Alexandria was an urban center that gave rise to the Egyptian kingdom of the Ptolemies. It was founded in 332 BC. by the Macedonian Alexander the Great and in a short time it became one of the largest cities in the Greek world. On the breakwater of the Mediterranean Sea, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was built, 135 meters high, divided into three parts where the first was square, the middle had eight faces and the upper was cylindrical. It was surrounded by a snail-shaped ramp that reached the top where there was a statue of the god Helios, the sun god. The lighthouse is considered one of the wonders of the ancient world.
The city was the main maritime base in the Mediterranean, as it housed large vessels and allowed the city to export its production throughout the country. . It became the capital of Egypt and great palaces, public institutions, museums, libraries and temples were built there.
In the 7th century, the city's library was burned down, losing about 700,000 papyrus rolls containing works from antiquity. In 1375, the lighthouse was destroyed by a terrible earthquake. In 1994, archaeologists dived under Alexandria and discovered the remains of ships and buildings from that era. Today, the city is threatened by erosion caused by rising seas.