If the town of Rosetta is known at all today it is only because its name is attached to the famous black stela that provided the key to unlocking many of the mysteries of ancient Egypt. The stone is now held by the British Museum in London, and the small Nile-side town where it was found has become little more than a historical footnote.

Rosetta is located where the western branch of the Nile flows into the sea. During the Middle Ages it was Egypt’s busiest port and a major player in the trade between Egypt and Italian city-states. But the town’s fortunes have always been inversely linked to those of Alexandria, and when the city experienced a rebirth in the nineteenth century, it was at the expense of Rosetta.

That Rosetta was once a far wealthier town is evident in its fine old Turkish-era houses, built by wealthy burghers and merchants. There are about 20 of these, all within a few minutes’ walk of each other.