Mersa Matruh
Coordinates: 31 ° 21 ' N , 27 ° 14' E
Marsa Matruh ( Arabic مرسى مطروح Marsā Maṭrūḥ ) is an Egyptian port city and capital of the Matruh Governorate . The city was among the Ptolemies and Byzantines Paraitonion ( Παραιτόνιον ) or Ammonia ( Ἀμμωνία ) and contributed in Roman times the name Paraetonium .
location
The city is located about 288 km west of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea and north of the Qattara Depression . The coastal road between the Nile Delta and Libya runs through Marsa Matruh , the only road to the Siwa oasis branches off here to the south. The city is almost entirely dependent on the rain that falls in winter for its water supply.
history
Archaeological finds show that Marsa Matruh was already used as a transshipment point during the Amarna period and served as a stopover on the trade route from the Nile Delta to the Aegean via Keftiu ( Crete ) in maritime trade . In contrast to numerous Cypriot , Levantine and ancient Egyptian goods, no Minoan goods could be identified for the Amarna period. Ramses II later had border fortresses built against the Libyans in the neighboring region of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham . Alexander the Great moved in 331 BC. From here (Paraetonion) to the south to the Ammon Oracle (Siwa Oasis). In Ptolemaic times, the city was probably a polis and capital of the Libya province. In Roman times the city was called Paraetonium and was the inferior capital of the province of Libya in late antiquity under Emperor Diocletian , but later lost this position to Darna . Emperor Justinian I fortified the city. He also provided them with a garrison. Various bishops are attested. During excavations, two churches were found. In 2001 remains of a Coptic church from the 4th or 5th century were discovered during excavations .
The place was a British base and terminus of the single-track railway line from Alexandria via El-Alamein here during World War II . Between 1940 and 1942 the war came to Marsa Matruh several times. The Italians , the German Africa Corps and the British 8th Army came through here. Alongside other warships, the German submarine U-75 was sunk off the coast by the British in 1941. In 1941 the future Egyptian President Anwar as-Sadat was stationed here for a short time.
During the Libyan-Egyptian border war in 1977, the local military base was the target of a Libyan air strike.
The modern city
Marsa Matruh has a small airport and is a destination for tourists from the big cities of Cairo and Alexandria. Some modern hotels have been built on the beaches. The population in 2008 was around 137,704. An express train service operated by the Egyptian Railway Company connects the city with Cairo. To the west the route continues to Sollum near the Libyan border.
Climate table
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Mersa Matruh
Source: wetterkontor.de
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literature
- Donald White: Mersa Matruh. In: Kathryn A. Bard (Ed.): Encyclopedia of the Archeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-18589-0 , pp. 469-473.
- Eric H. Cline: The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze age Aegean (c. 3000-1000 BC) . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-536550-4
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mersa Matruh. On: nationmaster.com ( Memento of May 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ JB Ward-Perkins, RG Goodchild: Christian Monuments of Cyrenaica. Society for Libyan Studies, London 2003, ISBN 1-900971-01-1 , pp. 437-441.