TheNorthern Coast of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic:الساحل الشمالى,El Sahel El Shamali,."The Northern Egyptian Coast" extends for about 1,050 km (650 mi) along theMediterranean Sea, it covers entirely the northern territory ofEgypt. It is one of the longestMediterranean coastlines, and is popularly known of sandy beaches and crystal clear water.[1]
The city ofAlexandria lies at the center of Egypt's Mediterranean coastline inLower Egypt (northern Egypt), as chosen byAlexander the Great in the4th century BCE. The North Coast has been the hub of sea travel between the Mediterranean Sea and theNile Delta for over 2,300 years.[2] During summer, Egyptians usually travel to the North Coast to flee heat in other towns and cities in Egypt. They stay in villages and resorts located inSidi Abdel Rahman,El Alamein, andRas El Hekma, amongst other areas.
In the period of theEocene era, the area of what is part of modern-day Egypt was an ancient sea, but for the next millions of years, sea shells such asnummulites were collected above theseabed. They were then formed intolimestone, which would later be used to build theAncient Egyptian monuments.
The idea of travelling outside one's city to go to the beach of another city during the summer became mainly widespread after the 23 July revolution of 1952.[3]
In 1986, an Ancient Roman town was discovered when the construction of the Marina Town in El-Alamein started, the Egyptian government then decided to convert that area into an open-air museum.[1]
In February 2024,Egypt and theUnited Arab Emirates signed an investment deal worth 35 billion dollars to develop Ras El Hekma into a mega city. TheAbu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company will take part in the development of the town.
On contrast to Egypt'sRed Sea Riviera, its Mediterranean coastline is totally plain with low altitude shrublands along the region, except for the westernmost portion which is formed by the 400m-highMarmarika Plateau. It is also characterised by the occurrence of Egypt's five northernmost lakes.
The region has typicalMediterranean flora and fauna on land and in marine life with the weather being between pleasant and hot duringsummer and mild inwinter. The region receives the mostrain inEgypt,hail andsleet fall rarely in winter.Snowfalls occur in some inland towns and locations.
Even thoughmost of Egypt lies within thehot desert climate (BWh) according toKöppen climate classification with littleprecipitation,prevailing winds from the Mediterranean Sea greatly moderate thetemperatures of the northern coastal line, making the summers moderately hot and humid, while the winters moderately wet and mild, whensleet andhail are also common, in and around the wettest places, such asAlexandria, having ahot semi-desert climate (BSh).
Temperatures range between a minimum monthly average of 9.5 °C (49.1 °F) inwinter and 23 °C (73 °F) insummer, while a maximum monthly average of 17 °C (63 °F) in winter and 31 °C (88 °F) in summer.
Egypt's Mediterranean coast can be differentiated into 4 subregions:
