The Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria, Egypt, is one of the few monuments that holds a special place in my heart and one of the few places that I will never forget. Growing up during my summer vacation occasionally I would visit Egypt to see my fathers side of the family. Egypt is an incredibly ancient country, rich with history and artifacts/monuments of the nations past. One notorious monument is the great Pyramids of Giza. The Citadel of Quaitbay was a naval defense fortress built in Alexandria in 882 AD and was used to defend against the Ottomans at the time. The reason behind me picking the Citadel of Qaitbay is because of the monuments was not only for its beauty but also because of the personal connection I to it. The Citadel is built on by the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. While inside the sand colored bricked monument, you can smell the salt of the sea and hear the waves clashing against the short. Inside there is an ancient aesthetic like it was taken straight out of the Disney movie Aladdin. What makes it unforgettable visually is when you climb to the top and see the city and oceans view while the sun is setting and that view is one of the reasons this monument is engraved in my head.

The personal connection that touched me from this monument is my heritage and identity being tied to it. On my fathers side everyone we can trace back from hundreds of years have lived in the same city of Alexandria. Within the walls of that monument Alexandrians, my people have died and fought in that fortress. The monument is ancient and not just a part of history but a part of my history as a person who comes from generations of Alexandrians. So being there evoked a sense of deep connection to my roots and served as a reminder to the historical richness of my linage. So the beauty of the monument and the importance it has to my identity are the reasons to why the Citadel of Quaitbay is so significant to me compared to other monuments that I have visited.