Alexandria in the First World War
Heritage Days 2014
The centenary of the Great War was an opportunity to evoke a little-known part of Alexandria’s history, as this global conflict did not spare the city. The exhibition, put together by the CEAlex with the participation of Senghor University, traces the intertwined destinies of Alexandrians who were mobilised and left to fight in Europe, and soldiers who came from Europe to fight on the Eastern Front. Alexandria played an important role as one of the Allies’ support bases for the Dardanelles attack, both before the landings in Turkey on 25 April 1915 and as a medical centre during the long months of fighting, with the wounded and sick being transported by hospital ships.
Archival documents, postcards, photographs and the newspapers were all used to reconstruct the lives of Alexandrians during the conflict, Egyptians who enlisted in the war, and the Sub-Saharan Africans, Australians, British, French, Indians, New Zealanders and Turks who crossed paths in Alexandria.
The exhibition led to the publication of a book entitled Alexandrie dans la Première Guerre Mondiale
Panels from the exhibition presented at the Egyptian Cultural Centre in Paris in November 2018.
Click on the images to enlarge
