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Alexandria

Alexandria (الإسكندرية; Ἀλεξάνδρεια, Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟϯ - Rakoti or ⲁⲗⲉⲝⲁⲛⲇⲣⲓⲁ) is the second largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile River delta. Founded in c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, eventually replacing Memphis, in present-day Greater Cairo, as Egypt's capital. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" internationally, Alexandria is a popular tourist destination and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.

The city extends about 40 km along the northern coast of Egypt and is the largest city on the Mediterranean, the second-largest in Egypt (after Cairo), the  fourth-largest city in the Arab world, the ninth-largest city in Africa, and the ninth-largest urban area in Africa.

The city was founded originally in the vicinity of an Egyptian settlement named Rhacotis (that became the Egyptian quarter of the city). Alexandria grew rapidly, becoming a major centre of Hellenic civilization and replacing Memphis as Egypt's capital during the reign of the Ptolemaic pharaohs who succeeded Alexander. It retained this status for almost a millennium, through the period of Roman and Eastern Roman rule until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo).

Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its Great Library, the largest in the ancient world; and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural centre of the ancient Mediterranean for much of the Hellenistic age and late antiquity. It was at one time the largest city in the ancient world before being eventually overtaken by Rome.

The city was a major centre of early Christianity and was the centre of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, which was one of the major centres of Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the modern world, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria both lay claim to this ancient heritage. By 641, the city had already been largely plundered and lost its significance before re-emerging in the modern era. From the late 18th century, Alexandria became a major centre of the international shipping industry and one of the most important trading centres in the world, both because it profited from the easy overland connection between the Mediterranean and Red Seas and the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton.

Name
Alexandria was located on the earlier Egyptian settlement, which was called Rhacotis (Ῥακῶτις), the Hellenised form of Egyptian r-ꜥ-qd(y)t. As one of many settlements founded by Alexander the Great, the city he founded on Rhacotis was called (Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον), which some sources translated as "Alexandria by Egypt", as the city was, at that time, in the periphery of Egypt proper (the area beside the Nile). Some of the Alexandrian and Greek populaces, e.g., Hypsicles, also referred to the city as (Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ πρός Αἴγυπτον, "Alexandria near Egypt"). In the course of Roman rule in Egypt, the city's name was Latinised as Alexandrēa ad Aegyptum.

After the capture of Alexandria by the Rashiduns in AD 641, the name was Arabicised: initial Al- was re-analysed into the definite article; metathesis occurred on x, from to ; and the suffix -eia was assimilated into the feminine adjectival suffix -iyya (ـِيَّة).

Ancient era
Radiocarbon dating of seashell fragments and lead contamination show human activity at the location during the period of the Old Kingdom (27th–21st centuries BC) and again in the period 1000–800 BC, followed by the absence of activity after that. From ancient sources it is known there existed a trading post at this location during the time of Rameses the Great for trade with Crete, but it had long been lost by the time of Alexander's arrival. A small Egyptian fishing village named Rhakotis (Egyptian:, 'That which is built up') existed since the 13th century BC in the vicinity and eventually grew into the Egyptian quarter of the city. Just east of Alexandria (where Abu Qir Bay is now), there were in ancient times marshland and several islands. As early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion. The latter was recently rediscovered underwater. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια, as one of his many city foundations. After he captured the Egyptian Satrapy from the Persians, Alexander wanted to build a large Greek city on Egypt's coast that would bear his name. He chose the site of Alexandria, envisioning the building of a causeway to the nearby island of Pharos that would generate two great natural harbours. Alexandria was intended to supersede the older Greek colony of Naucratis as a Hellenistic centre in Egypt and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to the city during his life.

After Alexander's departure, his viceroy Cleomenes continued the expansion. The architect Dinocrates of Rhodes designed the city, using a Hippodamian grid plan. Following Alexander's death in 323 BC, his general Ptolemy Lagides took possession of Egypt and brought Alexander's body to Egypt with him. Ptolemy at first ruled from the old Egyptian capital of Memphis. In 322/321 BC he had Cleomenes executed. Finally, in 305 BC, Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh as Ptolemy I Soter ("Savior") and moved his capital to Alexandria.

Although Cleomenes was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandria's early development, the and the mainland quarters seem to have been primarily Ptolemaic work. Inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the centre of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In one century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and, for some centuries more, was second only to Rome. It became Egypt's main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds.

The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh, was produced there. The early Ptolemies kept it in order and fostered the development of its museum into the leading Hellenistic centre of learning (Library of Alexandria, which faced destruction during Caesar's siege of Alexandria in 47 BC), but were careful to maintain the distinction of its population's three largest ethnicities: Greek, Egyptian and Jewish. By the time of Augustus, the city grid encompassed an area of 10 km2, and the total population during the Roman principate was around 500,000–600,000, which would wax and wane in the course of the next four centuries under Roman rule.

According to Philo of Alexandria, in the year 38 AD, disturbances erupted between Jews and Greek citizens of Alexandria during a visit paid by King Agrippa I to Alexandria, principally over the respect paid by the Herodian nation to the Roman emperor, which quickly escalated to open affronts and violence between the two ethnic groups and the desecration of Alexandrian synagogues. This event has been called the Alexandrian pogroms. The violence was quelled after Caligula intervened and had the Roman governor, Flaccus, removed from the city.

In 115 AD, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War, which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. In 215 AD, the emperor Caracalla visited the city and, because of some insulting satires that the inhabitants had directed at him, abruptly commanded his troops to put to death all youths capable of bearing arms. On 21 July 365 AD, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami (365 Crete earthquake), an event annually commemorated years later as a "day of horror".

Islamic era
In 619, Alexandria fell to the Sassanid Persians. The city was mostly uninjured by the conquest and a new palace called Tarawus was erected in the eastern part of the city, later known as Qasr Faris, "fort of the Persians". Although the Byzantine emperor Heraclius recovered it in 629, in 641 the Arabs under the general 'Amr ibn al-'As invaded it during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, after a siege that lasted 14 months. The first Arab governor of Egypt recorded to have visited Alexandria was Utba ibn Abi Sufyan, who strengthened the Arab presence and built a governor's palace in the city in 664–665.

In reference to Alexandria, Ibn Battuta speaks of a number of Muslim saints that resided in the city. One such saint was Imam Borhan Oddin El Aaraj, who was said to perform miracles. Another notable figure was Yaqut al-'Arshi, a disciple of Abu Abbas El Mursi. Ibn Battuta also writes about Abu 'Abdallah al-Murshidi, a saint that lived in the Minyat of Ibn Murshed. Although al-Murshidi lived in seclusion, Ibn Battuta writes that he was regularly visited by crowds, high state officials, and even by the Sultan of Egypt at the time, al-Nasir Muhammad. Ibn Battuta also visited the Pharos lighthouse on two occasions: in 1326 he found it to be partly in ruins and in 1349 it had deteriorated to the point that it was no longer possible to enter. During the Middle Ages, the Mamluk Sultanate provided amenities for European merchants to stay in the port cities of Alexandria and Damietta, so hotels were built and placed at the merchants' disposal so that they could live according to the pattern they were accustomed to in their country. Alexandria lost much of its importance in international trade after Portuguese navigators discovered a new sea route to India in the late 15th century. This reduced the amount of goods that needed to be transported through the Alexandrian port, as well as the Mamluks' political power. After the Battle of Ridaniya in 1517, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and remained under Ottoman rule until 1798. Alexandria lost much of its former importance to the Egyptian port city of Rosetta during the 9th to 18th centuries, and it only regained its former prominence with the construction of the Mahmoudiyah Canal in 1820.

Alexandria figured prominently in the military operations of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798. French troops stormed the city on 2 July 1798, and it remained in their hands until the arrival of a British expedition in 1801. The British won a considerable victory over the French at the Battle of Alexandria on 21 March 1801, following which they besieged the city, which fell to them on 2 September 1801. Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman governor of Egypt, began rebuilding and redevelopment around 1810 and, by 1850, Alexandria had returned to something akin to its former glory. Egypt turned to Europe in their effort to modernise the country. Greeks, followed by other Europeans and others, began moving to the city. In the early 20th century, the city became a home for novelists and poets. In July 1882, the city came under bombardment from British naval forces and was occupied.

In July 1954, the city was a target of an Israeli bombing campaign that later became known as the Lavon Affair. On 26 October 1954, Alexandria's Mansheya Square was the site of a failed assassination attempt on Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Europeans began leaving Alexandria following the 1956 Suez Crisis that led to an outburst of Arab nationalism. The nationalisation of property by Nasser, which reached its highest point in 1961, drove out nearly all the rest.

Geography
Alexandria is located in the country of Egypt, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. It is in the Far West Nile delta area. Its a densely populated city, its core areas belie its large administrative area.

Notes: 2020 CAPMAS projection based on 2017 revised census figures, may differ significantly from 2017 census preliminary tabulations. The 14 kisms were reported simply as Alexandria city by CAPMAS in 2006 but given explosive growth definitions, likely informal, may have changed or may be set to change. Same area with 12 kisms existed in 1996. Kisms are considered 'fully urbanised'

Climate
Alexandria has a hot steppe climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh), formerly hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh). Like the rest of Egypt's northern coast, the prevailing north wind, blowing across the Mediterranean, gives the city a less severe climate than the desert hinterland. Rafah and Alexandria are the wettest places in Egypt; the other wettest places are Rosetta, Baltim, Kafr el-Dawwar, and Mersa Matruh. The city's climate is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea, moderating its temperatures, causing variable rainy winters and moderately hot and slightly prolonged summers that, at times, can be very humid; January and February are the coolest months, with daily maximum temperatures typically ranging from 12 to 18 C and minimum temperatures that could reach 5 °C.

Alexandria experiences violent storms, rain and sometimes sleet and hail during the cooler months; these events, combined with a poor drainage system, have been responsible for occasional flooding in the city in the past though they rarely occur anymore. July and August are the hottest and driest months of the year, with an average daily maximum temperature of 30 °C. The average annual rainfall is around 200 mm but has been as high as 417 mm

Port Said, Kosseir, Baltim, Damietta and Alexandria have the least temperature variation in Egypt.

The highest recorded temperature was 45 °C on 30 May 1961, and the coldest recorded temperature was 0 °C on 31 January 1994.

Climate change
A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5-3 C-change by 2100, the climate of Alexandria in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Gaza City. The annual temperature would increase by 2.8 C-change, and the temperature of the warmest and the coldest month by 2.9 C-change and 3.1 C-change. According to Climate Action Tracker, the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 C-change, which closely matches RCP 4.5.

Due to its location on a Nile river delta, Alexandria is one of the most vulnerable cities to sea level rise in the entire world. According to some estimates, hundreds of thousands of people in its low-lying areas may already have to be relocated before 2030. The 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report estimates that by 2050, Alexandria and 11 other major African cities (Abidjan, Algiers, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Lagos, Lomé, Luanda and Maputo) would collectively sustain cumulative damages of US$65 billion for the "moderate" climate change scenario RCP 4.5 and US$86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5, while RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$137.5 billion in damages. Additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to US$187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, US$206 billion for RCP8.5 and US$397 billion under the high-end ice sheet instability scenario. In every single estimate, Alexandria alone bears around half of these costs. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures.

Ancient layout
Greek Alexandria was divided into three regions:
 * Rhakotis
 * Rhakotis (from Coptic, "Alexandria") was the old city that was absorbed into Alexandria. It was occupied chiefly by Egyptians.
 * Brucheum
 * Brucheum was the Royal or Greek quarter and formed the most magnificent portion of the city. In Roman times, Brucheum was enlarged by the addition of an official quarter, making four regions in all. The city was laid out as a grid of parallel streets, each of which had an attendant subterranean canal.
 * Brucheum was the Royal or Greek quarter and formed the most magnificent portion of the city. In Roman times, Brucheum was enlarged by the addition of an official quarter, making four regions in all. The city was laid out as a grid of parallel streets, each of which had an attendant subterranean canal.

 * Jewish quarter
 * The Jewish quarter was the northeast portion of the city.
 * The Jewish quarter was the northeast portion of the city.

Two main streets, lined with colonnades and said to have been each about 60 m wide, intersected in the centre of the city, close to the point where the Sema (or Soma) of Alexander (his Mausoleum) rose. This point is very near the present mosque of Nebi Daniel; the line of the great East–West "Canopic" street is also present in modern-day Alexandria, having only slightly diverged from the line of the modern Boulevard de Rosette (now Sharae Fouad). Traces of its pavement and canal have been found near the Rosetta Gate, but remnants of streets and canals were exposed in 1899 by German excavators outside the east fortifications, which lie well within the area of the ancient city.Alexandria consisted originally of little more than the island of Pharos, which was joined to the mainland by a 1260 m mole and called the ("seven stadia"—a stadium was a Greek unit of length measuring approximately 180 m). The end of this abutted on the land at the head of the present Grand Square, where the "Moon Gate" rose. All that now lies between that point and the modern "Ras al-Tin" quarter is built on the silt which gradually widened and obliterated this mole. The Ras al-Tin quarter represents all that is left of the island of Pharos, the site of the actual lighthouse having been weathered away by the sea. On the east of the mole was the Great Harbour, now an open bay; on the west lay the port of Eunostos, with its inner basin Kibotos, now vastly enlarged to form the modern harbour.

In Strabo's time (latter half of the 1st century BC), the principal buildings were as follows, enumerated as they were to be seen from a ship entering the Great Harbour.

 * 1) The Royal Palaces, filling the northeast angle of the town and occupying the promontory of Lochias, which shut in the Great Harbour on the east. Lochias (the modern Pharillon) has almost entirely disappeared into the sea, together with the palaces, the "Private Port", and the island of Antirrhodus. There has been a land subsidence here, as throughout the northeast coast of Africa.
 * 2) The Great Theater, on the modern Hospital Hill near the Ramleh station. This was used by Julius Caesar as a fortress, where he withstood a siege from the city mob after he took Egypt after the battle of Pharsalus.
 * 3) The Poseidon, or Temple of the Sea God, close to the theater
 * 4) The Timonium built by Marc Antony
 * 5) The Emporium (Exchange)
 * 6) The Apostases (Magazines)
 * 7) The Navalia (Docks), lying west of the Timonium, along the seafront as far as the mole
 * 8) Behind the Emporium rose the Great Caesareum, by which stood the two great obelisks which became known as "Cleopatra's Needles" and were transported to New York City and London. This temple became, in time, the Patriarchal Church, though some ancient remains of the temple have been discovered. The actual Caesareum, the parts not eroded by the waves, lies under the houses lining the new seawall.
 * 9) The Gymnasium and the Palaestra are both inland, near the Boulevard de Rosette in the eastern half of the town; sites unknown.
 * 10) The Temple of Saturn; site unknown.
 * 11) The Mausolea of Alexander (Soma) and the Ptolemies in one ring-fence, near the point of intersection of the two main streets.
 * 12) The Musaeum with its famous Library and theater in the same region; site unknown.
 * 13) The Serapeum of Alexandria, the most famous of all Alexandrian temples. Strabo tells that this stood in the west of the city; and recent discoveries go far as to place it near "Pompey's Pillar", which was an independent monument erected to commemorate Diocletian's siege of the city.

The names of a few other public buildings on the mainland are known, but there is little information as to their actual position. None, however, are as famous as the building that stood on the eastern point of Pharos island. There, The Great Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, reputed to be 138 m high, was situated. The first Ptolemy began the project, and the second Ptolemy (Ptolemy II Philadelphus) completed it, at a total cost of 800 talents. It took 12 years to complete and served as a prototype for all later lighthouses in the world. The light was produced by a furnace at the top and the tower was built mostly with solid blocks of limestone. The Pharos lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century, making it the second longest surviving ancient wonder, after the Great Pyramid of Giza. A temple of Hephaestus also stood on Pharos at the head of the mole.

In the 1st century, the population of Alexandria contained over 180,000 adult male citizens, according to a census dated from 32 AD, in addition to a large number of freedmen, women, children and slaves. Estimates of the total population range from 216,000 to 500,000, making it one of the largest cities ever built before the Industrial Revolution and the largest pre-industrial city that was not an imperial capital.

Cityscape
Due to the constant presence of war in Alexandria in ancient times, very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbour and the rest has been built over in modern times.

Pompey's Pillar
"Pompey's Pillar", a Roman triumphal column, is one of the best-known ancient monuments still standing in Alexandria today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis—a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery—and was originally part of a temple colonnade. Including its pedestal, it is 30 m (99 ft) high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 m in diameter at the base, tapering to 2.4 m at the top. The shaft is 88 ft high and made out of a single piece of granite. Its volume is 132 m3 and weight approximately 396 tons. Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks. The Romans had cranes but they were not strong enough to lift something this heavy. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehrner conducted several obelisk erecting experiments including a successful attempt to erect a 25-ton obelisk in 1999. This followed two experiments to erect smaller obelisks and two failed attempts to erect a 25-ton obelisk.

"Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer, as it has nothing to do with Pompey, having been erected in 293 for Diocletian, possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus. The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when a bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. Beneath the acropolis itself are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis were enacted and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library. In more recent years, many ancient artifacts have been discovered from the surrounding sea, mostly pieces of old pottery.

Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa
Alexandria's catacombs, known as Kom El Shoqafa, are a short distance southwest of the pillar, consist of a multi-level labyrinth, reached via a large spiral staircase and featuring dozens of chambers adorned with sculpted pillars, statues, and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious symbols, burial niches, and sarcophagi, as well as a large Roman-style banquet room, where memorial meals were conducted by relatives of the deceased. The catacombs were long forgotten by the citizens until they were discovered by accident in 1900.

Kom El Deka
The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in Alexandria is known as Kom El Deka. It has revealed the ancient city's well-preserved theater, and the remains of its Roman-era baths.

Temple of Taposiris Magna
The temple was built in the Ptolemy era and dedicated to Osiris, which finished the construction of Alexandria. It is located in Abusir, the western suburb of Alexandria in Borg el Arab city. Only the outer wall and the pylons remain from the temple. There is evidence to prove that sacred animals were worshiped there. Archaeologists found an animal necropolis near the temple. Remains of a Christian church show that the temple was used as a church in later centuries. Also found in the same area are remains of public baths built by the emperor Justinian, a seawall, quays and a bridge. Near the beach side of the area, there are the remains of a tower built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The tower was an exact scale replica of the destroyed Alexandrine Pharos Lighthouse.

Citadel of Qaitbay
Citadel of Qaitbay is a defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast. It was established in 1477 AD (882 AH) by the mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'it Bay. The Citadel is located on the eastern side of the northern tip of Pharos Island at the mouth of the Eastern Harbour. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was built on an area of 17,550 square metres.

Excavation
Persistent efforts have been made to explore the antiquities of Alexandria. Encouragement and help have been given by the local Archaeological Society and by many individuals. Excavations were performed in the city by Greeks seeking the tomb of Alexander the Great without success. The past and present directors of the museum have been enabled from time to time to carry out systematic excavations whenever opportunity is offered; D. G. Hogarth made tentative researches on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund and the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in 1895; and a German expedition worked for two years (1898–1899). But two difficulties face the would-be excavator in Alexandria: lack of space for excavation and the underwater location of some areas of interest.

Since the great and growing modern city stands immediately over the ancient one, it is almost impossible to find any considerable space in which to dig, except at enormous cost. Cleopatra VII's royal quarters were inundated by earthquakes and tsunami, leading to gradual subsidence in the 4th century AD. This underwater section, containing many of the most interesting sections of the Hellenistic city, including the palace quarter, was explored in 1992 and is still being extensively investigated by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team. It raised a noted head of Caesarion. These are being opened up to tourists, to some controversy. The spaces that are most open are the low grounds to northeast and southwest, where it is practically impossible to get below the Roman strata.

The most important results were those achieved by Dr. G. Botti, late director of the museum, in the neighbourhood of "Pompey's Pillar", where there is a good deal of open ground. Here, substructures of a large building or group of buildings have been exposed, which are perhaps part of the Serapeum. Nearby, immense catacombs and columbaria have been opened which may have been appendages of the temple. These contain one very remarkable vault with curious painted reliefs, now artificially lit and open to visitors.

The objects found in these researches are in the museum, the most notable being a great basalt bull, probably once an object of cult in the Serapeum. Other catacombs and tombs have been opened in Kom El Shoqafa (Roman) and Ras El Tin (painted).

The German excavation team found remains of a Ptolemaic colonnade and streets in the north-east of the city, but little else. Hogarth explored part of an immense brick structure under the mound of Kom El Deka, which may have been part of the Paneum, the Mausolea, or a Roman fortress.

The making of the new foreshore led to the dredging up of remains of the Patriarchal Church; and the foundations of modern buildings are seldom laid without some objects of antiquity being discovered.

Islam
The most famous mosque in Alexandria is Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Bahary. Other notable mosques in the city include Ali ibn Abi Talib mosque in Somouha, Bilal mosque, al-Gamaa al-Bahari in Mandara, Hatem mosque in Somouha, Hoda el-Islam mosque in Sidi Bishr, al-Mowasah mosque in Hadara, Sharq al-Madina mosque in Miami, al-Shohadaa mosque in Mostafa Kamel, Al Qa'ed Ibrahim Mosque, Yehia mosque in Zizinia, Sidi Gaber mosque in Sidi Gaber, Sidi B esher mosque, Rokay el-Islam mosque in Elessway, Elsadaka Mosque in Sidibesher Qebly, Elshatbi mosque and Sultan mosque.

Alexandria is the base of the Salafi movements in Egypt. Al-Nour Party, which is based in the city and overwhelmingly won most of the Salafi votes in the 2011–12 parliamentary election, supports the president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Christianity
Alexandria was once considered the third-most important see in Christianity, after Rome and Constantinople. Until 430, the Patriarch of Alexandria was second only to the bishop of Rome. The Church of Alexandria had jurisdiction over most of the continent of Africa. After the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, the Alexandrian Church split between the Miaphysites and the Melkites. The Miaphysites went on to constitute what is known today as the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Melkites went on to constitute what is known today as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria. In the 19th century, Catholic and Protestant missionaries converted some of the adherents of the Orthodox churches to their respective faiths.

Today the Patriarchal seat of the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church is Saint Mark Cathedral (though in practice the Patriarch has long resided in Cairo). The most important Coptic Orthodox churches in Alexandria include Pope Cyril I Church in Cleopatra, Saint George's Church in Sporting, Saint Mark & Pope Peter I Church in Sidi Bishr, Saint Mary Church in Assafra, Saint Mary Church in Gianaclis, Saint Mina Church in Fleming, Saint Mina Church in Mandara and Saint Takla Haymanot's Church in Ibrahimeya.

The most important Eastern Orthodox churches in Alexandria are Agioi Anárgyroi Church, Church of the Annunciation, Saint Anthony Church, Archangels Gabriel & Michael Church, Taxiarchon Church, Saint Catherine Church, Cathedral of the Dormition in Mansheya, Church of the Dormition, Prophet Elijah Church, Saint George Church, Saint Joseph Church in Fleming, Saint Joseph of Arimathea Church, Saint Mark & Saint Nektarios Chapel in Ramleh, Saint Nicholas Church, Saint Paraskevi Church, Saint Sava Cathedral in Ramleh, Saint Theodore Chapel and the Russian church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Alexandria, which serves the Russian speaking community in the city.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Alexandria in Egypt-Heliopolis-Port Said has jurisdiction over all Latin Catholics in Egypt. Member churches include Saint Catherine Church in Mansheya and Church of the Jesuits in Cleopatra. The city is also the nominal see of the Melkite Greek Catholic titular Patriarchate of Alexandria (generally vested in its leading Patriarch of Antioch) and the actual cathedral see of its Patriarchal territory of Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan, which uses the Byzantine Rite, and the nominal see of the Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Alexandria (for all Egypt and Sudan, whose actual cathedral is in Cairo), a suffragan of the Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia, using the Armenian Rite. The Saint Mark Church in Shatby, founded as part of Collège Saint Marc, is multi-denominational and holds liturgies according to Latin Catholic, Coptic Catholic and Coptic Orthodox rites.

In antiquity Alexandria was a major centre of the cosmopolitan religious movement called Gnosticism (today mainly remembered as a Christian heresy).

Judaism
Alexandria's Jewish community declined rapidly following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, after which negative reactions towards Zionism among Egyptians led to Jewish residents in the city, and elsewhere in Egypt, being perceived as Zionist collaborators. Most Jewish residents of Egypt moved to the newly settled Israel, France, Brazil and other countries in the 1950s and 1960s. The community once numbered 50,000 but is now estimated at below 50. The most important synagogue in Alexandria is the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue.

Colleges and universities
Alexandria has a number of higher education institutions. Alexandria University is a public university that follows the Egyptian system of higher education. Many of its faculties are internationally renowned, most notably its Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Engineering. In addition, the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology in New Borg El Arab city is a research university set up in collaboration between the Japanese and Egyptian governments in 2010. The Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport is a semi-private educational institution that offers courses for high school, undergraduate level, and postgraduate students. It is considered the most reputable university in Egypt after the AUC American University in Cairo because of its worldwide recognition from board of engineers at UK & ABET in US. Université Senghor is a private French university that focuses on the teaching of humanities, politics and international relations, which mainly recruits students from the African continent. Other institutions of higher education in Alexandria include Alexandria Institute of Technology (AIT) and Pharos University in Alexandria.

In September 2023, The Greek University of Patras announced that it is opening a branch in Alexandria, in a first-of-its-kind move by a Greek higher education institution. The Greek university of Patras branch will operate two departments, one Greek-speaking and one English-speaking in the subjects of Greek culture, Greek language and Greek philosophy.

Schools
Alexandria has a long history of foreign educational institutions. The first foreign schools date to the early 19th century, when French missionaries began establishing French charitable schools to educate the Egyptians. Today, the most important French schools in Alexandria run by Catholic missionaries include Collège de la Mère de Dieu, Collège Notre Dame de Sion, Collège Saint Marc, Écoles des Soeurs Franciscaines (four different schools), École Girard, École Saint Gabriel, École Saint-Vincent de Paul, École Saint Joseph, École Sainte Catherine, and Institution Sainte Jeanne-Antide. As a reaction to the establishment of French religious institutions, a secular (laic) mission established Lycée el-Horreya, which initially followed a French system of education, but is currently run by the Egyptian government. The only school in Alexandria that completely follows the French educational system is Lycée Français d'Alexandrie (École Champollion). It is usually frequented by the children of French expatriates and diplomats in Alexandria. The Italian school is the Istituto "Don Bosco".

English-language schools in Alexandria are the most popular; those in the city include: Riada American School, Riada Language School, Forsan American School, Forsan International School, Alexandria Language School, Future Language School, Future International Schools (Future IGCSE, Future American School and Future German school), Alexandria American School, British School of Alexandria, Egyptian American School, Pioneers Language School, Egyptian English Language School, Princesses Girls' School, Sidi Gaber Language School, Zahran Language School, Taymour English School, Sacred Heart Girls' School, Schutz American School, Victoria College, El Manar Language School for Girls (previously called Scottish School for Girls), Kawmeya Language School, El Nasr Boys' School (previously called British Boys' School), and El Nasr Girls' College (previously called English Girls' College). There are only two German schools in Alexandria which are Deutsche Schule der Borromärinnen (DSB of Saint Charles Borromé) and Neue Deutsche Schule Alexandria, which is run by Frau Sally Hammam.

The Montessori educational system was first introduced in Alexandria in 2009 at Alexandria Montessori.

Women
Around the 1890s, twice the percentage of women in Alexandria knew how to read compared to the same percentage in Cairo. As a result, specialist women's publications like al-Fatāh by Hind Nawal, the country's first women's journal, appeared.

Airports
The city's principal airport is currently Borg El Arab Airport, which is located about 25 km away from the city centre.

From late 2011, El Nouzha Airport (Alexandria International Airport) was to be closed to commercial operations for two years as it underwent expansion, with all airlines operating out of Borg El Arab Airport from then onwards, where a brand new terminal was completed there in February 2010. In 2017, the government announced that Alexandria International Airport will shut down permanently and will no longer reopen.

Port
Alexandria has four ports; namely the Western Port also known as Alexandria Port, which is the main port of the country that handles about 60% of the country's exports and imports, Dekhela Port west of the Western Port, the Eastern Port which is a yachting harbour, and Abu Qir Port at the northern east of the governorate. It is a commercial port for general cargo and phosphates.

Highways

 * International Coastal Road (Mersa Matruh – Alexandria – Port Said)
 * Cairo–Alexandria desert road (Alexandria – Cairo – 220 km, 6–8 lanes)
 * Cairo-Alexandria Agriculture Road (Alexandria – Cairo)
 * Mehwar El Ta'meer – (Alexandria – Borg El Arab)

Rail
Alexandria's intracity commuter rail system extends from Misr Station (Alexandria's primary intercity railway station) to Abu Qir, parallel to the tram line. The commuter line's locomotives operate on diesel, as opposed to the overhead-electric tram.

Alexandria plays host to two intercity railway stations: the aforementioned Misr Station (in the older Manshia district in the western part of the city) and Sidi Gaber railway station (in the district of Sidi Gaber in the centre of the eastern expansion in which most Alexandrines reside), both of which also serve the commuter rail line. Intercity passenger service is operated by Egyptian National Railways.

Trams
An extensive tramway network was built in 1860 and is the oldest in Africa. The network begins at the El Raml district in the west and ends in the Victoria district in the east.

Metro
Construction of the Alexandria Metro was due to begin in 2020 at a cost of $1.05 billion.

Libraries
The Royal Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was once the largest library in the world. It is generally thought to have been founded at the beginning of the 3rd century BC, during the reign of Ptolemy II of Egypt. It was likely created after his father had built what would become the first part of the library complex, the temple of the Muses—the Museion, Greek Μουσείον (from which the Modern English word museum is derived).

It has been reasonably established that the library, or parts of the collection, were destroyed by fire on a number of occasions (library fires were common and replacement of handwritten manuscripts was very difficult, expensive, and time-consuming). To this day, the details of the destruction (or destructions) remain a lively source of controversy.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated in 2002, near the site of the old Library.

Museums
The Alexandria National Museum was inaugurated 31 December 2003. It is located in a restored Italian style palace in Tariq El Horreya Street (formerly Rue Fouad), near the centre of the city. It contains about 1,800 artifacts that narrate the story of Alexandria and Egypt. Most of these pieces came from other Egyptian museums. The museum is housed in the old Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace, who was one of the wealthiest wood merchants in Alexandria. Construction on the site was first undertaken in 1926.

The Graeco-Roman Museum was the city's main archeological museum, focused on artifacts from its Greco-Roman period. It was opened in 1892 and was closed in 2005 for extensive renovations and expansion. The museum re-opened to the public in October 2023.

Other museums in the city include the Cavafy Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Royal Jewelry Museum.

Theaters
Alexandria Opera House hosts performances of classical music, Arabic music, ballet, and opera.

Sports
The main sport that interests Alexandrians is football, as is the case in the rest of Egypt and Africa. Alexandria Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Alexandria, Egypt. It is currently used mostly for football matches and was used for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. The stadium is the oldest stadium in Egypt, being built in 1929. The stadium holds 20,000 people. Alexandria was one of three cities that participated in hosting the African Cup of Nations in January 2006, which Egypt won. Sea sports such as surfing, jet-skiing and water polo are practiced on a lower scale. The Skateboarding culture in Egypt started in this city. The city is also home to the Alexandria Sporting Club, which is especially known for its basketball team, which traditionally provides the country's national team with key players. The city hosted the AfroBasket, the continent's most prestigious basketball tournament, on four occasions (1970, 1975, 1983, 2003).

Alexandria has four stadiums:

 * Alexandria Stadium
 * Borg El Arab Stadium
 * El Krom Stadium
 * Harras El Hodoud Stadium

Other less popular sports like tennis and squash are usually played in private social and sports clubs, like:

 * Alexandria Sporting Club – in "Sporting"
 * Smouha Sporting Club – in "Smouha"
 * Al Ittihad Alexandria Club
 * Olympic Club
 * Haras El Hodoud SC Club
 * Koroum Club
 * Lagoon Resort Courts
 * Alexandria Country club

Alexandria is also known as the yearly starting point of Cross Egypt Challenge and a huge celebration is conducted the night before the rally starts after all the international participants arrive to the city. Cross Egypt Challenge is an international cross-country motorcycle and scooter rally conducted throughout the most difficult tracks and roads of Egypt.

Twin towns and sister cities

Alexandria is twinned with:

 * Almaty, Kazakhstan
 * Baltimore, United States
 * Bratislava, Slovakia
 * Catania, Italy
 * Cleveland, United States
 * Constanța, Romania
 * Durban, South Africa
 * Incheon, South Korea
 * Kazanlak, Bulgaria
 * Limassol, Cyprus
 * Novi Sad, Serbia
 * Odesa, Ukraine
 * Paphos, Cyprus
 * Port Louis, Mauritius
 * Saint Petersburg, Russia
 * Shanghai, China
 * Thessaloniki, Greece

title: Alexandria


text:
Alexandria, Indiana

Alexandria is a city in Monroe Township, Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is about 48 mi northeast of Indianapolis. According to the 2020 census, its population was 5,149, nearly unchanged from 2010.

History
Alexandria was platted in 1836, when it was certain that the Indiana Central Canal would be extended to that point. It was incorporated as a town in 1898.

In 1898, Indiana's first Interurban railway line began operating between Alexandria and Anderson.

Geography
Alexandria is located in northern Madison County. Indiana State Road 9 passes through the east side of the city, leading south 11 mi to Anderson, the county seat, and north 21 mi to Marion. State Road 28 crosses the northern tip of Alexandria, leading west 9 mi to Elwood and east 23 mi to Albany.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Alexandria has a total area of 3.0 sqmi, all land. Pipe Creek crosses the city south of its center, flowing southwest to join the White River at Perkinsville.

Demographics
Alexandria is part of the Indianapolis–Carmel–Anderson metropolitan statistical area.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,145 people, 2,113 households, and 1,362 families living in the city. The population density was 1956.3 PD/sqmi. There were 2,507 housing units at an average density of 953.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 97.4% White, 0.3% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.7% of the population.

Of the 2,113 households 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.5% were non-families. 30.1% of households were one person and 12.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.95.

The median age was 38.2 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,260 people, 2,481 households, and 1,654 families living in the city. The population density was 2,308.6 PD/sqmi. There were 2,704 housing units at an average density of 997.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 98.10% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.99% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,481 households 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 28.9% of households were one person and 13.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.04.

The age distribution was 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median household income was $35,359 and the median family income was $42,731. Males had a median income of $30,529 versus $23,384 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,578. About 4.2% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The city council consists of seven members. Five members are elected from individual districts, and two are elected at large. The city is governed by a "strong" mayor system that appoints two council members and/or city residents to serve at the mayor's pleasure on the board of public works and safety. The chief financial officer is the clerk-treasurer. The clerk-treasurer and mayor are full-time elected officials.

Airport
Alexandria Airport is a public use airport located 3 mi southeast of the central business district of Alexandria.

Education
Alexandria Community School Corporation operates the public schools.

The town has a lending library, the Alexandria-Monroe Public Library.

Notable people

 * Joey Feek, country singer
 * Bill Gaither, gospel singer/songwriter
 * Danny Gaither, gospel singer
 * Gloria Gaither, author/lyricist, gospel singer
 * Robert L. Rock, politician

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Alexandria, Indiana


text:
Alexandria, Louisiana

Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area (population 153,922) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes. Its neighboring city is Pineville. In 2010, the population was 47,723, an increase of 3 percent from the 2000 census.

History
Located along the Red River, the city of Alexandria was originally home to a community which supported activities of the adjacent French trader outpost of Post du Rapides. The area developed as an assemblage of traders, Caddo people, and merchants in the agricultural lands bordering the mostly unsettled areas to the north and providing a link from the south to the El Camino Real and then larger settlement of Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.

Alexander Fulton, a businessman from Washington County, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a land grant from Spain in 1762, and the first organized settlement was made at some point in the 1780s. In 1805, Fulton and business partner Thomas Harris Maddox laid out the town plan and named the town in Fulton's honor. The earliest deed that survives for an Alexandria resident is from June 24, 1801, when a William Cochren, who identifies himself as "Slave master of the Southern Americas", sold a tract of land across the Red River to a William Murrey.

That same year, Fulton was appointed coroner in Rapides Parish by territorial Governor William C.C. Claiborne. Alexandria was incorporated as a town in 1818 and received a city charter in 1832.

In 1942, Alexandria was the site of the Lee Street Riot, an incident of racial violence that occurred between mostly civilians and military police. Witnesses state that as many as 20 people may have been killed, however the official report indicates that 3 soldiers were critically injured, and does not mention any deaths.

Geography and climate
Alexandria is located at 31.29278°N, -92.45917°W and has an elevation of 75 ft.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.0 sqmi, of which 26.4 square miles (68.4 km2) is land and 0.6 square mile (1.5 km2) (2.15%) is water.

Alexandria is on a level plain in the center of the Louisiana Longleaf Pine forests, in which pine is interspersed with various hardwoods. A number of small bayous, such as Bayou Rapides, Bayou Robert, and Hynson Bayou, meander throughout the city. In the immediate vicinity of the city, cotton, sugar, alfalfa, and garden vegetables are cultivated.

The climate is humid subtropical with some continental influence in the winter. Summers are consistently hot and humid, whereas winters are mild, with occasional cold snaps. On average, the first freeze occurs in early to mid November and the last freeze occurs in early to mid March. The area receives plentiful rainfall year-round, with thunderstorms possible throughout the year. Some storms can be severe, especially during the spring months. According to 'Cities Ranked and Rated' (Bert Sperling and Peter Sander), Alexandria reports an average of 69 days per year with thunder reported, which is nearly double the national average. Snowfall is rare, with measurable snow having occurred 27 times since 1895. The heaviest snowfall event took place February 12–13, 1960, when 9.1" of snow fell.

Tropical storms and hurricanes affect Alexandria from time to time, but rarely cause severe damage, unlike areas closer to the coast. In September 2005, Hurricane Rita moved inland and affected Alexandria and surrounding areas, causing widespread power outages and damaging the roofs of some structures. The most recent hurricane, Gustav in 2008, caused widespread flooding, knocked over trees and power lines leading to power outages, and damaged structures. Some low-lying Alexandria neighborhoods had substantial flooding from Gustav, leaving several feet of water in houses.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 45,275 people, 17,920 households, and 10,933 families residing in the city.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 47,723 people, 17,816 households, and 11,722 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,754.6/sq mi (677.5/km2). There were 19,806 housing units at an average density of 749.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 38.32% White, 57.25% Black, 1.25% Native American, 1.85% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 6.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 17,816 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 23.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,097, and the median income for a family was $31,978. Males had a median income of $29,456 versus $20,154 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,242. About 23.2% of families and 27.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.7% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

Religion

Like many other southern cities, the largest single church denomination in the Alexandria area is Southern Baptist. Large congregations include the Emmanuel Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Church. Alexandria is the headquarters of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Alexandria also has a significant number of Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Pentecostals.

A significant Catholic population is also present, a result of the large Catholic Acadian French population which resides in and around Alexandria, many from neighboring Avoyelles Parish. Alexandria is the headquarters for the Diocese of Alexandria.

Alexandria has a small, though active Jewish community which dates back to the mid-19th century. Jews have held positions in local government, civic organizations, education, and medicine. At one time, many large businesses in the downtown were Jewish-owned. The Jewish community in Alexandria maintains two synagogues, which are approximately two blocks apart: Congregation Gemiluth Chassodim (Reform) and B'nai Israel Traditional Synagogue (Conservative).

Mardi Gras

Though Alexandria is north of the Cajun cultural area, the city recognizes Mardi Gras as an official holiday. The annual Mardi Gras Krewes Parade – occurring on the Sunday before Mardi Gras – on Texas Avenue is a major cultural festivity in the area. It is featured as a family-oriented event, and parade goers can enjoy over 20 New Orleans style floats, high school and college marching bands, as well as appearances by local celebrities. In addition to the main Sunday parade, the College Cheerleaders & Classic Cars Parade, which was established in 2008, takes place downtown on the Friday before Mardi Gras, the Children's Parade takes place downtown on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, and the Krewe of Provine Parade is held on Fat Tuesday, processing along Coliseum Boulevard. All the events are organized by the Alexandria Mardi Gras Association (AMGA). The Krewe Parade can attract from 120,000 to 150,000; the Children's parade, up to 40,000 to 50,000, and the College Cheerleaders & Classic Cars, about 5,000 to 15,000 people.

Alex River Fête

An annual three-day festival is held in downtown Alexandria around late April and early May. The festival, established in 2013, was created around a former successful stand-alone event, the Louisiana Dragon Boat Races. It features the race and other former stand-alone events such as Dinner on the Bricks and the ArtWalk (now Art Fête) along with various booth venues, food, and live music, as well as the Kids Fête and Classic Car Fête.

Alex Winter Fête

An annual three day festival held in downtown Alexandria around early December. Launched in 2015, the festival first year drew about double the anticipated crowd of 15,000. The festival, like the Alex River Fête, feature booth venues, food, and live music but also features an ice rink. In January 2017, the Alex Winter Fête was voted Festival of the Year by the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association.

Cenlabration
Begun in the late 1980s, Cenlabration was one of the largest festivals in Central Louisiana (Cenla). The name comes from Central Louisiana ("LA") Celebration, and reflects local culture and heritage, as well as serving as a means of celebrating Labor Day as the end of summer.

As many as three stages support a particular type of music, including Cajun and zydeco, blues and jazz, and Country music. In addition there are arts and crafts booths for local artists to sell their wares. In the Children's Village, children can participate in arts and crafts, listen to storytellers, play games with clowns, or watch a play. The festival has plenty of carnival rides available as well. Cenlabration ends with a large fireworks display.

The festival ran for 20 years until cancellation due to finances. The city ended its annual support of $40,000 because of budget constraints.

RiverFest
In 2002, representatives of local government, businesses, organizations, and community formed the nonprofit organization River Cities Cultural Alliance, Inc. to promote tourism and the arts through a celebration of Central Louisiana's diverse cultural heritage. The nonprofit served to organize and put on RiverFest: Heritage and Arts on the Red. More than ten thousand festival-goers attending the event.

RiverFest was held in downtown Alexandria and on the Alexandria and Pineville levees. The festival features the work of visual artists from across the South, food booths exemplifying southern cuisine, a variety of children's activities, three outdoor stages with a wide range of music, dance, and theatrical performances, and a literary component with readings and panel discussions by Louisiana authors and scholars.

RiverFest was canceled in 2007.

Que'in on the Red
An annual barbecue festival launched in 2006, the festival was held on the levee near downtown Alexandria and was well known for its big-name entertainment. The event was cancelled in 2012 due to its high cost and the city deciding against continued support of $100,000 annually.

Museums

The Alexandria Museum of Art was founded in 1977 and occupies an historic Rapides Bank Building on the banks of the Red River. The building was built c. 1898 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum opened to the public in March 1998. In 1998, the Alexandria Museum of Art expanded and constructed its grand foyer and offices as an annex to the Rapides Bank Building. In 1999, the Alexandria Museum of Art was honored as an Outstanding Arts Organization in the Louisiana Governor's Arts Awards. In 2007, the Alexandria Museum of Art entered into a collaborative endeavor agreement with Louisiana State University of Alexandria (LSUA). The Alexandria Museum of Art now also serves as a downtown campus for LSUA classes, and is host to multidisciplinary community events, including concerts and recitals, lectures, yoga classes, Second Saturday Markets, and Museum Afterhours.

The Louisiana History Museum is located downtown on the bottom floor of the former library. A small facility, it showcases the history of all Louisiana, with emphasis on the central portion of the state, Rapides Parish, and Alexandria. Major exhibit areas concern Native Americans, Louisiana geography, politics, health care, farming, and the impact of war.

The T.R.E.E. House Children's Museum and Arna Bontemps African American Museum are located within the Cultural Arts District.

The Kent Plantation House in Alexandria, completed by 1800, was located on a Spanish land grant. It is the oldest standing structure in Central Louisiana, one of only two buildings in the city to survive the burning of 1864 by Union troops fleeing after having been defeated at the Battle of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish. The house has been moved from its original location but is still located on part of the first land grant. It is open for tours daily except Sundays at 9, 10, and 11 a.m. and 1, 2, and 3 p.m. The tour is led by costumed docents and includes the house furnished in period pieces, some belonging to the original family, and all nine outbuildings, including an 1840-50s sugar mill, blacksmith shop, barn, two slave cabins, open-hearth kitchen, and milk house.

Performing arts
The performing arts are centered in the Alexandria Cultural Arts District in the downtown. Located within a few blocks of each other are three performance venues: Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center, the Hearn Stage, and the Riverfront Amphitheater.

The Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center is the home of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra, which has performed in Alexandria since 1968. The center hosts the Performing Arts Series of the Arts Council of Central Louisiana, the Red River Chorale (an auditioned community chorus), and presentations of numerous local theater groups. The land for the center was donated by The Alexandria Town Talk newspaper, owned by the Gannett Company of McLean, Virginia.

Businesswoman Jacqueline Seagall Caplan (1935–2016) was the president of the Arts Council of Central Louisiana and the chairman of the group's executive committee when the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center opened in 2004. She predicted that Coughlin-Saunders would in time "provide a place people can point to and say it's theirs. ... [Until now], we've never had a performing arts center where every type of performing art can come."

The Hearn Stage is a black box theater for smaller productions. The Arts Council provides day-to-day management of both the Coughlin-Saunders Center and the Hearn Stage.

The Riverfront Amphitheater hosts each April a "Jazz on the River" music festival, sponsored by the Arna Bontemps African American Museum. The Rapides Symphony holds an annual fall Pops concert in the amphitheater. In recent years, the amphitheater has welcomed musical guests in conjunction with the springtime Dragonboat Races sponsored by the Alexandria Museum of Art.

The spring and fall seasons also feature Downtown Rocks, a free outdoor concert series in nearby Fulton Park.

Sports

Alexandria was home to the Alexandria Aces, a summer college league baseball team. The Aces were champions in various leagues in 1997, 1998, 2006, and 2007. They played their home games at Bringhurst Field. Due to lack of repairs on the stadium, combined with the aging of it caused interest in the team to drop, with much of the wooden stands being barricaded. The remaining games of the 2013 season were canceled in mid-July because of low attendance, which averaged fewer than two hundred per game. The stadium's office and clubhouse were destroyed by a fire in 2014 and were subsequently torn down. In 2017, it was decided that the stadium would become a green space, open to the public and welcome news to those concerned about the building's future. The scoreboard and outfield walls have been removed, but most of the stadium is still intact. In 1974, a Little League team from Alexandria won the Louisiana state championship.

Alexandria had a minor league ice hockey team, the Alexandria Warthogs. They played their home games at the Rapides Parish Coliseum.

A professional indoor football team, the Louisiana Rangers, played their home games at the Rapides Parish Coliseum. They played in the Central District of the Southern American Football League, and the Southern Conference of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). The team was owned by a Lafayette business group before moving in 2003 to Beaumont, Texas.

Soccer has also become a growing interest in the area. The Crossroads Soccer Association has had multiple youth teams achieve success in various travel soccer leagues. One of the earliest teams to do so was the then- U-14 Crossroads Pride soccer team, winning the 2012 Louisiana Soccer Association State Cup.

Also run by Crossroads is Alexandria's first amateur soccer team, Central Louisiana FC (formerly called Pool Boys FC and Alexandria Pool Boys FC). They are a founding member of the Gulf Coast Premier League, playing their games at Johnny Downs Sports Complex and Louisiana Christian University's Wildcat Stadium in neighboring Pineville. Central Louisiana FC runs both men's and women's amateur teams, as well as a developmental team that competes in the GCL2, the Gulf Coast Premier League's second division.

Nearby is Bringhurst Golf Course, popularly known as "the nation's oldest par-three course." A full-scale renovation was completed in mid-2010. In addition to Bringhurst, named for the late industrialist R.W. Bringhurst, Alexandria is home to four other golf courses: Oak Wing, The Links on the Bayou, at LSUA, and Alexandria Golf and Country Club.

Alexandria was also home to the Cenla Derby Dames, a roller derby team that operates under the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. The Dames played their home games at the Rapides Parish Coliseum.

Notable people

 * Anna Margaret – singer, actress
 * Emmanuel Arceneaux – Canadian football player
 * Jay Aldrich – Major League Baseball player
 * John Ardoin – music critic for The Dallas Morning News
 * Louis Berry – first African-American to practice law in Alexandria; civil rights advocate
 * Chris Boniol - American football player
 * Arna Bontemps – African American poet and member of Harlem Renaissance
 * Thomas "Bud" Brady – state representative (1976-1988) from La Salle Parish; thereafter a real estate appraiser in Alexandria
 * Bubby Brister – Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, and Minnesota Vikings
 * Markel Brown – guard in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Arthur H. Butler – Marine Corps Major General and Navy Cross recipient
 * D. J. Chark - American football player
 * Carl B. Close – state representative (1944-1947) and mayor of Alexandria (1947-1953)
 * Luther F. Cole – associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1986 to 1992, former state representative from East Baton Rouge Parish; born in Alexandria
 * Clifford Ann Creed – golfer; winner of eleven LPGA Tour events
 * Israel "Bo" Curtis – African-American Democrat member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 26 from 1992 to 2008
 * Cleveland Dear – U.S. representative from 1933 to 1937, district attorney, and state district court judge
 * Demar Dotson - American football player
 * C. H. "Sammy" Downs – attorney and politician
 * James R. Eubank – Alexandria lawyer; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Rapides Parish in 1952; died in office at the age of thirty-seven
 * Steve Gainer – Cinematographer and Director
 * H. N. Goff – state representative from Rapides Parish, 1952–1956; insurance agent in Alexandria
 * Layon Gray – Playwright and director of the Off-Broadway hit play Black Angels Over Tuskegee. The story of the Tuskegee Airmen.
 * Lawrence Preston Joseph Graves – Roman Catholic bishop of Alexandria from 1973 to 1982
 * Charles Pasquale Greco – Roman Catholic bishop of Alexandria from 1946 to 1973
 * Jeff Hall – first African-American mayor of Alexandria, 2018-2022; state representative for District 26 in Rapides Parish, 2015-2018
 * Eric Johanson – blues rock musician
 * Josh Johnson – comedian.
 * Catherine D. Kimball – former Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
 * Maxie Lambright – football coach for Louisiana Tech University, 1967–1978; coached at Bolton High School in Alexandria, 1955 to 1958
 * D.L. Lang - Poet Laureate of Vallejo, California
 * John Leglue - NFL player
 * F.A. Little, Jr. – retired judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
 * George S. Long – former U.S. representative
 * Gillis William Long – former U.S. representative
 * Jay Luneau – lawyer and state senator, effective January 2016
 * J. Clifford MacDonald – businessman, journalist, philanthropist and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
 * Gerald Archie Mangun – late pastor of the Pentecostal Church, the largest congregation in Alexandria
 * Rod Masterson – actor
 * Terry Alan "Tet" Mathews – former Major League Pitcher, Born 1964 died 2012. Pitched for Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Royals
 * Warren Morris – Major League Baseball player
 * Craig Nall – National Football League player
 * J. Tinsley Oden – mathematician
 * Jewel Prestage – first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in political science, former Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University.
 * Juan Pierre – Major League Baseball player
 * Ed Rand – state representative from 1960 to 1964
 * Joe Ray – contemporary visual artist
 * Joseph E. Ransdell – U.S. Senator from Louisiana, 1913-1931
 * Slater Rhea – Singer and TV personality on national TV in China.
 * Jalen Richard - NFL player
 * Sterling Ridge – Arizona legislator
 * Alvin Benjamin Rubin – federal judge, 1966-1991
 * Bill Schroll – National Football League player
 * Gustav Anton von Seckendorff – author, actor and declaimer
 * William Tecumseh Sherman – first superintendent; Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy (later to become LSU)
 * Russ Springer – Major League Baseball player for 18 years
 * Grove Stafford, Sr. – Alexandria lawyer and state senator from 1940 to 1948
 * Leroy Augustus Stafford – planter and Confederate brigadier general mortally wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864
 * Lloyd George Teekell – state representative from 1953 to 1960 and 9th Judicial District Court judge from 1979 to 1990
 * Jeff R. Thompson – former state representative for Bossier Parish; judge of the 26th Judicial District Court since 2015; born in Alexandria in 1965
 * Cullen Washington Jr. – contemporary abstract painter.
 * Muse Watson – actor
 * James Madison Wells – 19th century governor of Louisiana
 * Rebecca Wells – author, actor, and playwright, best known for Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
 * Joanne Lyles White – humanitarian, philanthropist; founder and first president of the Louisiana Speech League
 * J. Robert Wooley – Louisiana insurance commissioner from 2000 to 2006, was reared in Alexandria, where his father was a principal at the Louisiana Special Education Center there.

Newspapers

Established March 17, 1883, The Alexandria Town Talk is a daily newspaper for Alexandria-Pineville and the thirteen parishes which comprise central Louisiana. The newspaper was owned by the family of the late Jane Wilson Smith and Joe D. Smith, Jr., until March 1996, when it was sold to Central Newspapers. In August 2000, the Gannett Company acquired the Central Newspapers properties, including The Town Talk. The name of the paper on its inaugural issue was the Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Although it has since been shorted to the current The Town Talk, it is still frequently referred to by long-time residents as the Daily Town Talk.

Television
Alexandria is served by local television stations KALB-TV (NBC / CBS/ The CW), WNTZ (Fox), KLAX-TV (ABC), KLPA (PBS/LPB), and KBCA (Heroes & Icons). KALB is the oldest television station in central Louisiana.

Alexandria Zoological Park
The Alexandria Zoological Park is a 33 acre zoo first opened to the public in 1926. Owned by the City of Alexandria and operated by the Division of Public Works, it is home to about 500 animals and includes an award-winning Louisiana Habitat exhibit. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and takes part in about 20 Species Survival Plans (SSP) as part of its conservation efforts.

Cotile Lake Recreation Area
Cotile Lake is a man-made impoundment located in the uplands approximately 15 mi west-northwest of Alexandria, Louisiana. The lake is approximately 1775 acre in size and was completed in October 1965. The Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission stocked this impoundment with the proper species and number of game fish in 1965–66 shortly after its completion date. The recreational facilities include a large area cleared and zoned for swimming with complete bath house facilities nearby. There is a water skiing area that is cleared and snagged for safety of the skiers. The picnic and camping areas are modern and complete. There is also space available for campers.

Indian Creek Lake and Recreation Area
Encompasses a 2250 acre lake, 100 acre of developed recreation facilities and a 250 acre primitive camping area all within the Alexander State Forest. The lake, located in central Louisiana, was constructed as a joint venture of the Louisiana Forestry Commission, the Rapides Parish Police Jury, and the Lower West Red River Soil and Water Conservation District as a reservoir for agricultural irrigation in times of need and for recreation purposes.

The recreation area camping area contains 109 campsites with conventional full utility hookups, 3 beaches for swimming, bath houses, a boat launch, and 75 picnic sites. A covered pavilion within the developed area provides for groups up to 100 people. The recreation area is open year-round and operates on user fees.

Kisatchie National Forest
Alexandria sits in the middle of the Kisatchie National Forest. Ranger districts are north, northwest, west and southwest of the city. An abundance of large timberlands and forest nurseries, as well as lake and recreation areas, are within a short driving distance.

Other points of interest

 * Alexandria Memorial Gardens – large cemetery on U.S. Highway 165 south. Other cemeteries are also available in Pineville.
 * Alexandria Levee Park – a park located downtown, adjacent to the Red River, that serves as the grounds for some local festivals. It contains an amphitheatre that is used for concerts.
 * Alexandria Mall – the local shopping mall located on Masonic Drive, established 1973
 * Alexandria Riverfront Center – convention center located downtown
 * Bringhurst Field – home of the Alexandria Aces
 * Bringhurst Park – contains the Alexandria Zoo, Bringhurst Field, a playground, a golf course and tennis courts
 * Hotel Bentley – historic hotel built in 1908
 * Inglewood Plantation – plantation located south of Alexandria
 * Kent Plantation House – French colonial plantation house
 * Masonic Home – a now defunct orphanage in south Alexandria completed in 1924.
 * Rapides Parish Coliseum – a multi-purpose arena used for sporting events, conventions and other events

Louisiana National Guard
Alexandria is home to both Headquarters and Company B of the 199th Brigade Support Battalion (BSB). The 199th BSB is the logistical component of the 256th Infantry Brigade that served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from October 2004 until September 2005. The 199th BSB provides supply and transportation (Company A), medical (Company C) and maintenance (Company B) support and services that keep the 256th Brigade operational. The battalion also has units located in Jonesboro, Winnfield, Colfax, and St. Martinville, Louisiana.

England Air Force Base
Alexandria served as the home of England Air Force Base from its origins as an emergency airstrip for Esler Regional Airport until its closure. England AFB was officially closed on December 15, 1992, pursuant to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law 101–510) and recommendations of the Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure. The base now serves as Alexandria International Airport (see below).

Economy

According to Census ACS 1-year survey for 2016, the per capita income of Alexandria was $23,962. This is $1,702 lower than the Louisiana average for per capita income in the same period. That figure is at $31,128 nationally. The Alexandria workforce consists of about 55,000 residents. Union Tank Car Company has recently located a plant northwest of Alexandria near the airport creating hundreds of jobs. Expansions at the Procter & Gamble plant and the construction of a PlastiPak plant in nearby Pineville have also created a number of new jobs for the area. Sundrop Fuels Inc., a Colorado-based biofuels start-up, plans to construct an over 1,200 acre plant just southwest of Alexandria in Rapides Station area. The facility will serve as the headquarters for the company because aside from the plant itself, Sundrop has also bought Cowboy Town, an abandon entertainment venue that sits inside the surrounding land that was purchased, to house their offices and their maintenance and fabrication operations.

In 2007, Inc. Magazine rated Alexandria as the 77th best place in which to conduct business out of the 393 U.S. cities ranked, a significant increase from its ranking as No. 276 in 2006. Among other Louisiana cities, Alexandria ranked second, following only Baton Rouge, which ranked 59th nationally.

Healthcare

Alexandria is home to two major hospitals: Rapides Regional Medical Center, a former Baptist hospital is located downtown. Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital was opened in 1950 and is located at the corner of Masonic Drive and Texas Avenue. Both hospitals have undergone expansion.

Additionally, located just across the Red River in Pineville, the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center at Alexandria serves central Louisiana and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, in 2013, the state allocated $15 million to move the medical services long provided at no or minimal charge at the Huey P. Long Medical Center in Pineville to the former hospital at England Park at the site of the closed England Air Force Base.

Port of Alexandria
In the early 19th century, the Port of Alexandria brought goods to the area and shipped cotton and other local products to the rest of the country. A ferry connected the cities of Alexandria and Pineville until a bridge was built across the Red in 1900.

Today, Port facilities include: a 40-ton crane for off-loading, a 15000 sqft warehouse, 13,600-ton bulk fertilizer warehouse, a 3,400-ton bulk fertilizer dome structure and a 5,000-ton dome which was added in January 2005.

The petroleum off-loading facility includes two 55000 oilbbl tanks, one 15000 oilbbl tank capable of handling two barges and five truck off-loading simultaneously. There is also a general cargo dock with access to rail and a hopper barge unloading dock with conveyor system.

Today's modern facilities and the Port's central location with its connection to the Mississippi River provide excellent opportunities for importers and exporters.

Alexandria International Airport
Alexandria International Airport (AEX) is a regional airport, providing flights to Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Houston. In 2006 a new-state-of-the-art passenger terminal was dedicated. Alexandria is served by American and Delta.

Current military use
Formerly known as England AFB until 1992, Alexandria International Airport additionally has numerous international charter airlines using the airport in the transport of military personnel attached to the United States Army base at Fort Johnson. A new military personnel terminal opened in 2007.

History
Following the Civil War, all public records in Alexandria had been destroyed. On September 29, 1868, the city was granted a new charter with a government consisting of a Mayor, Treasurer, and Justice of the Peace. Nine aldermen represented the four wards of the city – two from each ward and one elected at-large.

In 1912, the Lawrason Act established Alexandria municipal government in a strong mayor format, where the mayor was also the Commissioner of Public Health and Safety (Police, Fire, Sanitation). There were separate Commissioners of Streets and Parks and Finance and Utilities, elected citywide. Those positions were discontinued in 1977.

Today
Alexandria has a mayoral-council system of government. The Mayor serves as the executive branch of the local government.

The City Council serves as the legislative branch. The five districts of the city are represented on the council; in addition there are two council members elected to serve as at-large representatives of the city.

The Alexandria Court has a limited jurisdiction, consisting of the citizens of Wards 1, 2 and 8 in Rapides Parish. Within those boundaries the court has the power to hear and decide both criminal and civil cases, rule in civil cases and hand down judgment for punishment in criminal cases.

Area politics
Overall, the people of the Alexandria area tend to be conservative. Even though the majority typically elects Republicans in national elections, they vote for Democrats in local elections, many of which are not contested by the GOP.

United States Congressional district
From 1913 to 1993, Alexandria served as the seat of Louisiana's Eighth Congressional district. A Democratic seat, it was held by the Long family for nearly half of its existence, from 1953 to 1987, broken only by the two terms of Harold B. McSween and three terms of Republican Clyde Holloway of Forest Hill. The seat was removed after the 1990 census indicated Louisiana no longer had the population to support it. The district was split among the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Congressional districts. Alexandria is now in the Fifth district and was represented from 2003 to 2013 by Rodney Alexander, a Democrat-turned-Republican. From November 2013 to January 2015 the representative is Vance McAllister of Ouachita Parish. Since March 2021, the Fifth has been represented by Julia Letlow of Start in Richland Parish.

Colleges and universities

Situated south of the city, Louisiana State University at Alexandria (or LSUA) is a regional campus of the state's flagship university system, Louisiana State University. From its establishment in 1959, the campus offered only two-year degrees; students seeking baccalaureate degrees had to commute or move to the main campus in Baton Rouge in order to gain a four-year degree. After 1976, students could either commute or telecommute in order to attend upper-level courses, including graduate classes. In 2002, following approval by the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors and the Louisiana Board of Regents the Louisiana Legislature passed legislation allowing LSUA to offer baccalaureate degrees.

A four-year degree is also attainable through Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana Christian University in Pineville, founded in 1906.

Alexandria also has one of the Region 6 Louisiana Technical College campuses.

Primary and secondary schools

Rapides Parish School Board operates public schools.

Alexandria has three public high schools: Bolton High School, Alexandria Senior High School, and Peabody Magnet High School. In addition, there are two private high schools: the Roman Catholic Holy Savior Menard Central High School, and Grace Christian.

Roads
Alexandria serves as the crossroads of Louisiana. To reach either Shreveport or Monroe from the southern portion of the state, the easiest method of travel takes the driver through Alexandria. Likewise, if a visitor is to head from the northern portion of the state to the Cajun portions of the state (Lake Charles and Lafayette), or the greater metropolitan areas of either Baton Rouge or New Orleans, the easiest method of travel involves driving down Interstate 49 through Alexandria.

In addition to I-49, travelers can follow Louisiana 1 up to Alexandria from Baton Rouge and points south. Also, Highway 167 could be taken from Opelousas north to Ruston, crossing through Alexandria at one of the few bridges over the Red River in central Louisiana. Highways 165 and 71 also link Alexandria and points south with the northern and southern portions of the state via the Curtis-Coleman bridge.

There are talks about a 50-80 mile, 4 lane beltway to encircle Alexandria and Pineville, and an East-West Interstate (I14) connecting Natchez, MS and Jasper, TX called the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway. As of now, they are in the planning stages of development.

Bridges
Three road bridges cross the Red River in the Alexandria area. They are:
 * The Purple Heart Memorial Bridge. Part of the Alexandria-Pineville Expressway (also referred to as the Cottingham Expressway), it connects Interstate 49 to Highway 167 by crossing the Red River from downtown Alexandria to Pineville. It replaced the Fulton Street Bridge and has six lanes of traffic. Designed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD), the bridge cost $15.9 million in federal and state funds. The northbound portion was completed in 1995, the southbound in 1998.

 * The U.S. 165 Business Bridge (alternatively, the Gillis Long Bridge, the Red River Bridge or the Jackson Street Bridge) connecting downtown Pineville with the business district in Alexandria. It is a two-lane vertical-lift bridge with a sidewalk/bikepath on either side. The bridge is named after U.S. Representative Gillis Long, who represented Louisiana's Eighth Congressional District. It was built in 1985 to replace the Murray Street Bridge.
 * The Curtis-Coleman (Fort Buhlow) Bridge A new four-lane (two lanes in each direction) bridge was built beside the aging OK Allen Bridge and opened in May, 2016. At that time US 165 will be completely four-laned for most of its traverse of Louisiana. It was demolished on September 26, 2015.

Former bridges include:
 * The Murray Street Bridge. One of the first bridges in Alexandria.  A two-lane steel truss swing bridge, it decayed over time, finally being demolished in 1983.  The approach on the Alexandria side was turned into a river overlook as part of the Alexandria Levee Park.
 * The Fulton Street Bridge. Named after Fulton Street which it connected with Highway 167. Technically part of the Alexandria-Pineville Expressway, it was a four-lane steel vertical-lift bridge.  It was demolished in 1994 to make way for the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.
 * The Oscar K. Allen Bridge connected Highway 165/71 on both sides of the Red River. It was a two-lane K-truss type bridge, named after Governor Oscar K. Allen. It was built in 1936 to connect Alexandria to the (former) Fort Buhlow. It was replaced by the Curtis-Coleman (Fort Buhlow) Bridge next to it.

There are two railroad bridges over the Red River in Alexandria. One is located near the Buhlow area north of the OK Allen bridge. The other is south of the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.

Mass transit
Regional mass transit is handled by ATRANS (Alexandria Transportation Authority).

For those leaving or arriving at the city by bus, Greyhound Lines has a terminal downtown.

Airports
Alexandria is served by the Alexandria International Airport and the Esler Regional Airport in Pineville.

Rail
Alexandria does not have Amtrak service, nor a commuter rail system. The Kansas City Southern (Southern Belle) and the Missouri Pacific (since absorbed by Union Pacific) (Louisiana Eagle and Louisiana Daylight) operated train stations in the area in the early part of the 20th century but passenger services ended in the 1960s and the stations have closed.

Surrounding cities and towns
Rapides Parish

 * Ball
 * Boyce
 * Cheneyville
 * Deville
 * Forest Hill
 * Lecompte
 * Pineville
 * Tioga
 * Woodworth

Grant Parish

 * Colfax
 * Creola
 * Dry Prong
 * Pollock
 * Prospect

title: Alexandria, Louisiana


text:
Alexandria Troas

Alexandria Troas ("Alexandria of the Troad"; Αλεξάνδρεια Τρωάς; Eski Stambul) is the site of an ancient Greek city situated on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of Turkey's western coast, the area known historically as Troad, a little south of Tenedos (modern Bozcaada). It is located southeast of modern Dalyan, a village in the Ezine district of Çanakkale Province. The site sprawls over an estimated 400 ha; among the few structures remaining today are a ruined bath, an odeon, a theatre, gymnasium complex and a recently uncovered stadion. The circuit of the old walls can still be traced.

Hellenistic
According to Strabo, this site was first called Sigeia (Σιγία); around 306 BC Antigonus refounded the city as the much-expanded Antigonia Troas by settling the people of five other towns in Sigeia, including the once influential city of Neandreia. It did not receive its name until its name was changed by Lysimachus to Alexandria Troas, in 301 BC, in memory of Alexander III of Macedon (Pliny merely states, in his view, that the name changed from Antigonia to Alexandria ). However, Pliny's view is not correct, because the city continued being called Alexandria Troas, and so is also stated in the 4th-5th c. AD Tabula Peutingeriana. As the chief port of north-west Asia Minor, the place prospered greatly in Roman times, becoming a "free and autonomous city" as early as 188 BC, and the existing remains sufficiently attest its former importance. In its heyday the city may have had a population of about 100,000. Strabo mentions that a Roman colony was created at the location in the reign of Augustus, named Colonia Alexandria Augusta Troas (called simply Troas during this period). Augustus, Hadrian and the rich grammarian Herodes Atticus contributed greatly to its embellishment; the aqueduct still preserved is due to the latter. Julius Caesar and Constantine considered making Troas the capital of the Roman Empire.

Roman
In Roman times, it was a significant port for travelling between Anatolia and Europe. According to the account in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul of Tarsus sailed for Europe for the first time from Alexandria Troas and returned there from Europe (it was there that the episode of the raising of Eutychus is said to have occurred ). Ignatius of Antioch also paused at this city before continuing to his martyrdom at Rome.

Byzantine
Several of its later bishops are known: Marinus in 325; Niconius in 344; Sylvanus at the beginning of the 5th century; Pionius in 451; Leo in 787; Peter, friend of the Patriarch Ignatius, and adversary to Michael, in the ninth century. In the 10th century Troas is given as a suffragan of Cyzicus and distinct from the famous Troy (Heinrich Gelzer, Ungedruckte ... Texte der Notitiae episcopatuum, 552; Georgii Cyprii descriptio orbis romani, 64); it is not known when the city was destroyed and the diocese disappeared. The bishopric remains a titular see of the Catholic Church under the name Troas, vacant since 1971.

Troas is also a titular see of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Bishop Savas (Zembillas) of Troas served as hierarch from 2002 to 2011, and then became Metropolitan Savas (Zembillas) of Pittsburgh in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Ottoman
Karasid Turkomans settled in the area of the Troad in the 14th century. Their beylik was conquered by the Ottomans in 1336. The ruins of Alexandria Troas came to be known among the Turks as Eski Stambul, the "Old City". The site's stones were much plundered for building material (for example Mehmed IV took columns to adorn his Yeni Valide Mosque in Istanbul). As of the mid-18th century the site served as "a lurking place for bandetti".

Modern
By 1911, the site had been overgrown with Vallonea oaks and much plundered, but the circuit of the old walls could still be traced, and in several places they were fairly well preserved. They had a circumference of about ten kilometres, and were fortified with towers at regular intervals. Remains of an ancient bath and gymnasium complex can be found within this area; this building is locally known as Bal Saray (Honey Palace) and was originally endowed by Herodes Atticus in the year 135. Trajan built an aqueduct which can still be traced. The harbour had two large basins, now almost choked with sand. It is the subject of an early twenty-first century study by German archaeologists digging and surveying at the site. Their excavation uncovered the remains of a large stadium dating to about 100 BC.

title: Alexandria Troas


text:
Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire

Alexandria (The Vale, Alexandria ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The town is on the River Leven, 3 mi north of Dumbarton and 15 mi north-west of Glasgow.

Demographics
In 2016, the estimated population of the town was 6,860. It is one of five towns in the Vale of Leven, the others being Balloch, Bonhill, Jamestown and Renton; their combined population is over 20,000.

Economy
The town's traditional industries, most importantly cotton manufacturing, bleaching and printing, have been phased out. In the 1970s Alexandria was redeveloped, with a new town centre layout and traffic system. Local landmarks include Christie Park and the Category B listed Smollett Fountain in the town centre. Lomond Galleries on North Main Street is a former car factory with an impressive dome and an even more impressive marble entrance hall and staircase. It was originally built in 1906 as the Argyll Motor Works, for Argyll Motors Ltd. A carving above the entrance shows one of the company's cars. After the car production ceased in 1914, it was used by the Admiralty for the manufacture of torpedoes, which were test-fired in Loch Long, and in the early 1970s was the scene of the Plessey sit-in. The building now hosts a shopping mall but has retained many of its striking architectural features.

Major employers in the area were Westclox and Polaroid, both based in the Leven Industrial Estate; Aggreko based a major purpose-built factory in the estate from 2000 to 2010. The Ballantine's whisky distillery continues to operate in the estate.

Transport
Alexandria sits on the former A82 main road between Glasgow and Loch Lomond. There are regular bus services on the route, and the town has a railway station on the rail line between Balloch and Glasgow Queen Street.

Alexandria is reputed to be the only town in the UK with a railway station, carnival (periodically Codona’s travelling fair sets up in the car park) and a pub in the middle of a roundabout. A. J. Cronin's uncle owned a pub in Bridge Street. Alexandria Library is located on Gilmour Street.

Sport
The town is home to Vale of Leven football club, who play at Millburn Park. The club was a dominant force in early Scottish football history, winning the Scottish Cup in 1877, 1878 and 1879, and were founder members of the Scottish Football League.

Gordon Reid, born in Alexandria, has won the Wimbledon Tennis Men's Wheelchair Doubles, with his partner Alfie Hewett, three times.

ROC Bunker
Between 1961 and 1991, the village was the location of a Royal Observer Corps Master bunker, to be used in the event of a nuclear attack. It remains mostly intact.

Notable natives and residents

 * Stuart David, writer and musician (Belle and Sebastian)
 * Zander Diamond, Scottish professional footballer
 * John Miller "Ian" McColl, Scottish footballer and manager of the Scotland national team
 * Morgan McMichaels, Scottish-American drag queen and reality television personality
 * Dawn O'Porter, British writer, director and television presenter
 * Bobby Kerr, Scottish professional footballer, captain of Sunderland A.F.C.’s 1973 FA Cup-winning team

title: Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire


text:
Alexandria, Romania

Alexandria is the capital city of the Teleorman County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located south-west of Bucharest, towards the Bulgarian border, and has over 40,000 inhabitants. The 44th parallel north passes just north of the city.

Geography
Alexandria is situated in the middle of the Wallachian Plain, on the banks of the Vedea River. It is located in the central part of Teleorman County, at a distance of 62 km from Giurgiu and 86 km from Bucharest.

The city is traversed by the national road DN6, which links Bucharest to the Banat region in western Romania; the road is part of European route E70. The Alexandria train station serves the CFR Line 909, with service towards Roșiorii de Vede (to the northwest) and Zimnicea (to the south, on the Danube).

History
Alexandria was named after its founder, Alexandru D. Ghica, Prince of Wallachia from April 1834 to 7 October 1842. Its population in 1900 was 1,675. Grain, which was Alexandria's main trade at the time, was dispatched both by rail to the Danubian port of Zimnicea and by river to Giurgiu.

In 1989, the city had over 63,000 inhabitants and more than six large factories. The 2021 census puts the population at 40,390.

Education
There are three high schools in Alexandria: the Alexandru D. Ghica National College, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza Theoretical High School, and the Constantin Noica Theoretical High School.

In 1897, the Ștefan cel Mare School moved from its former location to 310 Libertății Street; a local entrepreneur, M. Frangulea, obtained the plot and hired renowned architect Alexandru Săvulescu to build the new boys' primary school for the city.

Religion
The Diocese of Alexandria and Teleorman is a diocese of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Its see is Saint Alexander Cathedral in Alexandria and its ecclesiastical territory covers Teleorman County.

Sports
CSM Alexandria is a football club founded in 1948; it plays in the Romanian Liga III. CS Universitatea Alexandria is a women's football club founded in 2012. Stadionul Municipal, which holds 5,000 people, is the home ground for both clubs; the stadium is currently undergoing reconstruction. The Alexandria women's basketball team plays in the Liga Națională.

Natives

 * Valentin Badea (b. 1982), footballer
 * Dan Balauru (b. 1980), footballer
 * Adrian Bădulescu (b. 1967), politician
 * Cătălin Botezatu (b. 1966), fashion creator
 * Alexandru Colfescu (1899–1976), mayor, lawyer, writer
 * Anghel Demetriescu (1847–1903), historian
 * Gheorghe Mihăilescu (1888–?), World War I pilot
 * Ciprian Manolescu (b. 1978), mathematician
 * Andreea Ogrăzeanu (b. 1990), sprinter
 * Florin Olteanu (b. 1981), footballer
 * Sorin Paraschiv (b. 1981), footballer
 * Alin Pencea (b. 1992), footballer
 * Marin Stan (b. 1950), sports shooter
 * Alina Tecșor (b. 1979), tennis player
 * Alin Toșca (b. 1992), footballer
 * Daniel Tudor (b. 1974), footballer
 * Ionuț Voicu (b. 1984), footballer

title: Alexandria, Romania