El Alamein War Cemeteries

A solemn day trip 110 km west of Alexandria, along the Mediterranean coast road, to the three war cemeteries from the 1942 Battle of El Alamein. The Commonwealth War Cemetery, the largest of the three, holds 7,367 graves of Allied dead in immaculately maintained ranks across a windy plateau. The smaller German and Italian memorials nearby are no less moving — the German memorial is an austere octagonal stone enclosure inscribed with the names of the missing; the Italian is a tall white marble tower visible from the highway.

A small but well-curated military museum in the town displays uniforms, weapons, vehicles, and personal effects from all the combatants. The visit takes a full day from Alexandria (4 hours of driving total). Day-trip cars are easily hired from any Alexandria hotel for around 1,200–1,500 EGP. The cemeteries are open daily; the museum is closed Tuesdays.

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A story
The two battles of El Alamein, fought between July and November 1942, were the turning point of the North African campaign in World War II. Montgomery's Eighth Army broke Rommel's Afrika Korps here, ending the German threat to the Suez Canal and Middle East. Around 50,000 Allied and Axis soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured. The Commonwealth, German, and Italian war cemeteries near the village hold most of the dead — over 7,000 Commonwealth, 4,000 German, and 4,000 Italian graves between them.