n.
City (metro. area pop., 1996: 3,328,196) and chief seaport, northern Egypt .
It lies on a strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis. The ancient island of Pharos, whose lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the World , is now a peninsula connected to the mainland. Alexandria's modern harbour is west of the peninsula. The city was founded in 332 BC by Alexander the Great and was noted as a centre of Hellenistic culture. Its library (destroyed early centuries AD) was the greatest in ancient times; a new library was opened in 2001. The city was captured by the Arabs in AD 640 and by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. After a long period of decline, caused by the rise of Cairo , Alexandria was revived commercially when Muhammad Al 012B; joined it by a canal to the Nile River in the early 19th century. Modern Alexandria is a thriving commercial community; cotton is its chief export, and important oil fields lie nearby. See also Museum of Alexandria .