“Impressions of Alexandria” is a collection of original engravings, lithographs and maps that reveal artists' and travelers', impressions of Alexandria from the 15th to the 19th centuries. It also includes rare photographs of the city from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century, and highlights the cultural life in the cosmopolitan city as portrayed by its prominent writers and artists. The Exhibition is therefore a vivid documentation of the “city, half-imagined (yet wholly real)”, as Durrell describes it in The Alexandria Quartet.
"Impressions of Alexandria" is a permanent exhibition from Dr. Mohamed Awad’s personal collection. Educated at Victoria College, Alexandria, Dr. Mohamed Awad is a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering (Alexandria University), a practicing architect, historian and founder of the Alexandria Preservation Trust.
The Awad Collection is divided into two sections: Alexandria as seen by Artists and Travelers, and Cosmopolitan Alexandria: a Photographic Memory.