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All Cities - Marsa
Matruh |
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Wild
Rocks:
Marsah Matruh has two reputations. Western guide
books present it as crowded, uncharming and
littered. Egyptians tells a story about a friendly
summer city with numerous beautiful beaches.
To me the truth is somewhere in between, and it is
clearly not the worst place to spend a few summer
days. At summer nights the place comes alive, and
is a fun place to meet principally Egyptians. And
a couple of the beaches here are definitely worth
their Egyptian-made reputation.
Should you spend some time here, it is far from a
disaster. But then you need to make the necessary
effort of getting to a better beach than the Lido
right in front of the town (which tends to become
dirty over summer, and is always crowded), or Rommel Beach (slightly better) to the east.
The town of Marsa Matruh appear really nice from a
distance, and it doesn't get any worse saying that
it occupies the eastern half of a 8-digit shaped
lagoon. The couple of streets near the Corniche
looks like the result of good modern city
planning. The Corniche itself represents a
pleasant walk, with several hotels on one side,
and the beach and the incredible blue water on the
other.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of stories
about Western women exposed to a very negative
attitude from local young men. However, with
Libyan tourists starting to come here, Marsah
Matruh could very well get the boost it deserves.
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Cleopatra's Beach: |
Your
best chance of a good swim is clearly from Gharam
Beach, the largest of Marsa's recommended beaches.
Despite being 17 kilometers out of town, it is
acutally facing town, occupying the last stretch
of land around the lagoon before it opens up to
the great sea.
The beach swings a couple of times, before houses
take over, and at times waves come in hard on its
shores. Even when it becomes crowded during the
height of the summer season, there should be space
left for you here.
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