What is Alexandria?
{{about|the city in Egypt}} [[File:Alexandria 12-9-2005 3.JPG|right|thumb|upright=1.3|Alexandria harbour, looking south from the [[Mediterranean Sea]], along the curved coastline.]] [[File:San Stefano Grand Plaza.JPG|right|thumb|upright=1.3|San Stefano Plaza, Alexandria]] [[Image:Flag of Alexandria.svg|right|250px]] [[Image:Coat of Arms - Alexandria, Egypt.svg|right|90px]] '''Alexandria''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic]]: الإسكندرية) is the second largest [[city]] in [[Egypt]]. It was founded by [[Alexander the Great]] in 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια (''Alexandria''). It is on the [[Mediterranean Sea]], only 225&nbsp;km (140 miles) northwest of [[Cairo]]. Alexandria has 3.8 million people. It is the main port of Egypt. It has two [[airport]]s and three big [[stadia]]: Alexandria stadium, Harras el hadoud stadium and Borg el-Arab stadium in the Borg el-Arab industrial city. The fourth [[Wikimania]] was hosted in this city in [[2008]].<ref name=NYT-Egypt>Noam Cohen, [http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/wikipedia-goes-to-alexandria-home-of-other-great-reference-works/ Wikipedia Goes to Alexandria, Home of Other Great Reference Works], New York Times, July 17, 2008.</ref> == History == Alexandria, named after [[Alexander the Great]], was founded around 331 BC. For nearly 300 years, it was the [[capital (city)|capital]] of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] in Egypt. Some famous [[ancient Greek]] [[scientist]]s, such as [[Euclid of Alexandria]] and [[Eratosthenes]], lived there or studied there. It was home to the largest library in the ancient [[Western world]], the [[Library of Alexandria]]. It was a wealthy city in its heyday, and remained the main way Egyptian grain went by sea to [[Ancient Rome]]. Rome depended greatly on Egyptian grain. Much of Alexandria sank below the sea in the [[4th century]]. Some of her history is in the Mediterranean. After the [[Muslim]] conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, they did not want to have their capital at Alexandria, because it was too vulnerable to naval raids. They made a new capital, much f