Mersa Matruh (), also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

as Marsa Matruh (

Standard Arabic Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA) is the variety of standardized, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and in some usages also the variety of spoken Arabic that ...

''Marsā Maṭrūḥ'', ), 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 Hamburg, Manch ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the capital of

Matrouh Governorate Matrouh ( ) is a governorate in north-western Egypt. It borders Libya, and its capital is Mersa Matruh. Municipal divisions The governorate is divided into municipal divisions with a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 538,546. ...

. It is located west of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and east of Sallum on the main highway from the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

to the Libyan border. The city is also accessible from the south via another highway running through the Western Desert towards

Siwa Oasis The Siwa Oasis ( ) is an urban oasis in Egypt. It is situated between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert, east of the Egypt–Libya border and from the Egyptian capital city of Cairo. I ...

and Bahariya Oasis. Mersa Matruh was a major grain port under the Romans and a military base of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, several battles were fought around its environs as the Italo-German

Panzer Army Africa The Panzer Army Africa (German language, German: ''Panzerarmee Afrika''; Italian language, Italian: ''Gruppo Corazzato Africa'') was a joint German-Italian field army that fought in the North African campaign during World War II. It consisted of ...

attempted to capture the port. It fell to the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

during the Battle of Mersa Matruh 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 station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. Mersa Matruh is served by Mersa Matruh International Airport. The city features soft white sand beaches 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 access for light vessels.

History

Mersa Matruh began as a small fishing town but was important enough to host an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

under

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

BC. It prospered as the port for the 8th-century BC

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

of Amun Ra at the

. It became known as Ammonia (, ) after the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

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

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

in the 4th century BC. Under the Ptolemaic

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

and Romans, it was also known as Paraetonium (, ''Paraitónion''; , ''Tparatonion''). It served as a major transit port for Egyptian grain to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

wrote that its patron goddess during his era was

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

. The city was

Christianized Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

by the 6th century, when a chapel was built in the Byzantine style. After the 7th-century

by the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, it became known as Baritun (, ''al-Bāritūn''). 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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

's Baggush Box was located to the east of the city. 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 using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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

and was a major objective of

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, 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 Africa ...

, which captured it during the Battle of Mersa Matruh. During the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

in early 2011, protests broke out in the city. On the evening of 2 October 2023, during the lead up to the 2023 Egyptian presidential election, a

Nation's Future Party The Nation's Future Party (), also known as the Future of the Nation Party, the Future of the Homeland Party, the Homeland's Future Party, or Mostaqbal Watan, is an Egyptian political party. The party is often seen as a "party of power", created ...

(Mostakbal El-Watan) rally in support of

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...

turned into Anti-Sisi protests with protesters burning photos of El-Sisi and chanting chants against him.

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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

greatly moderate the temperature, making its summers moderately hot and humid while its winters are mild and moderately wet. Summers are sunny and see little rainfall, while in the colder months, there is some rain and cloud cover. Sleet and

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

are common in winter. Mersa Matruh and

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

have the coolest summer days of all Egyptian cities and resorts, although not significantly cooler than other northern coastal places. Additionally

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

, Abu Qir,

Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...

Baltim Baltim ( ) 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 under the reign o ...

, Kafr el-Dawwar and Mersa Matruh are the wettest in

Main sights

* Ruins of the Temple of the King, Pharaoh

(1200 BC) * Drowned city of

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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. He ...

. * Drowned Palace of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

. * 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: a fortress-like memorial that was built on a height overlooking the sea. * The Italian Cemetery: a high tower fort standing on a high hill. The walls of the building are covered with marble. * Matrouh Archaeology Museum

Main beaches

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

Photo gallery

File:Mersa_Matruh_1.jpg, Mural in front of the Matrouh Governorate building File:Mersa_Matruh_2.jpg, The File:Mersa_Matruh_3.jpg, City beaches File:Rommel_beach_1.jpg, Rommel Beach File:El_Gharam_beach_2.jpg, El Gharam Beach ("Love Beach") (1) File:El_Gharam_beach_1.jpg, El Gharam Beach ("Love Beach") (2) File:El_Awwam_Mosque_2.jpg, Al-Awam mosque File:Matrouh_Governorate.jpg, Governorate building

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