Stanley Bridge – Alexandria’s Mediterranean Marvel

Where is Stanley Bridge located?

The bridge is located in the city overlooking the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the city of Alexandria. The bridge is located between Montazah Palace and Qaitbay Citadel, both of which are considered among the main destinations for tourism in the city of Alexandria. This bridge was built because of the traffic problems that the city of Alexandria is going through, because of its beautiful atmosphere and its lower temperature.

 

Among the rest of the Egyptian cities, it is a destination for visits by residents of other cities throughout the year, especially in the summer, which causes some congestion and traffic problems, which prompted the government to build this bridge to solve this problem.

When was Stanley Bridge established?

The construction of the Stanley Bridge began in the late twentieth century during the era of former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and the era of the Governor of Alexandria, Abdel Salam Mahjoub. As we mentioned, the bridge was built to solve traffic problems, and it was opened in the early third millennium, in 2001 AD.

 

Stanley Henry and Stanley bridge

First, who is Stanley Henry, and after whom was the bridge named?  And What is his relationship with Alexandria or Egypt?

• Stanley This is the name of the neighborhood in which the Stanley Bridge is located. Both of these things were named after the traveler Henry Stanley, who was of English origin. The name of this neighborhood was attributed, and in turn, this bridge was named after him due to his discovery of the water source at Lake Victoria; these are some means of honoring his name; the Stanley neighborhood is considered one of the most luxurious, upscale, and most beautiful areas of Alexandria.

 

• Stanley Bridge is a relatively short bridge with a length of about 400 meters, but it is distinguished in that it is the first bridge to cross the surface of the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The width of this bridge is about 21 meters, and it is the first bridge built over one of the bays of Alexandria.

 

• One of the reasons for building the bridge was to expand and decorate Alexandria Beach besides solving the traffic problems.

 

• The bridge’s Italian design is very similar to that of Montazah Palace, which gives them both a connection, even though they were built in different years, for different reasons, and by different workers, of course.

 

• Stanley Bridge is considered one of the best areas for self-recreation in the city of Alexandria, including fishing if you have this hobby or just contemplating the horizon and the magic of the picturesque city.

 

• The bridge has four towers that allow for better viewing and give a wonderful view of the area’s general appearance and the amazing bridge.

 

Interesting Information about Alexandria City

Alexandria is called the Bride of the Mediterranean and is considered the second capital of Egypt. It was the capital in ancient times, specifically In the Greek and Roman eras, it was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 70 km northwest of the Nile Delta. Alexandria includes among its folds many distinctive landmarks, as it contains the largest sea ports in Egypt (the port of Alexandria And the port of Dekheila), and it also includes the new library of  Alexandria, which can accommodate more than 8 million books, also includes many museums and archaeological sites.

 

The history of Alexandria dates back to the Greek era, where it began, It was created by Alexander the Great in the year 332 BC by filling in a part of the water that separated an island extending in front of the main coast. The name of Alexandria in the past was “ Rakotis,” and small villages surrounded it; Alexander the Great and his successors made it the capital of Egypt for Nearly a thousand years until the Islamic conquest of Egypt by Amr bin Al-Aas in year 621 AD.

 

Alexandria’s location on the Mediterranean coast is considered one of its most important tourist attractions, as it has been given special importance due to its proximity to the most important tourist markets. It faces European markets from the south and is located not far from Arab markets, whether in the east or the west. The coastal area is one of the most densely populated areas in Egypt, in Cairo and the Delta, and is connected to these areas by good roads.

 

Alexandria is full of historical sites that reflect its long history and its importance among the regions of Egypt. Given that Alexandria was the capital of Egypt throughout the Greek and Roman eras, There are many archaeological sites attributed to These two eras, such as the Pillar Column, the Serapeum Temple, the Black Head Temple, and the Roman Theater, Alexandria National Museum, in addition to several cemeteries such as the Kom el-Shuqafa cemetery, Mustafa Kamel’s cemetery, and the Anfushi cemetery.

 

This is in addition to archaeological sites attributed to periods other than these historical ones, such as the Church of St. Mark, whose history goes back to the Coptic era, Qaitbay Citadel, and Mosques Square (which includes the Al-Morsi Abu Al-Abbas Mosque and Al-Busiri Mosque), which dates back to the Islamic era.

 

Conclusion

The Stanley neighborhood is one of the best and most famous areas in all of Egypt for tourists and Egyptians because of the archaeological areas and landmarks it contains that are worth visiting and admiring, and the Stanley Bridge is one of these “modern” landmarks that are worth visiting and contemplating especially its wonderful details and towers, It is said that those responsible for building this bridge are the Egyptian Contractors Company, “the most famous architectural company in Egypt,” and the cost of this bridge is about 30 million pounds at the time of its construction.

 

The bridge and the tunnel next to it are considered creative means of solving traffic problems, As I mentioned in the title of the article, “A creative solution, which is the bridge, is used to solve non-creative problems, which are traffic problems because they are considered boring and repetitive problems.” And all of Alexandria is considered a landmark worth visiting every inch of it.