ALEXANDRIA 1897

Mohamed Ali Square, Alexandria Egypt.

By the 1880s, Alexandria had blossomed into a thriving port city, its layout and architecture reflecting the strong European influences at play.

Its medieval streets were blown out into grand boulevards and public squares, and the laying of modern, eventually electrified, streetcar track was a beacon of progress within the heavily colonialized Egyptian city.

In 1882, the British further invested in the Alexandria Tramway, followed by an even larger investment by a Belgian rail company in 1897, who bought the rights to the Tramway, which thereafter became known as the Alexandria Tramway Company.

Following its European takeover, the Alexandria Tramway began the process of electrification, in keeping with similar street rail systems around the world.