Pharos Lighthouse ruins (Qaitbay underwater site)

The Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was completed in 283 BC, with three storeys and a height of 135 m. A series of earthquakes destroyed it in the early 14th century, and thousands of tons of stone fell into the sea. In the 15th century, Sultan Qaitbay built a fort on the same site, which still stands today.

Systematic underwater archaeology began in 1994, when a team mapped the site next to the Qaitbay Citadel and catalogued more than 3,500 pieces. The dive passes among gigantic granite blocks, some weighing over 50 tons, obelisks and colossal statues of Ptolemaic kings and queens that once stood at the base of the lighthouse. On the seabed there are also three sphinxes and an ancient wine press, amid countless columns from Egyptian, Roman and Greek buildings. In 1993, hundreds of concrete blocks were dropped into the sea to protect the Qaitbay Citadel, and the resulting breakwater came to obstruct access to the remains.

Dives in Alexandria may turn up eagle rays, moray eels hidden among the stones, and octopuses. In the region, the best time is usually from June to October, when the sea tends to be calm.