Beaches & open spacesAncient Alexandria

Bir Masoud

A well among the shore rocks where visitors throw coins to make a wish; archaeologists suggest it was a tomb of the Greek era.

Around it on the map

The rocks of Bir Masoud at the sea’s edge, with the stone ring of the well and the breakwater beyond

Image credits

The story

What sets it apart

A ring of stone among the shore rocks, filled by the waves and by the coins thrown into it.

1The well among the rocks
2The custom of coins and wishes
3Sunset on the Corniche
4The Bir Masoud Gardens

Bir Masoud lies on the Mediterranean shore at Sidi Bishr, a well in the middle of a cluster of rocks, and is one of the city’s best-known places for an outing. Thousands of visitors a year throw coins into it to make a wish, and young men from the area dive in to gather the coins, swimming through its passages until they come out into the sea.

In 2018 Al-Ahram Gate quoted Dr Ahmed Abdel Fattah, a former member of the Supreme Council of Antiquities: archaeologists have suggested that the well was an ancient tomb built in the Greek era. The stories of its name differ: a holy man, Sheikh Masoud, who prayed beside it and died nearby; an Abyssinian slave who fled his master in Fatimid times; or a boy named Masoud who fled his stepmother.

The district’s table of gardens lists the “Bir Masoud Gardens” on El Geish Road, opposite the well.

Ancient Alexandria331 BC – 7th century AD

Its place in time

On the coast east of the ancient city, archaeologists suggest Bir Masoud was a tomb of the Greek era, since the Greeks liked to place their tombs near the sea.

This landmarkBir MasoudThe Greek era, as archaeologists suggest
After itSidi Bishr Mosque19th century, enlarged in 1945

On the timeline of all the landmarks

Memories of the place

Every memory is taken from a published, documented source, named under it.

The Greek era, as archaeologists suggest
Al-Ahram Gate quoted Dr Ahmed Abdel Fattah, a former member of the Supreme Council of Antiquities: archaeologists have suggested the well was an ancient tomb built in the Greek era, since the Greeks were known for placing their tombs near the sea.
Source: Al-Ahram Gate: «لعشاق "بئر مسعود" بالإسكندرية.. أشهر 4 أساطير حول أصله» (18 Oct 2018)

The other memories 2

The legends of the name
The stories of the name differ: Sheikh Masoud, a holy man who prayed by the well and died near it; an Abyssinian slave who fled his master in Fatimid times and died beside it; or a boy named Masoud, fleeing his stepmother, who was found drowned in it.
Source: Al-Ahram Gate: «لعشاق "بئر مسعود" بالإسكندرية.. أشهر 4 أساطير حول أصله» (18 Oct 2018)
2018
Thousands of visitors a year throw coins into the well to make a wish, and young men from the area dive in to gather them, swimming through its passages until they come out into the sea.
Source: Al-Ahram Gate: «لعشاق "بئر مسعود" بالإسكندرية.. أشهر 4 أساطير حول أصله» (18 Oct 2018)

Around it

This landmark
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Nearby landmarks

Distances are as the crow flies, and approximate.

Emergency and hotline numbers
National government complaints line	16528
Alexandria Governorate operations room (from a landline)	114
El Montazah I child protection committee	035481536
Child helpline	16000
Police	122
Ambulance	123
Fire service	180
Gas emergency	129
Electricity faults	121