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| "Burial Niches. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| "'Tomb Statue. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Burial Niches. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Tomb Carvings. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Tomb Carvings. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Tomb Carvings. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Tomb Carvings. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Tomb Carvings. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
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| Tomb Doorway Arch. Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt. Photos, Pictures, Information. |
Kom es-Shogafa or The Catacombs are found if you continue on Shari' el-Awud as-Sawari past Pompey's Piller to the right on Shari' Bab el-Muluk and then take Shari' el-Nasriya to the Catacombs. Its actual ancient Egyptian name was Ra-Qedil. Kom el-Shuqafa (literally means "Mound of Shards") Kom es-Shogafa is a rocky plateau situated between the ancient villages of Karmuz and Minia el-Bassal. This is where the village and fishing port of Rhakotis, the oldest part of Alexandria that predates Alexander the Great, was located. This is now one of the most densely populated districts of Alexandria and where the first catacombs were discovered. Mohammad Ali Pasha used the area to defend the city and the area was destroyed in about 1850. Excavations of Kom es-Shogafa were started in 1892 but no catacombs were really found until Friday, September 28th, 1900. The story was made up that by mere chance, a donkey pulling a cart fell through a hole into the ground and down into one of the catacombs. They still tell the story to tourists! But, the truth is quite different! The real discovery was made by the Alexandrian, Monsieur Es-Sayed Aly Gibarah who was quarrying for stone. Es-Sayed Aly Gibarah then sought out Dr. G. Botti, late director of the museum, explaining that, "While quarrying for stone, I broke open the vault of a subterranean tomb; come see it, take the antiquities if there are any, and authorize me to get on with my work without delay." Dr. G. Botti was busy so he allowed his inspector, Silvio Beghe, and an attendant, Abdou Daoud, to leave the museum at five o'clock, one half hour early, in order to visit the find and report back to him later on that evening. The following day, he would be amazed by the discovery. He found that Kom el-Shuqafa dates to about the 2nd century AD. And since the catacombs were built to house over 300 dead notables; they are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. Kom es-Shogafa was only opened to the public in 1995, after pumping the subsoil water from the 2nd level. The catacombs were hune out of solid rock on three superimposed levels. The dead were lowered down the central well of a spiral staircase by ropes. The vestibule has two semicircular niches, each containing a bench surmounted by a shell carved in the vaulted upper half of the niche. This opens onto a rotunda built around a central well covered with a domed kiosk supported by eight pillars.
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The Borg El Arab Airport (IATA: HBE, ICAO: HEBA) is the airport now serving Alexandria, Egypt as of December 2009 when all traffic was transferred from the Alexandria International Airport. It is located about 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Alexandria, in Borg El Arab (alternate spellings: Borg Al Arab, Burg El Arab). The airport also serves the nearby areas of the Nile Delta. It is possible to fly directly to Alexandria or to fly into Cairo International Airport and from there to the Borg El Arab Airport. We have links on this page that will connect you with flights into the Borg El Arab Airport and several of the best hotels in Alexandria. After getting a flight and a hotel into Alexandria; we suggest asking your hotel concierge to arrange either a car or a tour of Alexandria. You can call their Concierge Services ahead of your arrival and all of this can be pre-arranged for you. The Cairo International Airport (IATA: CAI, ICAO: HECA) is the busiest airport in Egypt and is located to the north-east of the city around 15 km from the business area of the city. Cairo International is the second busiest airport in Africa with over 65 airlines using the Cairo airport (including charter airlines) and 9 cargo airlines. With the assimilation of EgyptAir into Star Alliance in July 2008 the airport has the potential to be a major hub with its positioning between Africa, the Middle East and Europe. In 2008, the airport served 14,360,175 passengers and it is one of the top 100 airports in the world. The airport handles both domestic and international flights, and is open 24 hours a day. If you wish to see the pyramids, etc.. we suggest flying into Cairo and staying in one of their many fine hotels when touring the Cairo and the ruins in the surrounding areas. We have links on this page that will connect you with flights into Cairo and several of the best hotels in Cairo. After getting a flight and a hotel we suggest asking your hotel concierge to arrange either a car or a tour of the Cairo area. You can call their Concierge Services ahead of your arrival and all of this can be pre-arranged for you. We do this, when traveling in Egypt. It is safe and it works!!! We have never experienced a problem, doing it this way! Therefore, we have placed links to Priceline.com on this page so you can arrange your flights into and out of Cairo; as well as your hotel, when visiting this area.
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| Down A Stairway Cut From Rock Meet Interior Central Well Staircase | Dead Were Lowered Three Floors Down Central Well Into Other Rooms |
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| Left Interior Vestible Bench Under Shell Niche Near Well | Right Interior Vestible Bench Under Shell Niche By Well |
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| Enter From Spiral Stairway Seen On The Right | Halls Between The Rooms |
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| Dining Area For Family Of Dead Triclinium, Family Feasts Honoring Dead | Pads Placed On Stone Benches Tables Placed In Open Areas |
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| Burial Chambers, Urn Niches | Burial Chambers |
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| Burial Chambers | Burial Chambers |
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| Burial Chambers | Burial Chambers |
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| Air Shaft | Audrey DeLange Shows Us Another Room |
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| Hall Of Caracalla Rememberance To Christians Killed In Alexanderia's Ampitheatre | Stairway To Upper Levels |
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| Stairway Back Up | Statue In Tomb |
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| Audrey DeLange Shows Us The Hall Of Caracalla Staircase To Lower Floor | Audrey DeLange Shows Us The Lower Floor Vestibule Tomb & Burial Chamber |
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| Lower Level Decor Blends 2nd Century Egyptian And Roman Religious Belief | Audrey DeLange Says That Probably A Foreigner Buried Here Decor Lacks Pharaonic Understanding! |
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| Scene Inside Tomb | Scene Inside Tomb |
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| Back To Graeco-Roman Museum, Alexanderia Page
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