El Alamein

El Alamein is an Egyptian city in the northern Matrouh Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. The town is located on the site of the ancient city Antiphrai. The city is divided into three main areas: El Alamein, Sidi Abdel Rahman, and Tel El Eis village.
The city's economy is mainly based on its natural resources of petroleum, which is explored by several Egyptian companies, and the tourist areas where a number of luxury hotels and tourist resorts are located, such as the tourist town of Marina.

Tourism

Military cemeteries

Germany

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.

Italy

The cemetery of the Italian War Memorial at El Alamein contains 5,200 graves.

Greek

There is a Greek cemetery at El Alamein.

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth Alamein Memorial and attached war cemetery, built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, has 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. These include four Victoria Cross recipients:

Private Percy Gratwick, Second Australian Imperial Force
Private Arthur Stan Gurney, Second Australian Imperial Force
Sergeant William Bill Kibby, Second Australian Imperial Force
Private Adam Wakenshaw, Durham Light Infantry

Others buried here include:

Squadron Leader George Barclay, Royal Air Force Battle of Britain fighter pilot
Major Henry Rew, Royal Tank Regiment

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.
The names of 213 Canadian airmen appear on the Alamein Memorial in Egypt.
The cemetery was designed by Hubert Worthington.

Beaches

Many Egyptians, particularly the upper and middle class travel to El Alamein during summer to flee the summer heat in other cities and towns.

Climate

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.

World War II

Two important World War II battles were fought in the area:

At the First Battle of El Alamein, the advance of Axis troops on Alexandria was blunted by the Allies, stopping the Italian and German forces that were trying to outflank the Allies' position.
At the Second Battle of El Alamein, Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them all the way back to Tunisia. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister at the time, said of this victory: "Now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." After the war, he wrote: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."