Alexandria · 35 BC
What you're walking through
Around 35 BC, Alexandria was one of the largest and richest cities in the world, the capital of Egypt under its last queen, Cleopatra VII. Alexander the Great had founded it three centuries earlier, on a strip of land between the Mediterranean and a lake, and laid it out on a grid of straight streets, crossed by the Canopic Way, an avenue about 30 m wide.
Out in the harbour, on Pharos island, stood the lighthouse, around 100 m tall and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A causeway seven stadia long, the Heptastadion, joined the island to the city. Greeks, Egyptians and one of the largest Jewish communities anywhere lived side by side, and the city's great Library drew scholars from across the Mediterranean.
Who lives here
Alexandrian man
Greek, Egyptian or Jewish · Alexandria was one of the biggest cities in the Mediterranean world
Greeks ran the city and the government, Egyptians had their own quarter around the Serapeum, and Jews lived in a quarter of their own in the east of the city. Ships carried Egypt's grain, papyrus and linen from its harbours across the Mediterranean.
Alexandrian woman
A linen dress · in Egypt, women could own property, lend money and go to court
Egyptian law gave women more rights than Greek law did, and Greek women in Egypt came to use some of them. And the country itself was ruled by a woman: Queen Cleopatra.
Donkey
About 1.2 m at the shoulder · the pack animal of farms, roads and markets
Donkeys and mules carried firewood, grain and the farms' produce into town, and goods to and from the markets and harbours.
Horse
Kept by soldiers, officials and the rich · most goods went by boat or by donkey
Horses were costly to keep, so riding one was a sign of wealth and rank. The Ptolemies' army had a large cavalry.
The city is drawn much smaller than it really was: the causeway was over a kilometre long, and the harbour far wider. Nobody knows exactly what the lighthouse looked like; this one follows the usual reconstruction, with a square base, an eight-sided middle and a round top. The people and their period clothing are stylized approximations.
How to walk
Press Start walking above. WA SD or the arrow keys move you, the mouse looks around, hold Shift with a movement key to run at 3× walking speed, and Space jumps. Look at someone to see who they are. Esc pauses, and M turns the sound on or off. You're invisible: nobody here can see you.
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