The defenses at Qaitbay Citadel are some of the best in the Mediterranean. It starts on the eastern edge of Pharos Island’s northern tip and goes into Alexandria’s harbor. It was built in 1477 AD at Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-din Qa’it bay’s request to protect the country from the growing Ottoman Empire. It was built over two years by the Mameluke architect Qagmas Al-Eshaqy.
It was built on the site of “The Lighthouse of Alexandria,” one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that was destroyed by earthquakes between the 11th and 14th centuries. It was also an essential part of the city’s defense system in the 15th century A.D. Because of this, it holds a special place in history and is often considered essential.
Historical of Qaitbay:
Since it was built in 1517, when it was first used to store and ship weapons, the Quitbay fortress has been significant to the Ottoman Empire. It stayed this way for another three hundred years. During the French War of 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte became interested in the Citadel, and in the end, he came to rule the whole country, including the fortress. At the beginning of the 19th century, British naval gunfire had done a lot of damage to the walls of the Citadel. With Muhammad Ali’s help, the fortress could get cutting-edge weapons. This was the start of the Citadel’s “golden age.”
The Interior of Qaitbay Citadel:
The stones used to build the Qaitbay Citadel came from a vast abandoned lighthouse nearby, and they were put on a piece of land with three sides facing the Mediterranean Sea. The area looks like a peninsula because of where it is. It has three floors: a massive mosque on the first, an octagon with rooms, and passageways, a living area on the second, and a vast circular chamber with the king’s throne on the third.
Qaitbay citadel important:
Since it is Alexandria’s mcrucialtant fort, the Qaitbay Citadel has always been a top priority for Egypt’s kings and queens regarding defense. During the time of the Mamluks, Qansoh Al-Ghuri strengthened its defender and gave it guns and other tools.
After the Ottomans opened Egypt in 1517, this fort, now called Citadel, kept the country safe for the next three hundred years. In 1798, the French army finally took it. When Napoleon Bonaparte and his army of 50,000 attacked Alexandria, he was able to take the city and its stronghold.
Muhammad Ali, the ruler of Egypt in the 1800s, had the castle walls fixed as part of his efforts to strengthen the country’s defenses. This happened because the British naval ships bombarded the forts, making them useless.
