villa of the Birds, it anchors the city's largest Greco-Roman excavation.

6. Montaza Palace

Coordinates
31.2886, 30.0159
In one line
A royal summer palace above the Mediterranean, blending Ottoman and Florentine styles beneath a tall Italian Renaissance tower. The Salamlek dates to 1892 under Khedive Abbas the Second; King Fuad the First added the grand Haramlik in 1932, ringed by vast gardens.

7. Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque

Coordinates
31.20555556, 29.88222222
In one line
Alexandria's grandest mosque, rebuilt between 1929 and 1945 to designs by Italian architect Mario Rossi in a Neo-Mamluk style. Its cream stone, soaring minaret and clustered domes rise over the 13th-century tomb of the Sufi saint Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi.

8. Alexandria National Museum

Coordinates
31.2011, 29.9132
In one line
Housed in a restored 1928 Italianate villa on Tariq Al-Horreya, this museum opened in 2003 and traces Alexandria from Pharaonic times to the modern age across three floors, including finds raised from the seabed.

9. Graeco-Roman Museum

Coordinates
31.199259, 29.906872
In one line
Founded in 1892 and reopened in 2023 after long renovation, this neoclassical museum gathers more than 40,000 objects from Alexandria's Hellenistic and Roman past, from Tanagra figurines to mosaics and sculptures of the god Serapis.

10. Stanley Bridge

Coordinates
31.234307, 29.946485
In one line
Opened in 2001 over the curving bay at Stanley, this 400-meter seafront bridge carries the Corniche on six graceful spans framed by towers, and has become a beloved modern emblem of Alexandria's Mediterranean shore.

11. Ras El Tin Palace

Coordinates
31.19919444, 29.86863889
In one line
Built under Muhammad Ali Pasha between 1834 and 1848, this grand harbourside palace was where King Farouk signed his abdication in 1952. It now serves as a presidential residence, viewed from outside.

12. Royal Jewelry Museum

Coordinates
31.2407, 29.963
In one line
Set in a 1919 villa once owned by Princess Fatma al-Zahraa and opened as a museum in 1986, this Alexandria gem displays the dazzling jewels of Egypt's Muhammad Ali dynasty amid stained glass and painted ceilings.

13. Nabi Daniel Mosque

Coordinates
31.19482, 29.90183
In one line
Built at the end of the 18th century and restored by Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1823, this Neo-Mamluk mosque holds revered tombs in its crypt and is long, if unproven, rumored to stand near the lost tomb of Alexander the Great.

14. Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral

Coordinates
31.19829, 29.899403
In one line
Standing on a site linked to Saint Mark the Evangelist, with its present basilica built between 1950 and 1952, this cathedral is the historic seat of the Coptic Pope and holds relics of the saint who brought Christianity to Egypt.

15. Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue

Coordinates
31.19888889, 29.90027778
In one line
A grand synagogue on Nabi Daniel Street, rebuilt in 1850 in marble and neoclassical splendor. Once the heart of Alexandria's vast Jewish community, it was restored and rededicated in 2020.

16. Cavafy Museum

Coordinates
31.197582, 29.90128
In one line
The Alexandria apartment where Greek poet Constantine Cavafy lived and died, opened to the public as a museum in 1992. It preserves his rooms, books, portraits, and manuscripts on the street that now bears his name.

17. Alexandria Opera House

Coordinates
31.19666667, 29.90138889
In one line
Alexandria's historic opera house, built in 1918 and inaugurated in 1921 as the Teatro Mohamed Ali. Seating around 1,200, it was later renamed the Sayed Darwish Theatre for the city's beloved composer.

18. Cecil Hotel

Coordinates
31.2008, 29.8984
In one line
A storied seafront hotel on Saad Zaghloul Square, opened in 1929 by the Metzger family. Its 82 rooms hosted Winston Churchill, Somerset Maugham, and wartime intrigue, and it features in Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet.

19. Palais d'Antoniadis

Coordinates
31.20222222, 29.95083333
In one line
A 19th-century villa and formal garden built for the Greek magnate Sir John Antoniadis, modelled on Versailles. Donated to the city in 1918, its grounds hosted the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty ceremony and remain part of Alexandria's great public gardens.

20. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos site)

Coordinates
31.2148, 29.886
In one line
The site of the ancient Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

21. Serapeum of Alexandria

Coordinates
31.1825, 29.8964
In one line
The ruins of the great temple of Serapis, built under Ptolemy the Third in the 3rd century BCE. It held a daughter library of the famous Library of Alexandria and was destroyed in 391 CE. Pompey's Pillar still towers over the site.

22. Shallalat Gardens

Coordinates
31.20305556, 29.91388889
In one line
Shallalat Gardens is a leafy public park in the Al Shatby quarter of Alexandria, named for its waterfalls. Among its lakes and trees stand surviving fragments of the city's ancient and medieval defensive walls.

23. Alexandria Corniche

Coordinates
31.2065, 29.899
In one line
The Alexandria Corniche is the city's grand seafront boulevard, opened in 1935. Curving for more than ten miles along the Mediterranean, it links the old harbor with Montaza and remains the social spine of Alexandria.

24. Saad Zaghloul Square

Coordinates
31.2005, 29.8987
In one line
Saad Zaghloul Square is downtown Alexandria's seafront heart, near Raml Station. A bronze statue of nationalist leader Saad Zaghloul, unveiled in 1938, presides over a plaza ringed by historic hotels and cafes.

25. Tahrir Square

Coordinates
31.2007, 29.8957
In one line
Tahrir Square, long known as Mansheya and once the Place des Consuls, is a historic public square in Alexandria. At its center stands the equestrian statue of Muhammad Ali, unveiled in 1873.

26. Alexandria Stadium

Coordinates
31.197096, 29.913239
In one line
Alexandria Stadium, opened in 1929, is the oldest stadium in Egypt and Africa. Designed with Islamic flourishes, it hosted the first Mediterranean Games in 1951 and remains a home for the city's football clubs.

27. Alexandria University

Coordinates
31.20194444, 29.90527778
In one line
Alexandria University, founded in 1938 and once named for King Farouk, is among Egypt's leading public universities. Its faculties spread across the city, and its alumni include Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail.

28. Anfoushi

Coordinates
31.2025, 29.8785
In one line
Anfoushi is one of Alexandria's oldest neighborhoods, set on the former Pharos peninsula. Beneath its busy streets lie the Anfushi tombs, a Ptolemaic era necropolis discovered in 1901, where Egyptian and Greek art blend.

29. Abu Qir

Coordinates
31.3167, 30.0667
In one line
A fishing town and bay northeast of Alexandria, famous for the 1798 naval Battle of the Nile, for sunken ancient cities beneath its waters, and for some of Egypt's finest grilled seafood.

30. Borg El Arab Stadium

Coordinates
30.99762222, 29.72325278
In one line
Egypt's second-largest modern football arena, opened in 2007 west of Alexandria. Built by the Armed Forces with a capacity of 86,000, it is a home ground of the national team and a giant of African sport.

31. El Mansheya

Coordinates
31.198, 29.8945
In one line
Alexandria's grand commercial heart, a 19th-century square once called Place des Consuls. Anchored by the equestrian Muhammad Ali statue, it is a district of banks, traders, and busy street life near the seafront.

32. El Attarine

Coordinates
31.1965, 29.9035
In one line
A maze of lanes near Mansheya famous for antiques and furniture. Once the spice traders' quarter, El Attarine now sells old European pieces, brass, and curiosities, gathered around its historic mosque.

33. Moharam Bek

Coordinates
31.191658, 29.911773
In one line
A central Alexandria district named for an Ottoman-era naval commander and governor. A mixed residential and working quarter, it is known for the Alexandria Stadium and its classic old facades.

34. Smouha

Coordinates
31.218307, 29.943652
In one line
An upscale Alexandria district built on a drained marsh in the 1920s by businessman Joseph Smouha. Planned as a garden suburb, it is now a leafy residential and commercial quarter home to Smouha Sporting Club.

35. Sidi Gaber

Coordinates
31.221169, 29.938073
In one line
A busy Alexandria district named for a medieval Moroccan Sufi saint. Home to a historic railway station, the main rail gateway to the city, plus a mosque, tram lines, and constant commuter life.

36. Stanley

Coordinates
31.234307, 29.946485
In one line
Stanley is a seafront neighborhood in eastern Alexandria built around a curved bay. Its tiered beach cabins climb the slopes, and the arched Stanley Bridge, opened in 2001, carries the Corniche across the water.

37. Sidi Bishr

Coordinates
31.252066, 29.994464
In one line
Sidi Bishr is a large seaside neighborhood in eastern Alexandria named for a medieval Sufi saint whose shrine stands here. Its three sheltered beaches grew into a beloved summering district once the Corniche reached the area.

38. Miami

Coordinates
31.267694, 29.995365
In one line
Miami is a lively beachfront district in eastern Alexandria, borrowing its name from the Florida city. Part of the Montaza area near Sidi Bishr, it draws summer crowds to its sands, restaurants, and shops.

39. Agami

Coordinates
31.095866, 29.760389
In one line
Agami is a coastal resort district approximately 20 kilometers west of central Alexandria, famous for its turquoise waters. Once an elite retreat, it now draws middle-class Egyptians to beaches such as Bitash and Hannoville.

40. Karmouz

Coordinates
31.1855, 29.8985
In one line
Karmouz is a working district of inland Alexandria built around Pompey's Pillar, a 27-meter red granite column raised about 298 for Emperor Diocletian on the ruins of the ancient Serapeum.

41. Bacos

Coordinates
31.227, 29.943
In one line
Bacos is a dense inland neighborhood in eastern Alexandria, named for the god Bacchus and known for its busy street markets. Egypt's future president Gamal Abdel Nasser was born here in 1918.

42. Mahmoud Said Museum

Coordinates
31.2233, 29.9512
In one line
The Mahmoud Said Museum occupies the family villa of painter Mahmoud Said in the Gianaclis district of Alexandria. A judge turned artist, Said lived from 1897 to 1964 and is regarded as a pioneer of modern Egyptian painting.

43. San Stefano

Coordinates
31.2425, 29.9645
In one line
San Stefano is a seaside district in eastern Alexandria, once home to a grand 19th-century hotel and casino at the end of the tram lines, now anchored by a towering hotel-and-mall complex on the Mediterranean shore.

44. El Max

Coordinates
31.158, 29.835
In one line
El Max is a fishing community in western Alexandria, strung along the Mahmoudiyah Canal, where brightly painted houses and crowded wooden boats earned it the affectionate nickname the Venice of Egypt.

Roots Earth in short

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