Alexandria

Alexandria (/ˌælɪɡˈzændrɪə/ or /ˌælɪɡˈzɑːndrɪə/;Arabic: الإسكندرية al-Iskandariyyah; Egyptian Arabic: اسكندرية Eskendereyyah; Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟⲧⲉ Rakotə) is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. It is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it highly vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is Egypt's largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. It is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist destination.

Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It became an important center of the Hellenistic civilization and remained the capital of Hellenistic and Roman and Byzantine Egypt for almost 1000 years until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo). Hellenistic 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; now replaced by a modern one); and the Necropolis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Alexandria (schooner)

Alexandria was a cargo-carrying three-masted schooner built in 1929. Originally named Yngve, she was built at Björkenäs, Sweden, and fitted with a 58 H.P. auxiliary oil engine.

Around 1937 her Rigging was changed to ketch. In 1939, she was sold and renamed Lindö. She operated in Baltic waters as a coastal trader until 1975 when she crossed the Atlantic to New York. In early 1976, she was rebuilt and rerigged as a three-masted topsail schooner, her original rig. She took part in Operation Sail that July, and a similar event at Boston in 1980. In 1984, she was acquired by the Alexandria Seaport Foundation a non profit corporation in Alexandria, Virginia, and renamed Alexandria.

The foundation kept her as a live museum in Alexandria and sailed her as a goodwill ambassador for the city of Alexandria. She participated in several races and tall ship reunions sailing as far north as Boston and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. During this time she was rigged with bowsprit, jib-boom, foremast, mainmast and mizzenmast, all three masts fitted with topmasts and gaffs for the gaff sails and the fore topmast fitted with three yards for the topsails. The sails were four headsails, three gaff sails and three gaff topsails (one on each mast), upper and lower square topsails on the foremast, a staysail between the fore and main masts and another staysail between the main and mizzen masts.

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria also called The City of Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 139,966, and in 2014, the population was estimated to be 150,575. Located along the western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately 7 miles (11 km) south of downtown Washington, D.C.

Like the rest of Northern Virginia, as well as central Maryland, modern Alexandria has been shaped by its proximity to the U.S. capital. It is largely populated by professionals working in the federal civil service, in the U.S. military, or for one of the many private companies which contract to provide services to the federal government. One of Alexandria's largest employers is the U.S. Department of Defense. Another is the Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office moved to Alexandria.

The historic center of Alexandria is known as Old Town. With its concentration of boutiques, restaurants, antique shops and theaters, it is a major draw for tourists. Like Old Town, many Alexandria neighborhoods are compact, walkable, high-income suburbs of Washington, D.C. It is the 7th largest and highest-income independent city in Virginia.