Granite column known as 'Pompey's pillar', Alexandria, Nile Delta region, Egypt

"The Serapeum, the most important temple of Serapis, was located in the native Egyptian quarter of Rakhotis. Evidently founded in the reign of Ptolemy III, much of the temple was constructed in the first centuries AD, though the famous granite column known as 'Pompey's pillar', dates to much later, around AD 297. Today, little else remains. South of the column two red-granite sphinxes of probable Ptolemaic date still stand, with a damaged black-granite sphinx of the 18th century." [Wilkinson R., 2000: The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson]. "Alexandria (now Al-Iskandariyah) is located on a narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mariut; it is now partially submerged. It was the renowned capital of the Ptolemies when they ruled Egypt. The city was famed for being the site of convergence of Greek, Arab and Jewish ideas." [The J.P.Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographic Names]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was working on "The Nile" project and traveled to Africa from March 14, 1961 to March 31, 1961, visiting Egypt.