Sidi Abdel Rahman

Sidi Abdel Rahman (Arabic: سيدي عبدالرحمن‎) is a village on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. It is most famous for its beach located 132 kilometres (82 mi) west of Alexandria and some 30 km (19 mi) west of Al Alamein. This desert and beach area is located some 190 km (120 mi) east of Mersa Matruh and is often a resting point on trips from Alexandria to the Siwa Oasis and to Matruh.

Sidi Abdel Rahman
Sidi Abdel Rahman
Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 30°58′N 28°44′E
Country Egypt
GovernorateMatruh
Time zoneUTC+2 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)+2

Overview

Sidi Abdel Rahman is in the Egyptian Western Desert on a bay of the Mediterranean Sea, has a beautiful beach, and is a great place to rest. It is where Mohamed Ibrahim Kamel, Sadat's Foreign Minister, went to rest with his family around August 9, 1978, prior to the historic Camp David Accords.[1]

While it is a beautiful place on the Mediterranean Coast, there is the matter of landmines. Estimates have never been accurate but it is well-known and documented that there are a large number of unexploded landmines which have caused human casualties and hindered development in the area, over the years. These landmines date back to World War II and Egypt has not had the capacity to resolve the situation. Specifically where the landmines are located has not been well-documented, only that they are in the Western desert region including in Sidi Abdel Rahman.[2]

Sidi Abdel Rahman is near the site of the famous Battle of El Alamein of World War II in 1942. Mausoleums and a cemetery for the Allies is nearby with at least ninety-nine soldiers laid to rest there. The unmarked remains of thousands of other German soldiers are in that cemetery, as well.[3][4] On September 30, 1942, the settlement was the site of the death of German Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille, who claimed an unrivaled total of 158 aircraft destroyed against the Allies.[5]

Sidi Abdel Rahman was just a "modest local resort".[6] The Gulf of Sidi Abdel Rahman on the Mediterranean including the Al Alamein Hotel were auctioned off by the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH) in 2006,[6] and Emaar Egypt, a subsidiary of Emaar Dubai[7][8] won the rights to develop the area. The revenue received from the sale was to be used for upgrading historical Egyptian hotels, according to the Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin involved in the deal.[6]

The developer, with deep pockets, who purchased Sidi Abdel Rahman proposed to develop a year-round city at a hefty cost of 1.74 billion.[7] As promised during the auction bidding, Emaar immediately built a large resort called Marassi Resort[6] and it is 24 km (15 mi) from Al Alamain International Airport.[9] DJ Bob Sinclair performed in August, 2008 at Marassi.[10] Emaar Egypt's initial public offering in Egypt in 2015 was the largest IPO in Egypt, since 2007.[11]

References
  1. Kamel, Mohamed Ibrahim (December 19, 2013). Camp David Accords. Routledge. ISBN 9781317848622. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  2. Brauch, Hans Günter; Liotta, Peter H.; Marquina, Antonio; Rogers, Paul F.; Selim, Mohammad El-Sayed (December 6, 2012). Security and Environment in the Mediterranean: Conceptualising Security and Environmental Conflicts. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642558542. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. "Internments (99)". Find a Grave. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  4. "Nearby Attractions". Al Alamein Hotel. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  5. Tate, Robert (2008). Hans-Joachim Marseille: An Illustrated Tribute to the Luftwaffe's "Star of Africa". Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-2940-1.
  6. "Coastline attraction" (808). Al-Ahram Weekly. August 17, 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  7. Bakr, Amena (September 3, 2008). "Egypt revels in tourism boom". The National Business. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  8. "Emaar Misr". Emaar. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  9. "Al Alamain Airport Location, The Transformation of the Mediterranean Coast". Al Alamain Int'l Airport. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  10. "Bob Sinclair at Marassi, Egypt". Youtube. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  11. "Emaar Properties Targets Q2 For $270m Egypt Unit Float". Gulf Business (Reuters). January 27, 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
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