Alexandria: Past, Present and Future (New Horizons) - Softcover

Created 2,300 years ago at the wish of Alexander the Great, Alexandria is still the largest city in the Mediterranean world. It evokes a succession of images - the Tomb of Alexander, the Pharos, the Library, Antony and Cleopatra, Cavafy and Durrell, all reminders of its magnificence and cultural influence. Over the centuries it has known many setbacks. In 1820, with the advent of Mohammed Ali, it began to reawaken, and became a model of cosmopolitanism of which many still regret the passing. Today, with the building of the great new library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the city is again looking to the future.

Jean-Yves Empereur, an archaeologist and former director of the French school in Athens, lives in Alexandria. He founded the Centre for Alexandrian Studies in 1990, and has been active in numerous excavations, most notably those of the Pharos, the ruins of Fort Qaitby, and the Necropolis.