El Alamein

El Alamein
العلمين

El Alamein

Location in North Africa

Coordinates: 30°50′N 28°57′E / 30.833°N 28.950°E
Country  Egypt
Governorate Matrouh
Time zone EST (UTC+2)

El Alamein (or Al 'Alameen) (Arabic: العلمين‎, IPA: [elʕælæˈmeːn], literally "the two flags") is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies 106 kilometres (66 mi) west of Alexandria and 240 kilometres (149 mi) northwest of Cairo. As of 2007, it has a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.[1]

Climate

El Alamein has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), in common with most of the Middle East and north Africa. However, like the rest of the northern coast of Egypt, its climate is slightly less hot, compared to the rest of Egypt, because of the prevailing Mediterranean Sea winds.

Alamein is also known for its unpolluted environment, air, and beaches.

Climate data for El Alamein
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 17.8
(64)		 18.7
(65.7)		 20.3
(68.5)		 23.5
(74.3)		 25.7
(78.3)		 28.8
(83.8)		 29.5
(85.1)		 30.5
(86.9)		 28.7
(83.7)		 27.5
(81.5)		 23.6
(74.5)		 19.7
(67.5)		 24.53
(76.15)
Daily mean °C (°F) 12.4
(54.3)		 13.3
(55.9)		 14.9
(58.8)		 17.7
(63.9)		 20.5
(68.9)		 23.8
(74.8)		 25.2
(77.4)		 25.7
(78.3)		 24.4
(75.9)		 22.1
(71.8)		 18.3
(64.9)		 14.4
(57.9)		 19.39
(66.9)
Average low °C (°F) 7
(45)		 7.9
(46.2)		 9.5
(49.1)		 12
(54)		 15.4
(59.7)		 18.8
(65.8)		 20.9
(69.6)		 21
(70)		 20.1
(68.2)		 16.7
(62.1)		 13
(55)		 9.2
(48.6)		 14.29
(57.78)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 29
(1.14)		 17
(0.67)		 8
(0.31)		 2
(0.08)		 1
(0.04)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 5
(0.2)		 21
(0.83)		 24
(0.94)		 107
(4.21)
Source: climate-data.org[2]

Tourism

El Alamein war museum

El Alamein has a war museum with collectibles from "the civil war" and other North African battles.

Military cemeteries

Germany

Visitors can also go to the Italian and German Military Cemetery on Tel el-Eisa Hill just outside the town. The German cemetery is an ossuary with the remains of 4,200 German soldiers, built in the style of a medieval fortress.

Italy

The Italian cemetery is a mausoleum containing 5.200 tombs. Many tombs bear the soldier's name; many are simply marked "IGNOTO", i.e. unknown.

Greek

There is a separate Greek cemetery at El Alamein.

Commonwealth of Nations

There is also a Commonwealth war cemetery, built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, with graves of soldiers from various countries who fought on the Allied side. Buried here are 6,425 identified Commonwealth service personnel and 815 unidentified ones, besides 102 of other nationalities.[3] These include four Victoria Cross recipients:[4]

Others buried here include:

This has monuments commemorating Greek, New Zealand, Australian, South African, Indian and Canadian forces. The cemetery entrance is through the Alamein Memorial and there is also a separate Alamein Cremation Memorial to 603 Commonwealth service personnel who died in Egypt and Libya and were cremated in line with their religion.[7]

The names of 213 Canadian airmen appear on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt.[8]

The cemetery was designed by Sir J. Hubert Worthington[9]

World War II

Two important World War II battles were fought in the area.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Al ‘Alamayn at encarta". Archived from the original on 31 October 2009.
  2. ↑ "Climate: El Alamein - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". climate-data.org. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. ↑ CWGC Cemetery Report, El Alamein War Cemetery.
  4. ↑ Burial locations of VC holders in Egypt.
  5. ↑ CWGC Casualty record Richard George Arthur Barclay.
  6. ↑ CWGC Casualty record Henry Rew.
  7. ↑ CWGC Cemetery Report, Alamein Cremation Memorial.
  8. ↑ "Monuments, World Wars I and II". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  9. ↑ http://www.cwgc.org

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to El Alamein.

Coordinates: 30°50′N 28°57′E / 30.833°N 28.950°E