It is located in the eastern end of the island pharos, West Alexandria. It was built in the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria, which had lost a large part of construction in the 1375 AD devastating earthquake, which occurred in the era of sultan Mohammed ibn qalawun. It was destroyed this year.
Al ashraf qaitbay in the late mamluks state began constructing the fortress in 1477 AD and finished it in 1483.
It was said by a contemporary voyager at that time, “a magnificent tower and one of the most significant and most beautiful buildings, “securing any threat against the ottoman empire.
The castle takes the form of a square on 1750 m2, surrounded by the sea from three sides. The court contains walls and the central tower. The walls are divided into two fences of large stone. The first is the outer wall surrounding the castle from the four sides. The easter wall overlooks the sea with a height of eight meters, including no towers. The western side is a large wall whose thickness is greater than the rest of the fortress walls, including three cylindrical towers and considered the oldest remaining parts.
The southern side overlooks the eastern port. It includes three hemicylindrical towers with the main entrance of the fort in the middle. At the same time, the northern wall overlooks the sea and is divided into two parts. The lower is a sizeable covered corridor built directly over the rock with several rooms. In contrast, the upper part is a corridor of narrow holes overlooking the sea, and the interior walls were built of stone, surrounding the central tower except for the northern side.
A group of adjacent rooms ferments the fence from inside as barracks for the soldier, free of any openings other than doors with open slots on the vast courtyard of the castle and wide ventilation slots and defense opening on the other hand.
The castle’s central tower is located in the north-western side area of the castle, in a sizeable square-shaped court of 30 meters large and 17 meters high. It consists of three floors.
There are four semi-circular towers in the corners of the tower. They end with balconies from the upper part with central holes to throw arrows at two levels. On the first floor of the citadel, a mosque is composed of a square patio and four iwans with inside arch decorations and geometrical and foliate motifs.
The ground of the courtyard is covered with multiple geometrical formations. It also contains defense corridors to allow the soldiers to pass easily in defense of the castle; the mosque’s minaret had collapsed. The second floor includes the galleries, halls, and interior rooms. The third floor contains an ample space (the sultan Qaitbay) where he used to sit to see the ships coming to Alexandria.
It is a rectangular shape, 5 meters long and 4 meters wide. The roof was built of brick of cross vaults and was based on four arches attached to the walls. This floor contains a bakery to prepare the bread and a mill for grinding grain for the soldiers living in the castle. Reach inside the tower goes through the main entrance in the southern wall. Sultan konsoh algori renewed the fortress and increased its garrison . during the ottoman rule of Egypt. The castle was neglected. However, Mohamed Ali pasha restored the walls, renovated the buildings, and provided them with a gun port. During the British occupation of Egypt, the fortress was bombarded and cracked until 1904 AD, when it was renewed in light of studies carried out by the French scientists.