The Gardens & villa of Antoniadis is a very famous and important site in Alexandria, and yet is not frequented by many tourists. The Villa is listed as historical monument number 1,250 in the governorate conservation registry. It lies at the southern entrance of Alexandria, and is surrounded by some 48 hectares of greenery in several sections. They include the Antoniadis Garden, the Flower Garden, the Zoological and Botanical Gardens and the Nouzaba Garden,. The Antoniadis Palace and its park are constructed as a miniature version of the Palace of Versaille. The Villa and its garden date back to the 19th century, and is mainly used to house a collection of statues sculpted in the Greek style and owned by Sir John Antoniadis. It consists of a basement level, a ground floor, a second floor and a roof area During Sir John Antoniadis lifetime, it was a gathering place for the social elite, and was the scene of much gaiety and many parties. However, Antonis Antoniadis, the son of Sir John Antoniadis, later donated the family mansion, grounds and gardens to the Alexandria Town Council. Afterwards, it was used as a guest house to host visiting dignitaries to Egypt, including the King of Belgium, Greece, Italy, the Shah of Iran and Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, who was married to the Egyptian Princess Fawzia, the sister of King Farouk. The Villa also hosted the signing ceremony of the 1936 agreement between Egypt and Briton, which gave Egypt some limited independence, and it held the first meeting of the Egyptian Olympia committee. - this special venue can accommodate up till 1000 Pax seated within the wonderful scenery of open air garden in lunches or gala dinners
IWNTA - SIGHTSEEING - Alexandria - Antoniadis Gardens
