Listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World, the stunning Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (also called Koum al-Shaqafah, Kom esh-Shoqafa, or other variants in the English spelling) are easily a must see for any trip to Alexandria. The catacombs were first carved into the bedrock by a wealthy family who still practiced the old pagan religion as a funerary site in the Second Century AD, with subsequent generations adding corridors and floors. Since pagans were under pressure to convert to Christianity at the time, the very existence of the necropolis was shrouded in secrecy, and not much is known about how the underground complex came eventually to include some 300 tombs. Popular legend says the Catacombs were rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey cart fell down one of the shafts, but more reliable accounts say it was a local man quarrying for stone who first broke through the walls. You'll enter by a staircase that spirals down about 35 meters to three subterranean floors decorated with carvings, mosaics, statues and the ornate tombs themselves in a style that mixes traditional Egyptian and Greco-Roman design elements. The rooms include a banquet hall that contained tableware when it was first discovered. At the center of the spiraling staircase is the shaft through which the bodies were lowered for burial.

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Open daily 9am to 4:30pm. Admission fee is E£35. The Catacombs are located in the Karmuz Quarter, in an area that was once an ancient fishing village before the city was founded. It's about ten minutes walk from Pompey's Pillar. The site is extremely popular for obvious reasons; the best times to beat the crowds are early in the morning or late afternoon. Be sure to wear shoes that can get dirty or muddy depending on the conditions, (the lower levels may flood when it rains). Some guides recommend a flashlight to fully explore its darker corners. Photography is not allowed to preserve the original decorations.

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