History Of Marsa Matruh

Introduction

Marsa Matruh is a port in Egypt, capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is 240 km (150 mi) west of Alexandria and 222 km (138 mi) from Sallum on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. Another highway leads south from the town, toward the Western Desert and Siwa Oasis and Bahariya Oasis. 

In ancient Egypt and during the reign of Alexander the Great, the city was known as Amunia. In the Ptolemaic Kingdom and later during the Byzantine Empire, it was known as Paraitónion (Koine Greek: Παραιτόνιον), and during the Roman Empire, it was called Paraetonium in Latin.

Marsa Matruh is a major tourist resort and serves as a getaway resort for Europeans as well as Cairenes. It is served by Marsa Matruh International Airport. The city features soft white sand beaches and calm transparent waters; the bay is protected from the high seas by a series of rocks forming a natural breakwater, with a small opening to allow access for light vessels.

It started as a small fishing town during Ancient Egyptian times and the reign of Alexander The Great and was named Amunia. There are ruins of a temple of Ramesses II (1200 BC). Mersa Matruh became known as Paraitonion in the Ptolemaic era.

When Roman occupation came to Egypt, the town became an important harbour for trade and shipping goods and crops to Rome. It was named Paraetonium by the Romans. During World War II, the British Army’s Baggush Box was located to the east. Starting with the completion of an extension from the previous railhead at Fuka in February 1936, Marsa Matruh was the terminus for a single-track railway, which passed through El Alamein.