The Manuscript Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina hosts a beautifully displayed collection of ancient texts, antiquarian books and maps, including a copy of a fragment of the only surviving papyrus scroll from Alexandria's ancient library. Most of the manuscripts are written in beautiful Arabic calligraphy.
Manuscript Museum
Alexandria
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.07 MILES
Alexandria’s ancient library was one of the greatest of all classical institutions, and while replacing it might seem a Herculean task, the new…
0.6 MILES
This excellent museum sets a high benchmark with its summary of Alexandria’s past. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, the small but…
4.31 MILES
Mahmoud Said (1897–1964) was one of Egypt’s finest 20th-century artists, even though he is little known outside his country. A judge by profession, he…
2.18 MILES
Discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared through the ground, these catacombs make up the largest-known Roman burial site in Egypt and one…
Pompey’s Pillar & the Temple of Serapeum
2.09 MILES
A massive 30m column looms over the debris of the glorious ancient settlement of Rhakotis, the original township from which Alexandria grew. Known as…
1.07 MILES
Kom Al Dikka was a well-off residential area in Graeco-Roman times, with lovely villas, bathhouses and a theatre. The area was known at the time as the…
1.43 MILES
The Eastern Harbour is dominated by the bulky walls of Fort Qaitbey, built on a narrow peninsula over the remains of the legendary Pharos lighthouse by…
1.64 MILES
This stately mosque was built over the tomb of a revered 13th-century Sufi saint, Abu Abbas Al Mursi, from Murcia in Spain. Several successive mosques…
Nearby Alexandria attractions
The Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has a well-curated exhibition of artefacts that romp from the Pharaonic, through the Greek and Roman…
The planetarium at Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a futuristic neon-lit sphere, looming on the plaza like a mini Death Star from Star Wars. It shows 3D films…
0.02 MILES
The World of Shadi Abdel Salam, named for the late cult-film director, painter, script writer and set designer born in Alexandria in 1930, shows a display…
0.07 MILES
Alexandria’s ancient library was one of the greatest of all classical institutions, and while replacing it might seem a Herculean task, the new…
0.43 MILES
This intimate walled Jewish cemetery has largely escaped vandalism and is pretty well kept. The many graves stand as lonely reminders of Alexandria's once…
0.46 MILES
The Shatby area of central Alexandria has been a home to the city's necropolis for centuries, although this Coptic cemetery is a more recent (for…
0.53 MILES
This massive mosque, built in the 1940s, is a major landmark. It played an important role in the 2011 revolution as a gathering point for many of the city…
0.6 MILES
This excellent museum sets a high benchmark with its summary of Alexandria’s past. Housed in a beautifully restored Italianate villa, the small but…