Gezicht op de Place des Consuls in Alexandrië - Zangaki Brothers

A late nineteenth-century albumen print by the Zangaki brothers, capturing the formal layout and architecture of the Place des Consuls in Alexandria.

This albumen print captures the Place des Consuls in Alexandria, Egypt, during the late nineteenth century. The Zangaki brothers, active in Egypt from the 1870s to the 1890s, operated a studio that produced numerous images for the growing tourist market. Their work often documented the urban transformation of Egyptian cities under European influence. The composition provides a high-angle view of the square, which was the centre of European life in Alexandria at the time. A large, circular fountain occupies the foreground, surrounded by formal gardens and rows of trees that lead the eye toward the distant buildings. The architecture reflects the neoclassical and Mediterranean styles prevalent in the city's development during this period. The print shows the orderly layout of the square, contrasting with the bustling activity often associated with the port city. Technically, the image demonstrates the clarity and tonal range typical of albumen printing, a process that was the standard for commercial photography in the late nineteenth century. The Zangaki brothers were known for their technical proficiency, often using large-format glass plate negatives to achieve such detail. This photograph serves as a record of the urban planning and colonial-era architecture that defined Alexandria before the significant changes of the twentieth century. The inclusion of the fountain and the symmetrical arrangement of the greenery suggests a deliberate attempt to present the city as a modern, well-maintained urban space for international visitors. The print remains a valuable document for those interested in the history of photography in the Middle East and the visual representation of colonial urban environments.