Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and the capital of

Matrouh Governorate Matrouh Governorate ( ar, محافظة مطروح ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in the north-western part of the country, it borders Libya. Its capital is Mersa Matruh. Municipal divisions The governorate is divided into munic ...

. It is located west of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

and east of

Sallum Sallum ( ar, السلوم, translit=as-Sallūm various transliterations include ''El Salloum'', ''As Sallum'' or ''Sollum'') is a harbourside village or town in Egypt. It is along the Egypt/Libyan short north–south aligned coast of the Mediterra ...

on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. The city is also accessible from the south via another highway running through the Western Desert towards Siwa Oasis and

Bahariya Oasis El-Wahat el-Bahariya or el-Bahariya ( ar, الواحات البحرية "''El-Wāḥāt El-Baḥrīya''", "the Northern Oases"); is a depression and a naturally rich oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt. It is approximately 370 km away from ...

. In ancient Egypt and during the reign of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, the city was known as ''Amunia''. In the Ptolemaic Kingdom and later during the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, it was known as Paraitónion ( grc-koi, Παραιτόνιον). During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, it was called Paraetonium in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, which became () after the mid-7th century

Muslim conquest of Egypt The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. Byzantine ru ...

. As a British military base during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, several battles were fought around its environs as the German

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

attempted to capture the port. It fell to the Germans during the

Battle of Mersa Matruh The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 to 29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army (General Sir Claude Auchinleck) at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The combatant ...

, but was recaptured following the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented th ...

. Mersa Matruh is served by

Mersa Matruh International Airport Marsa Matruh International Airport, formerly ''Mersa Matruh Airport'' ( ar, مطار مرسى مطروح الدولي) , is an international airport in Mersa Matruh, Egypt. In 2011, the airport served 99,515 passengers (−13.7% compared to 2010) ...

. The city features soft white sand beaches and calms transparent waters; the bay is protected from the high seas by a series of rocks forming a natural breakwater, with a small opening to allow access for light vessels.

History

Mersa Matruh started as a small fishing town during Ancient Egyptian times and the reign of

Alexander The Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

and was named ''Amunia''. There are ruins of a temple for

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as ...

(1200 BC). The city became known as ''Paraitonion'' in the Ptolemaic era.

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

wrote that its goddess is

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. After Egypt came under Roman rule, the town became an important harbor for trade and shipping goods and crops to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. After the Arabic conquest, the city's name changed to ''Al-Baretun''. The city also bore other names from at least the beginning of the 20th century – Berek Marsa, Port Mhaddra (Mithr), and Port Bardiah. During

, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Baggush Box The Baggush Box was a British Army field fortification built in the Western Desert near Maaten Baggush, east of Mersa Matruh during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. Background The box was built by men of the Western Desert Force ...

was located to the east. Starting with the completion of an extension from the previous railhead at Fuka in February 1936,Playfair, Vol. I, page 3. Mersa Matruh was the terminus for a single-track

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, which passed through El Alamein. Mersa Matruh served as a vital British military base during

and was a major objective of Erwin Rommel's

, which captured it during the

Geography

Climate

Mersa Matruh has a dry-summer

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(''BWhs'') according to

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, but winds blowing from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

greatly moderate the temperature, making its summers moderately hot and humid while its winters are mild and moderately wet. Summers are sunny and dry, while in the colder months, there is some rain and cloud cover. Sleet and hail are common in Winter. Mersa Matruh and Port Said have the coolest summer days off all Egyptian cities and resorts, although not significantly cooler than other northern coastal places. Additionally

Rafah Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestini ...

Abu Qir Abu Qir ( ar, ابو قير, ''Abu Qīr'', or , ), formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus and northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located on Abu Qir Penins ...

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

Baltim Baltim ( ar, بلطيم ) is a city in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, in the north coast of Egypt. History The second part of the town's name preserves "end, furthest part (of Egypt)". Baltim was the beneficiary of a tax reduction und ...

Kafr el-Dawwar Kafr El Dawwar ( ar, كفر الدوار, lit=town of the farm ) is a major industrial city and municipality on the Nile Delta in the Beheira Governorate of northern Egypt. Located approximately 30 km from Alexandria, the municipality ...

and Mersa Matruh are the wettest in

. Another source shows more precipitation and stabler average temperatures.

Main sights

* Ruins of the Temple of the King, Pharaoh

(1200 BC) * Drowned city of

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

. * Drowned Palace of Cleopatra. * Egyptian Fleet Anchorage which was built by the Ptolemies. The remains of the naval installations still stand west of the port. * Coptic Chapel: built in the early Coptic age, it contains several caves bearing inscriptions. * Rommel's Hideout: A cave, hewn in the rock, where Rommel drew up plans for his military operations. It has now been turned into a military museum. * The British Cemetery: Thousands of rock-hewn tombstones stand in straight rows amidst a fenced garden. * The German Cemetery: It is a fortress-like memorial that was built on a height overlooking the sea. * The Italian Cemetery: It is a high tower fort standing on a high hill. The walls of the building are covered with marble.

Main beaches

* Ageebah Beach: About 28 km west of Mersa Matruh downtown, it is distinguished by its numerous natural cave * Al-Obayed Beach: About 20 km west of Mersa Matruh downtown * Rommel Bay.

Photo gallery

File:Mersa_Matruh_1.jpg File:Mersa_Matruh_2.jpg File:Mersa_Matruh_3.jpg File:Rommel_beach_1.jpg File:El_Gharam_beach_2.jpg File:El_Gharam_beach_1.jpg File:El_Awwam_Mosque_2.jpg File:Matrouh_Governorate.jpg

References

External links

Marsa Matrouh images

Sources

* {{Egyptian Cities Governorate capitals in Egypt Populated places in Matrouh Governorate Populated coastal places in Egypt Tourism in Egypt Mediterranean port cities and towns in Egypt