Qauit Bay Citadel

It was built by Sultan Qaytbay (1468 – 1496 AD) on the ruins of the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria. This castle is considered one of the most beautiful Islamic military strongholds in the Mediterranean basin, and he built it to repel a possible invasion by the Ottoman Turks, with an area of ​​17550 square meters.

The castle’s layout is octagonal and has a tower on the northern side, which is square in shape. Each corner ends with a small, round-shaped tower that ends at the top with a balcony and includes rooms. In the walls of the tower, there are openings for throwing arrows. Historian Ibn Iyas mentions that there was a seat in the northern tower overlooking the sea where whoever seated could see the boats on A day’s march before entering the port

Inside the castle, there is a mosque whose importance is due to the fact that from an architectural point of view it is one of the oldest known mosques in Alexandria and has an area of ​​30 square meters

The castle includes crops for soldiers, a bakery, a kitchen, and a mill. The castle was neglected during the Ottoman era and was restored during the reign of Muhammad Ali, but it was destroyed in 1882 and recently restored by the Supreme Council of Antiquities.