| El Alamein | |
| Other Name: | al-ʿAlamayn |
| Native Name: | Arabic: العلمين |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 300px |
| Pushpin Map: | Egypt |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Egypt |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Governorate |
| Subdivision Name1: | Matrouh |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2007 |
| Population Total: | 7,397 |
| Timezone: | EET |
| Utc Offset: | +2 |
| Coordinates: | 30.8333°N 85°W |
| Population Est: | 10,013 |
| Pop Est As Of: | 2017 |
El Alamein (Arabic: العلمين|translit=al-ʿAlamayn|lit=the two flags, pronounced as /elʕælæˈmeːn/) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies 106km (66miles) west of Alexandria and 300km (200miles) northwest of Cairo. The town is located on the site of the ancient city Antiphrai which was built by the Romans..[1]
There are 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.
The Italian cemetery is a mausoleum containing 5,200 tombs.
There is a Greek cemetery at El Alamein.
There is 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, 815 unidentified ones, and 102 of other nationalities.[2] These include four Victoria Cross recipients:[3]
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.[6]
The names of 213 Canadian airmen appear on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt.[7]
The cemetery was designed by Hubert Worthington.[8]
Many Egyptians, particularly the upper and middle class travel to El Alamein during summer to flee the summer heat in other cities and towns.
El Alamein has a hot desert climate, Köppen climate classification BWh, 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.
Two important World War II battles were fought in the area: