Rosetta

Nineteenth-century cannons in a mid-town square in Rosetta

Rosetta is a port city on the Mediterranean coast in Egypt. It is located 65 km (40 miles) east of Alexandria, at 31°24'N 30°25'E, in al-Buhayrah governorate. It was founded around 800 AD. With the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in the 16th century, Rosetta boomed, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century it was a popular British tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman mansions, citrus groves and cleanliness. It is famous as the site where the Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers in 1799.

History

It is the modern representative of the ancient Bolbitine, which lay a little farther north. In the Middle Ages, Rosetta was a place of considerable commercial importance, and it continued to flourish until the construction of the Mahmudiyeh Canal and the improvement of the harbour at Alexandria diverted most of its trade to the latter city.