El Alamein

Today passed in a welter of heat, dust and endles vistas of sandy scrubland during a long drive from Cairo to the coastal town of Marsa Matrah west of Alexandria.

En route we stopped to visit the small military museum at El Alamein where Britain fought the Germans and Italians to hold control of the North African Coastline, and in particular secure the Suez Canal.We saw a number of ruined tanks and people carriers and also this crashed British Spitfire.

A short walk from the museum lies the cemetery of the British and Commonwealth dead. It is a sobering thought to see the lines of grave stones and remember the fallen soldiers lying so far from home in a totally alien landscape.

Another long drive and we reached out destination with the sea on our doorstep.
I chickened out of a swim but went for a walk along the beach instead.
Although we had been warned that it had been cold in Egypt, it was very hot today, and all those warm jerseys we brought are useless.