Egypt Guide
Alexandria and the Mediterranean coast
Mersa Matrouh
Although MERSA MATROUH has grown phenomenally and sees itself as a sophisticated resort, it remains a hick town at heart, which is clogged with Egyptian and Libyan holidaymakers in summer. The town's silvery beaches are scrappy, with the best options being far from town at the magnificent cove at Agiiba and the neighbouring Ubbayad beach. Social norms are conservative: more women wear veils than headscarves, and sermons are broadcast from mosques every day, not only on Fridays. By no stretch of the imagination does Matrouh fit the tourist board's promise of a hedonist's playground – though nobody has seen fit to tell the package tourists that fly into its airport bound for Almaza Bay. However, travellers might consider Matrouh as an overnight stopover to break up the eleven-hour journey between Alexandria and Siwa.
Beaches are Matrouh's saving grace, so it's a shame that foreign women are unlikely to enjoy them. As in Alex, Egyptian women sunbathe and swim fully clothed, accompanied by male relations; a foreigner acting differently can be subject to persistent staring and pestering. Only residents at the Beau Site can use its private beach, free from hassle. The nearby municipal beaches are accessible by bicycle, which can be rented from hotels and shops along Sharia Iskandariya (£E10 per day). Transport to the western beaches varies with the season: from June onwards you should be able to catch a microbus from the corner of Sharia Galaa (£E3 to Agiiba), or an open-sided tuf-tuf bus (50pt) that shuttles back and forth along the Corniche every hour or so from 6.30am to sunset, to Cleopatra and Agiiba beaches.