Between Alexandria & Marsa Matrouh

Four hundred km of the Egyptian coast are dominated by sea and sand. A detailed, scholarly map of Egypt will tell you that seven or eight towns line the coast between Sidi Abd ar-Rahman and Marsa Matrouh. What they don’t tell you is that the ratio of inhabitant to town approximates one, Marsa Matrouh, a low-key resort town, proffers enough variety of coastal scenery to content the most demanding beach bum. The coast around Al-A!amein witnessed Africa’s fiercest and most strategically significant World War II battles.

The most gleaming coastline segments between the two remain tantalizingly inaccessible to budget travelers, even though opportunities for free, secluded camping are virtually unlimited (simply check in with the nearest police or military office). Buses, trains, and service taxis make regular mns between Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh, but do not stop in the 290km that separate them. You must have a private car or risk long treks across the desert to reach the beach. You can pass the time on the bus contemplating the grandiose dream of the Qat-tara Depression Project.

Desperate to increase the area of arable land in their country, Egyptian planners have long dreamed of channeling water to the nutrient-rich but parched soils of the Western Desert’s Qattara Depression. Covering a region the size of the Delta and dipping 134m below sea level, the depression lies 100km inland. The idea is to take water from the Mediterranean Sea, desalinate it, and pipe it past Al-Alamein to create vast new tracts of farmland. During Nasser’s rule Soviet aid stimulated initial steps, but shifting political alliances and burgeoning costs checked this early optimism. Egypt still seeks enormous amounts of foreign aid for the project, but definite plans for a massive reworking of the desert landscape seem unlikely in the near future.