El Alamein

El Alamein العلمين
Marina
El Alamein Location in North Africa
Coordinates: 30°50′N 28°57′E / 30.833°N 28.950°E / 30.833; 28.950
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Matrouh
Population
• Total	7,397 (as of 2,007)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)

El Alamein (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 had a local population of 7,397 inhabitants.

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.

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 cemeteries on Tel el-Eisa Hill outside the town. The German cemetery is an ossuary, built in the style of a medieval fortress.^[2]

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]

• Private Percival Gratwick, Australian Imperial Force
• Private Arthur ('Stan') Gurney, Australian Imperial Force
• Sergeant William ('Bill') Kibby, Australian Imperial Force
• Private Adam Wakenshaw, Durham Light Infantry

Others buried here include:

• Squadron Leader George Barclay, RAF – Battle of Britain fighter pilot^[5]
• Major Henry Rew, Royal Tank Regiment – England rugby international^[6]

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.

World War II

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

• At the First Battle of El Alamein (1 – 27 July 1942) the advance of Axis troops on Alexandria was blunted by the Allies, stopping the German Panzers who were trying to outflank the Allies' position.
• At the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 4 November 1942) Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them all the way back to Tunisia. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the time, said of this victory: "Now this is not the end; it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." After the war, he wrote: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."

Gallery

• 
  Cross of Sacrifice, El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery
• 
  South African Memorial El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery
• 
  El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery plaque- '1939–1945 The land on which this cemetery stands is the gift of the Egyptian people for the perpetual resting place of the sailors, soldiers and airmen who are honoured here.'
• 
  El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery
• 
  El Alamein Italian memorial entrance
• 
  El Alamein German memorial
• 
  El Alamein Commonwealth cemetery 'A soldier of the 1939–1945 war known unto God'
• 
  In El Alamein museum
• 
  German Cannon
• 
  The list of fallen German soldiers
• 
  German Memorial
• 
  British Crusader tank

See also

• El Alamein International Airport
• Marina El Alamein (tourist resort)
• Enham Alamein (village in Hampshire in England, renamed after the battle)
• El Alamein Fountain (war memorial commemorating the battle, in Sydney, Australia)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to El Alamein.

• Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. "Geographical information on Al `Alamayn, Egypt". Retrieved 29 March 2008. 
• Matteo Ferrari. "El Alamein photos: Commonwealth war cemetery, Italian and German memorial, El Alamein war museum, Egypt". Retrieved 4 September 2011. 

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