Qaitbay citadel witnesses large number of visitors during Eid’s second day

CAIRO – 22 August 2018: General Director of Islamic, Christian and Jewish antiquities in Alexandria, Mohammad Metwalli, said on Wednesday that Qaitbay citadel, Alexandria, witnessed a large number of visitors in the second day of Eid Al-Adha.

He added that that the number of visitors during the first day was relatively low; only 2,000 Egyptians visited the citadel since they most are used to spending the first day with their relatives.

Built in western Alexandria during the 14th century to defend the city from the advancing Ottoman Empire, the largest stone of the citadel forms the doorway of its entrance and is decorated with red granite.

Over time, the Citadel of Qaitbay served many military functions. Today, it houses a naval museum that makes the citadel worth visiting.

The citadel is surrounded by a peninsula that is always crowded with locals and tourists enjoying the sea view, restaurants and shops on the pier.