Citadel of Qaitbay at Rashid

Historical background

Sultan El-Ashraf Seif El-Din Qaitbay (1468–1496 AD) built this fortress as one of the Mamluk strongholds protecting Egypt’s north from invaders. It was later renovated under Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghuri (1501–1516 AD). It stands on the bank of the Nile, only a few kilometres before the river meets the Mediterranean.

The citadel was officially inaugurated in 1482 AD. It is rectangular, with a semicircular tower at each of its four corners. Inside the walls were a central blockhouse with quarters for soldiers, stores for weapons and a mosque.

Structure of the citadel

The citadel is built of thousands of limestone blocks. Some came from older ancient Egyptian buildings and carried hieroglyphic inscriptions, among them the famous Rosetta Stone, discovered by the French Expedition to Egypt.

Napoleon led an expedition to Egypt in 1798. A year later French soldiers occupied the citadel, renovated parts of it, added sections for new military equipment and named it ‘Fort Julien’. During this work Pierre-François Bouchard, a French officer, found the Rosetta Stone, one of the most important finds in the history of Egyptology. It led the Egyptologist Jean-François Champollion to decipher the ancient Egyptian language.