Which ancient wonder was built in the city of Alexandria?

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was the ancient wonder built in Alexandria, Egypt. Also called the Pharos of Alexandria, it stood on the island of Pharos beside the city’s harbor and guided ships into one of the most important ports of the Hellenistic Mediterranean.

Construction began during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter and was completed under his son, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, in the early third century BC. Ancient writers described a tall, multi-level structure, probably built from large blocks of pale stone. A mirror or polished metal surface was traditionally said to reflect sunlight by day and firelight by night.

The lighthouse’s exact height is uncertain, but ancient and later accounts agree that it was among the tallest human-made structures of its time. Its design influenced the later use of the word “pharos” for lighthouse in several languages.

Earthquakes damaged the structure repeatedly, and much of it had collapsed by the fifteenth century. Stones from the ruins were later reused in the Qaitbay Citadel, which occupies the site today.