Day 113 - El Alamain & Marsa Matrouh

Point of departure: Alexandria

Point of arrival : Marsa Matrouh

Accommodation: Beau Site Hotel, Marsa Matrouh

Km travelled today: 275 kmCum: 18 908km (gravel 0km cum 4 649km)

Countries so far: 9/16

Where to next? Tobruk, Libya

No of photos: 93 (cum 5 214)

It felt good to be on the road again. A fairly gentle start leaving Alexandria and not too much trouble finding the road west, despite early morning rush hour traffic and Arabic road signs.The early part of our day towards El Alamein was remarkable for the endless ribbon of development along the coast… close to 100km's of holiday developments, complexes, enclosed estates and villages between the main road and the Mediterranean sea, at least half a kilometre wide all the way. Obviously some newer than others, but all in pretty good condition (especially compared with the run down appearances along the Alexandria Corniche) and in a number of instances, unfinished structures, possibly impacted by the world wide recession. The road however, was probably the best continuous strip we have had since South Africa with dual carriageway, good surface and no potholes.What a pleasure!

First stop after a little over 100km was El Alamein - the Commonwealth War Cemetery and the War Museum.

In the words of Winston Churchill "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat". The World War II battles fought here were the turning point for Britain and its Allies. The German commander Erwin Rommel arrived in the area on 1 July 1942 forcing a British withdrawal towards Alexandria and the Suez Canal. Three months later in October the British general Montgomery launched a counter-offensive that drove the Germans westward and out of Egypt.

The Cemetery is an emotional and moving place, commemorating the sacrifice made by so many young men, and no doubt women, in this theatre of the war. The main entrance (the cloister), with its marble walls carved with the names of those cremated (603 names), the thousands of headstones (7 367) with 815 unidentified (Known only to God) as well as those missing in action in various theatres in North Africa but remembered here… a truly spectacular desert setting, with the huge granite memorial with the words: " Within this cloister are inscribed the names of the soldiers and airmen of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died fighting on land or in the air where two continents meet and to whom the fortune of war denied a known and honoured grave. With their fellows who are rested in this Cemetery, and where comrades in arms of the Royal Navy and with the seamen of the Merchant navy, they preserved for the west the link with the east and turned the tide of war", and the imposing cross dominating the Cemetery. The simplicity of the place is what makes it so poignant and memorable with its purple bougainvillea, cacti and other desert plants. A special place and a worthy memorial for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

In 2006 the Australian government unveiled the Australian War Memorial with its poignant phrases: "Lest we forget" and "In the silence of the desert - reflect and remember" and this memorial is to the right of the Cemetery. A couple of kilometres further west were the German and Italian War Cemeteries but unfortunately we ran out of time to visit these.

Half a kilometre down the road is the World War II Military Museum which has an excellent display of artefacts, e.g. equipment and uniforms from the battle as well as 3D displays of the battles' progress.With focus on the Italian, German, Egyptian and British & Commonwealth forces, it tries to cover all the bases and was most interesting. Outside, were vehicles and field guns recovered from the battlefield, including a British 25 pound gun (John trained on these when he was in the Rhodesian army in the late 1960's) and a badly damaged spitfire (1939).

The battle progressed after El Alamein with the Axis troops being pushed back into Libya and Tunisia. The Desert Air Force provided the 8th Army with complete protection from serious air attacks and flew 10 500 sorties as opposed to 3 000 Axis sorties and lost 77 aircrafts. Axis forces were pressed into a tight perimeter in the hills around Tunis and Bizerta.Allied forces were at an advantage: 3:1 guns, 10:1 tanks and Tunis fell on 7 May 1943.By 12 May 250 415 Germans and Italian troops surrendered to the British and Allied troops.

The final Axis defeat: "Sir, it is my duty to report that the Tunisian Campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are masters of the Northern Africa shores" - General Alexander to the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill at 13h16 hours on 13 May 1943.(source: El Alamein War Museum).

To this day, unexploded shells litter the desert after El Alamein. Mine clearance continues and it's dangerous to stray off the desert roads.

After our visit, it was another 200km to Marsa Matrouh. No bookings here, but Hilda (GPS) led us to a rather nice hotel right on the beach and for once our travel day finished at about 16h00. On arrival, we discovered another GB registered landcruiser, travelling south, and got to meet Tom and Gema and were able to exchange information about our respective travels.

Sitting on the hotel terrace, with drink in hand, looking out towards the white desert dunes rolling gracefully towards the clear azure waters of the Mediterranean - the perfect ending to quite an emotional day.