The area surrounding the train station in Alexandria was buzzing with tourist buses and school trips. A sign reading “Kom Al-Dikka Monuments Area — Roman Theatre” was noticeable as tourists and others lined up before the ticket office in preparation for a tour. A list of ticket prices and visiting times (from 9am to 5pm) and regulations hung on the office.

Our journey started in front of the theatre gate. We were excited to find out more about the area’s Roman Theatre. Few people, if any, would likely know that every stone has a meaning and a historical significance, the kind of stories that are so appealing to visitors. Asking for the company of a tour guide would definitely make the journey more enjoyable.

Our tour guide was Kholoud Shawki, who received us in her office on the archaeological site near the Roman Villa of the Birds. “This archaeological gem was excavated by a Polish mission to Egypt in cooperation with Egyptian archaeologists in 1960,” Shawki said. “It is located west of the ancient royal district and is considered the most important ancient neighbourhood of Alexandria.”

The area includes the theatre and other buildings that are unique testimony of their period in Alexandria. “They reflect the significant cultural and educational role that Alexandria played during the Roman era,” Shawki said.

On our way to Shawki’s office, we noticed a sign leading to the Roman baths and water tanks, which piqued our curiosity. Our guide’s passion for archaeological research, and particularly for this historical site, was contagious, and we were soon eager to listen to every story she had to tell about the place.

The passion in Shawki’s eyes, reflected in her voice, turned bricks and mortar into books of history. We were walking down the memory lane of the Roman Empire. Shawki started the tour by giving details about each structure. Granite columns featuring inscriptions herald the entrance of the theatre surrounded by various statues that had been excavated from the Mediterranean Sea off Alexandria.

The Roman Theatre in Alexandria was a place for research, study, and music during the Roman era, and not just for theatrical performances.

“It was an amphitheatre, not a theatre,” Shawki explained.  “It was something like a lecture theatre, not a place for theatrical performances.”

She moved to the centre of the area where we were standing, and to our surprise her voice became suddenly amplified. She smiled and asked us to stand on a circular stone in the middle. Our voices echoed in the same way.

 “There is a circular stone at the centre of the theatre, which if you stand on it your voices are amplified, as if using a microphone,” Shawki said. It explains why the Roman Theatre sometimes hosts summer concerts from the Opera House in Alexandria.

The Roman Theatre in Alexandria is a small amphitheatre that can only accommodate 500 people. It served as a cultural platform, a conference hall and an academy, and there were also 22 classrooms nearby. The place hosted classes and served as a meeting place for local politicians. It was more like a small government building, and it is considered the first college in Egypt.

“There was another Roman Theatre in Alexandria that the Polish mission also discovered,” Shawki said. “It was located in the eastern area, but it was totally ruined. It is also believed that a Ptolemaic theatre once existed in the area where the modern Faculty of Dentistry is located now,” Shawki said.

In contrast, the Roman Theatre or Colosseum in Rome was a huge place that could accommodate thousands of spectators. “Unfortunately, the Romans used to enjoy the sight of bloodshed because they were the controllers of a vast empire that had expanded by virtue of killing,” Shawki noted.