Abukir
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Location in Egypt |
Abukir (also Abū Qīr or Aboukir , Arabic أبو قير, the old Canopus ) is a port city in Egypt about 20 kilometers northeast of Alexandria on a headland on the Mediterranean Sea .
Attractions
There are a number of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman ruins near the port city. Particularly noteworthy are the ruins from the time of the city of Canopus located three kilometers southeast of the city. In 2001 , Franck Goddio and his team discovered the remains of the ancient Egyptian trading port of Herakleion at a depth of ten meters, six kilometers from the coast .
history
In the early fifth century, Cyril of Alexandria is said to have built a church in Menouthis and brought the bones of the two saints Cyrus and John here (so Sophronios). The healing shrine with the relics of the two Diocletian martyrs was probably not established until the end of the fifth century after the destruction of the Temple of Isis under Petros Mongos (484). The site became an important place of pilgrimage and was named after the holy Cyrus Abu Qir (Father Cyrus).
On August 1, 1798, the important naval battle between the British and the French took place in front of the city near Abukir : The French fleet, which Napoleon's expeditionary army had transported to Egypt, was captured here by the British fleet under the leadership of Horatio Nelson and defeated.
On July 25, 1799, another battle between the French expeditionary army and Turkish troops took place here, the Battle of Abukir . After the end of the Syrian campaign, a Turkish army of 18,000 men under Said Mustafa Pascha landed at Abukir and settled here. Shortly afterwards Bonaparte rushed up with 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalrymen and decisively defeated the Turks. On August 2nd, the Abukir fort fell into French hands again. On March 8, 1801, British troops (a total of 17,000 men) under the command of Ralph Abercromby landed on the beach of Abukir , captured the fort and defeated the French under Menou near Alexandria on March 21 .
Web links
Coordinates: 31 ° 19 ′ N , 30 ° 4 ′ E