Alexandria: the city of the 13th Biennial

Widely known as " The Pearl of the Mediterranean", Alexandria was named after her founder Alexander the Great, where he wanted to perpetuate all the best aspects from Hellenism.
Alexandria is the second largest city and the busiest port in Egypt.
It stretches nearly 70 km along the northern shore of the Mediterranean coast, with urban areas covering more than 100 square km.
Its population of more than 4 million (2005 estimate) still reflects her ancient history and historic ties to the Mediterranean, making her the pride of the Mediterranean.
Over 300,000 tourists visit Alexandria each year.

Events like the Biennale 2007 will give a boost to tourism in the city, as well as bring cultural awareness to the local population. 
Alexandria has a rich history that began with its founding by Alexander in 331 BC. Derek Flower stated in his Shores of Wisdom that “Ptolemaic Alexandria was probably the most beautiful city of the Ancient World, the most prosperous and certainly the most international.”

It became the center of the civilized world at that time and the capital of multicultural thought, bringing together scientists, intellectuals and artists from all over the Mediterranean from different eras like Euclid, Mantheo, and Eratosthenes in ancient times and in the last century Cavafy, EM Forester and Lawrence Durrell.
Alexandria was governed by different rulers over the years starting with Ptolemy I Soter in the beginning and ending the Ptolemaic era with Cleopatra VII, Emperor Octavian of the Roman era, Amr Ibn El A'as of the Islamic and Arab era, Napoleon of the French era, ending with the Mohamed Ali and the Ottomans.

The 19th and 20th centuries were considered the " Golden Age" of Alexandria because culture and cosmopolitanism flourished.
With ethnic minorities like Armenians, Greeks, Lebanese, Maltese and Syrians among others, Alexandria is considered the most culturally diverse of all Egyptian cities. 
This cultural diversity is reflected in the many artistic and historical places that embody its momentous history, dating back to Greek, Roman, Ptolemaic, Byzantine, and Islamic times.

Alexandria possesses eight museums, twenty churches, synagogues, many mosques, seven theaters, thirteen cultural centers (both local and foreign) in addition to important places and touristic sites such as Fort Qait Bey, Greco-Roman Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the interesting Turkish Quarter (Mansheya), Montaza Gardens, the Corniche that travels the length of the city with Stanley Bridge, Pompey’s Pillar and the Catacombs (Kom el Shouqafa) among others. 

The Bienniale, starting from the 25th November until the 4th December 2005, will be held in different location of Alexandria: Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Fort Qait Bey, Villa Antoniadis and Gardens, Sayed Darwish theater – Opera House and Fine Arts Museum.

• Venues of the Biennial