This castle was established by Sultan Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Nasr Qaitbay Al-Mahmoudi, who is the forty-first of the kings of Turkey in Egypt and the fifteenth of the kings of the Circassians, and he advanced in positions until he reached the Sultanate in the year 872 AH / 1467 AD and died in the year 901 AH / 1495 AD and was buried in his school in the desert In Cairo. Sultan Qaytbay traveled to Alexandria in the month of Rabi ‘al-Awwal 882 AH / 1478 CE, and went towards the old lighthouse that was in the pit and ordered the construction of a large tower on its basis, and in Shaaban 884 AH / 1479 CE. The Sultan traveled again to Alexandria to see the tower he built there, which was completed.
This castle was established to fortify the city of Alexandria and protect it from external aggression, especially from the Ottoman Empire, which began to change the direction of its conquests from Europe to the Islamic East, so Sultan Qaytbay tried to fortify the borders of Egypt and began building many new castles. The castle consists of a rectangle of 150 mx 130 m, and is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the castle has a main entrance on the southwestern side in the form of two towers in the form of three quarters of the circle, and the castle has two walls that represent two defensive areas, and a mosque has been attached to the castle on the northeastern side. From a central hall surrounded by four iwans. Huge storage of fresh water for the use of the castle residents.
The reason was the building of a castle in Alexandria due to the many direct threats to Egypt by the Ottoman Empire, which threatened the entire Arab region, and the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri took care of the castle, increased its importance and shipped it. With weapons. Knights, artillery and various garrisons to defend it.
And because Qaitbay Castle in Alexandria is considered one of the most important castles on the Mediterranean coast, the Sultans and rulers of Egypt have taken care of it throughout the historical ages.
In the Mamluk era, we find Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri, who took great care of this castle and increased the strength of its garrison and shipped it with weapons and equipment. North Coast.
