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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.
| | | 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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