The Citadel of Qaitbay
The Citadel is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbour on the eastern point of the Pharos Island. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria.
About 1480 A.D, the Mameluke Sultan Al Ashraf Qaitbay fortified the place as part of his coastal defensive edifices against the Turks, who were threatening Egypt at that time. He built the castle and placed a Mosque inside it. The Citadel continued to function during most of the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period and the Modern period, but after the British bombardment of the city of Alexandria in 1883, it was kept out of the spotlight. It became neglected until the twentieth century when it was restored several times by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The founder of the Citadel of Qaitbay is Sultan Al Ashraf Abou Anasr Saif El Din Qaitbay El Jerkasy Al Zahiry (1468-1496 A.D) who was born about 1423 A.D (826 hijri). He was a Mamluke who had come to Egypt as a young man, less than 20 years old. Bought by Al Ashraf Bersbay, he remained among his attendants until Al Ashraf Bersbay died. Then the Sultan Djaqmaq bought Qaitbay, and later gave him his freedom. Qaitbay then went on to occupy various posts. He became the Chief of the Army (Atabec Al-Askar) during the rule of the Sultan Tamar bugha. When the Sultan was dethroned, Qaitbay was appointed as a Sultan who was titled Al Malek Al Ashraf on Monday 26th Ragab, 872 hijri (1468 A.D). He was one of the most important and prominent Mameluke Sultans, ruling for about 29 years.
In 882 hijri (1477 A.D), Sultan Qaitbay visited the site of the old lighthouse in Alexandria and ordered a fortress to be built on its foundations. The construction lasted about 2 years, and it is said that Qaitbay spent more than a hundred thousand Dinars for the work on the Citadel.
The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast.
Throughout the Mameluke period, and due to its strategic location, the Citadel was well maintained by all the rulers who came after Qaitbay; Sultan Qansoh El Ghoury gave the Citadel special attention. He visited it several times and increased the strength of the garrison, providing it with various weapons and equipment. It included a large prison made for the princes and the state-men whom the Sultan kept away from his favour for some reason. In the episodes of the year 920 hijri, Sultan El Ghoury travelled to Alexandria with other princes. They went to the Citadel of Qaitbay where he watched some manoeuvres and military training on the defensive weapons of the Citadel of that era. When he felt the approach of the Ottoman threat, he issued a military decree to forbid weapons to be taken out of the Citadel, he even announced that the death penalty would be the punishment to those who try to steal anything from the Citadel, and he ordered the inscription of this decree on a marble slate fixed to the door leading the court.
After the Ottoman Turks had conquered Egypt, they also cared for this unique Citadel. They used it for shelter, as they had done with the Citadel of Saladin in Cairo and the Citadels of Damieta, Rosetta, Al Borollos and El Arish. They kept it in good condition and stationed it with infantry, artillery, a company of drummers and trumpeters, masons and carpenters.
When Mohammed Ali became the ruler of Egypt in 1805, he renovated the old Citadel, restored and repaired its outer ramparts, and he provided the stronghold with the most modern weapons of the period, particularly the littoral cannons. We can consider the reign of Mohamed Ali as being another golden era for the Citadel.
The Citadel retained the interest of Mohammed Ali's successors until the year 1882 when the Orabi revolution took place The British fleet bombarded Alexandria violently on 11 July 1882 and damaged a large part of the city, especially in the area of the Citadel. This attack cracked the fortress, causing great damage. The north and western facades were severely damaged as a result of cannon explosions, aimed directly at the structure. The western facade was completely destroyed, leaving large gaps in it.
The Architecture of the Citadel
The fortress consists of three main parts, the huge walls that surround the entire complex, an inner wall and the main tower which was built actually on the site of the Pharos Lighthouse.
The main tower itself was built between the years 1477 and 1480, at a cost of 100,000 Dinars, on an old island called Pharos, so named because this was the location of the famous Pharos lighthouse. The outer walls were built by Sultan el Ghouri sometime after he took office as Sultan. It is believed that at least some of the material for the fortress came from that ruined structure, particularly some huge red-granite pillars in the northwest section. At the time, it was built as a defense against the Ottoman empire, with whom the Mamluks had a shaky relationship at the time.
This entrance to the fort, along with the outer walls, were actually built during the reign of Sultan al Ghoury (1501-1516). Above the entrance hall there is a sign from that same reign, giving his full name as King Al Ashraf Abu Al Naser Qonsowa El Ghoury, and states that anyone who takes any weapons, equipment or soldiers as slaves from the main tower of the fort will be hanged on the entrance and be damned by God forever. The actual door of the fort was built during the English occupation of Egypt and is made of wood. The archway surrounding it is of granite, as are some other elements within the structure. However, the main building material of the walls is limestone. Above the doorway there is a spillway for hot oil to be poured down upon would be attackers.
The huge walls of the fortress enclose about two acres of land, surrounding the tower on all four sides. The eastern side of the wall has no protective towers or balcony. The western wing of the wall has three guard towers for archers, as does the southern side. On the southern wall in the middle is a section where a door leads to the main entrance. The north side of the wall is the one facing the sea, and it has square shaped windows that held canons and catapults. Along the top was a balcony for archers
