Alexandria: The City of C.P. Cavafy

Stand on the balcony of C.P. Cavafy's restored Alexandria apartment, then walk the Corniche that shaped his poems of love between men.

Cavafy’s Alexandria

Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great more than 2,300 years ago and was for centuries one of the great cities of the ancient world. In the early twentieth century, it was also home to a large Greek community and to one of the most important poets of the modern era.

Constantine P. Cavafy was born in Alexandria in 1863 and spent most of his life here. His poems, many of them about desire between men, were written with a frankness that was rare for their time.

With a private guide, you can see the city as he knew it, from his apartment to the streets and cafes he wrote about.

The Cavafy House

In 1907, Cavafy moved into an apartment on what was then Rue Lepsius, and he lived there until his death in 1933. The street now bears his name, and the apartment has been restored as the Cavafy House, reopening in 2024.

Its rooms hold furniture, photographs, manuscripts, and books, and you can stand on the balcony where he once looked out over the city. You may also find installations such as the video works first shown at Archive of Desire, a Cavafy festival held in New York in 2023.

Poems of Desire

Cavafy wrote about history, memory, and the passing of time, but many of his best-known poems recall love between men: brief encounters, remembered faces, and the rooms where they met.

He published much of his work privately, in small pamphlets for friends, and only became widely known after his death. Today, he is read around the world, and his poems are among the most important in the history of gay literature.

E.M. Forster in Alexandria

During the First World War, the English novelist E.M. Forster worked in Alexandria with the Red Cross. He became a friend of Cavafy and helped introduce his work to English readers.

Forster also fell in love in Alexandria with a tram conductor named Mohammed el Adl, a relationship that mattered deeply to him for the rest of his life. He later wrote a guidebook to the city that is still read today.

The Corniche and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Alexandria’s long seafront corniche sweeps around the Eastern Harbor, lined with buildings from the city’s cosmopolitan years. At one end stands the Citadel of Qaitbay, built on the site of the ancient lighthouse.

Along the way is the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern library and cultural centre opened in 2002 in honour of the great library of antiquity. It is a fitting stop on a day spent with a writer who drew so much from the city’s past.

Knowing the Law

Egypt is a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ people. Homosexuality is not explicitly named in Egyptian law, but people are arrested and prosecuted under other charges, with prison sentences of up to ten years. Outside your hotel, avoid any public displays of affection or LGBTQ+ symbols, and do not use dating apps while in the country.

Our blog, Gay Travel in Egypt: Law vs. Reality, gives a full and honest account of the risks, so you can decide whether Egypt is right for you.

Planning Your Alexandria Experience

Alexandria is around three hours by road from Cairo, so most visitors spend at least one night in the city. The walk takes most of a day, with time for lunch by the sea. The cooler months from October to April are the most comfortable time to visit.

Out Of Office can arrange a private driver, a guide who knows Cavafy’s life and work, and a hotel we trust. Your LGBTQ+ travel specialist can also help you decide how Alexandria fits with Cairo, Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, or a journey along the Nile, on a wider trip to Egypt.