Babylon of Egypt

Brief information

Babylon of Egypt stood where the fortress was at once a military post, a customs station, and a hub of waterways. The city lay on the border between Lower and Middle Egypt: vessels traveling up or down the Nile paid duties here. Nearby began the Canal of the Pharaohs, which linked the Nile with the Red Sea, so the site controlled not only the riverbank but also movement between the river and sea routes.

The Romans moved the fortification to its present location because of water-supply problems and built a new fortress closer to the river. An important paradox can now be read in the distance: since then, the Nile has shifted about 400 meters northward. What was conceived as a river fortress today helps us see how greatly the waterline itself has changed.

What to notice right away

It makes sense to compare three traces of the fortress’s different functions. The Roman masonry of red and white brick shows the moment when the old fortification was replaced by a new military structure. The ruins of the large aqueduct explain why the question of water was not just background for Babylon, but part of the site’s organization: the fortress had to be not only defended, but also supplied.

Within the ancient fortress, the Coptic Museum, a convent, and several churches are now named, including the churches of George and Mary. This set helps one read the area not as a single frozen monument, but as a fortress space that continued to live in another purpose. Even the Arabic name Qasr al-Shami, “Palace of Candles,” is connected with the towers: candles were lit in them to track the movement of the sun from one tower to another.