A few paces to the S. of the Place Méhémet Ali lies the triangular Square Ste. Catherine (Pl. F, 4), named after the Catholic Church of St. Catharine. From this point we walk (or take a car or motor-omnibus, see p. [431]) to the S.E. through the Rue Abou Dardah (Pl. F, 4, 5) and Rue de la Colonne Pompée (Pl. F, G, 6, 7), past the Sidi Amr Mosque (Pl. G, 6) and a large Cimetière Arabe (Pl. F, 6, 7), to a bare hill, on the right, covered with débris.
Here in the time of the Ptolemies rose the Serapeum, the most superb temple in the city, dedicated to Serapis, god of the lower regions. On the same site now stands Pompey’s Pillar (Pl. F, G, 7; adm. 3 pias.; see also p. [432]), the grandest memorial of antiquity in the city. We ascend by steps to the plateau. All around are traces of recent excavations, chiefly bringing to light relics of Roman edifices. The column, composed of red granite from Assuan, is 88 ft. high including the mutilated base. It is perhaps a Christian monument of victory, dating from the time of Emp. Theodosius I. (p. [433]), signalizing the destruction of the Serapeum (391). In the middle ages it was supposed to be the tomb of Pompey.
We follow the Rue Karmouss (Pl. G, 7, 8), which leads hence to the S. to the Mahmûdîyeh Canal, and diverging to the right viâ the Rue Bab el-Melouk, we pass a small mosque and reach (10 min.) the entrance (Pl. ‘E.’; F, 8) to the—
*Catacombs of Kôm esh-Shukâfa (Pl. F, 8; ‘hill of potsherds’), an Egyptian burial-place of the 2nd cent. A.D., hewn in the rock. Adm. from 8 a.m. till dusk (5 pias.; see also p. [432]).
The tombs, discovered in 1900, consist of several stories and afford an excellent example of the characteristic Alexandrine blend of the Egyptian with the Græco-Roman style. They probably belonged to some Egyptian magnate. Around the principal chambers are plainer vaults for the domestics of the family. Modern stairs ascend to the restored entrance on the hill-top. The interior is rendered accessible by wooden bridges and lighted by electricity, but is partly under water.
A spiral staircase, lighted by a large round shaft, descends near a sarcophagus-chamber of later date to two stories. From the entrance to the upper story we enter a rotunda covered with a kind of dome. On the right are two smaller vaults with niches, sarcophagi, and shelf-tombs (loculi). On the left is a large chamber, the Triclinium Funebre, used for funeral banquets.
The stairs divide farther down, affording a survey of the principal chambers, and lead round the entrance to the *Tomb Chapel on the lowest floor, with three niches for sarcophagi. Round the chapel runs a gallery, accessible from the vestibule, with 91 shelf-tombs.
An important thoroughfare, leading to the N.E. from the Rue Abou Dardah (p. [434]), is the Rue Sidi el-Metwalli (Pl. F, G, 5, 4), with its continuation the Rue de la Porte de Rosette (Pl. F-I, 4, 3). These streets unite at the end of the busy Rue Chérif Pacha (Pl. F, G, 4), a street of shops, coming from the Place Méhémet Ali (p. [434]). This thoroughfare corresponds with the E. half of the Dromos, the main street of the ancient city, which ended at the Canopic Gate, the site of the now removed Porte de Rosette. In the Rue du Musée, a N. side-street, is the—
*Museum (Pl. H, 3), a building in the Greek style, which contains an extensive collection of Græco-Roman antiquities, mostly Alexandrine, found in catacombs and tombs. Adm. daily, 9–12 and 3 to 5.30, 2 pias. (see also p. [432]; closed on Thurs. in summer).
From the ante-room we see the statue of Hercules in the transverse gallery between the main wings of the building (see below). The side-room contains a topographical collection. Room I (on the right). Christian antiquities, including tombstones and some of the terracotta flasks in which pilgrims brought holy oil from the tomb of St. Menas (d. 296) at Mariut.—Rooms II-V. Alexandrian coins, stamps from Greek amphoræ, etc.