Marsa Matruh
Encyclopedia
Marsa Matrouh is a Mediterranean seaport and the capital of the Matrouh Governorate in Egypt
. It is 240 km (149.1 mi) west of Alexandria
and 222 km from Sallum, on the main highway from the Nile Delta
to the Libya
n border. Another highway leads south from the town, toward the Western Desert and the oases
of Siwa
and Bahariya. During Ancient Egypt
ian times and during the reign of Alexander The Great, the city was known as Amunia. In Ptolemaic
and Byzantine
times it was known as Paraitonion (Παραιτόνιον), and in Roman
times, as Paraetonium.
Marsa Matrouh is a main Egyptian tourist city, and serves as a getaway resort for Europeans and Cairenes
eager to flee the capital in the sweltering summer months. It is served by Marsa Matrouh Airport
. The city is known for its white soft sands and calm 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 light vessels in.
ian times and Alexander The Great and was named Amunia. And there are ruins of a temple of Rameses II (1200 B.C.). Then, Marsa Matrouh became known as Paraitonion in Ptolemaic era. Yet, when Roman occupation came to Egypt the town became an important harbor for trade and sending goods and crops to Rome
. It was named Paraetonium at that time.
During World War II
, the British Army
's Baggush Box
was located to the east. During this period, Marsa Matrouh was the terminus for a single-track railway which passed through El Alamein
.
, with cool winter
s and warm, dry summer
s. As the city and the region as a whole experience pleasant weather during summer, the city becomes a destination for millions of Egyptians
and foreign tourists. Rainfall occurs mainly during winter, but may also appear during the autumn
or spring
. Sleet
and hail
can also occur.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It is 240 km (149.1 mi) west of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and 222 km from Sallum, on the main highway from the Nile Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
to the Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n border. Another highway leads south from the town, toward the Western Desert and the oases
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
of Siwa
Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, nearly 50 km east of the Libyan border, and 560 km from Cairo....
and Bahariya. During Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian times and during the reign of Alexander The Great, the city was known as Amunia. In Ptolemaic
Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...
and Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
times it was known as Paraitonion (Παραιτόνιον), and in Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times, as Paraetonium.
Marsa Matrouh is a main Egyptian tourist city, and serves as a getaway resort for Europeans and Cairenes
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
eager to flee the capital in the sweltering summer months. It is served by Marsa Matrouh Airport
Mersa Matruh Airport
Marsa Matrouh Airport is an airport in Marsa Matrouh, Egypt.In 2009, the airport served 71,742 passengers .-Airlines and destinations:...
. The city is known for its white soft sands and calm transparent waters; the bay is protected from the high seas by a series of rocks forming a natural breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
, with a small opening to allow light vessels in.
History
It started as a small fishing town during Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian times and Alexander The Great and was named Amunia. And there are ruins of a temple of Rameses II (1200 B.C.). Then, Marsa Matrouh became known as Paraitonion in Ptolemaic era. Yet, when Roman occupation came to Egypt the town became an important harbor for trade and sending goods and crops to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. It was named Paraetonium at that time.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's Baggush Box
Baggush Box
The Baggush Box was a British Army field fortification built in the Western Desert during the World War II Western Desert Campaign. It was constructed by O'Connor's men to help repel the Italian invasion of Egypt in 1940 under Graziani. It was located near Maarten Baggush, to the east of Marsa...
was located to the east. During this period, Marsa Matrouh was the terminus for a single-track railway which passed through El Alamein
El Alamein
El Alamein is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.- Climate :...
.
Climate
Marsa Matrouh has a typical dry Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, with cool winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
s and warm, dry summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
s. As the city and the region as a whole experience pleasant weather during summer, the city becomes a destination for millions of Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
and foreign tourists. Rainfall occurs mainly during winter, but may also appear during the autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
or spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
. Sleet
Ice pellets
Ice pellets are a form of precipitation consisting of small, translucent balls of ice. Ice pellets usually are smaller than hailstones. They often bounce when they hit the ground, and generally do not freeze into a solid mass unless mixed with freezing rain...
and hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
can also occur.
Monuments and tourist sites
- Ruins of the Temple of the King, Pharaoh Rameses II (1200 B.C)
- Drown city of CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. - Drown 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, and contains several caves bearing inscriptions.
- Rommel's Hideout: A cave, hewn in the rock, where Rommel drew up plans of his military operations. It has now been turned into a military museum.
- The British Cemetery: Thousands upon thousands of rock-hewn tombstones stand straight rows amidst a fenced garden.
- The German Cemetery: It is a fortress like memorial that was built on a high 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 Marsa Matrouh downtown, it is distinguished by its numerous natural caves and enchanting scenery.
- Al-Obayed Beach: About 20 km. west of Marsa Matrouh downtown, beauty surpasses that of Marsa Matrouh beach.
- Romel Bay.