Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa: Alexandria Travel Guide (4.5★)

Down the spiral shaft

The descent sets the tone. A spiral staircase winds around a round shaft cut straight down into the limestone. Mourners are thought to have lowered bodies on ropes through the open centre while they walked the steps around it.

The name means “mound of shards.” It comes from the broken pottery that once covered the hill. The complex dates to the 2nd century AD and was used for generations, with the graves of the Antonine period among its burials. It was rediscovered in 1900, and the usual story is that a donkey cart fell through the ground.

What the rock holds

Below ground, the rooms branch off a central rotunda. Look for:

• The triclinium: a banquet hall with stone benches carved into the walls. Relatives held funeral meals here.
• The main tomb chamber: this is the reason people come. Anubis guards the doorway dressed as a Roman legionary, and serpents wearing the double crown of Egypt coil beneath Medusa heads.
• Sarcophagi niches: reliefs show Egyptian funeral scenes, but the carving style is Greco-Roman.
• The Hall of Caracalla: a separate group of tombs where bones of both horses and men were found. It is often linked to Caracalla’s massacre in Alexandria in 215 AD.

The lowest level sits in groundwater and is closed to visitors. The air down there stays humid all year, and the steps can be slick.

Reaching Karmouz

The catacombs lie southwest of the modern centre, away from the Corniche. A taxi, Uber or Careem from Raml Station or the seafront is the easiest way. Tell the driver “Kom el Shoqafa” or “Amoud el Sawari” (Pompey’s Pillar). The two sites are close enough to walk between, so plan them as one stop.

An hour covers the catacombs well. Add another 45 minutes for the Serapeum hill and Pompey’s Pillar. Wear shoes with grip for the damp stairs.

Getting the most from the ticket window and the guards

• Pay at the gate: the current price is posted at the ticket window. Carry Egyptian pounds in small notes, since card machines are not something to count on.
• Check camera rules at the gate: photography rules for the burial chambers have changed over the years.
• Guards offering a “special look”: a guard may wave you toward a niche or point out a carving with a torch. He will expect a small tip in cash afterwards. Accept or decline politely, and decide before you follow him.
• Timing: at the moment the site opens 9am–4pm every day, but antiquities sites change their hours through the year and close on some holidays. Check the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities listing for this month. Arrive by early afternoon so you are not rushed out at closing.
• Beat the groups: this is one of Alexandria’s best-known sites, and many visitors come as part of Cairo day trips. Arriving right at opening usually puts you underground before the coaches arrive.

Combine it with the Roman Amphitheatre at Kom el Dikka and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a short taxi ride north, and you have a full day of Greco-Roman Alexandria.