{"id":41,"date":"2024-02-28T14:49:34","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T14:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/?p=41"},"modified":"2026-08-01T03:59:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T03:59:32","slug":"matrouh-governorate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/matrouh-governorate\/","title":{"rendered":"Matrouh Governorate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Matrouh Governorate (Arabic: \u0645\u0637\u0631\u0648\u062d) covers Egypt&#8217;s north-west corner, from the edge of Alexandria to the Libyan border at Sallum. The capital is Mersa Matruh, and CAPMAS estimated 538,546 residents in January 2023 across 212,112 km&sup2;. That makes it Egypt&#8217;s second largest governorate by area and its emptiest but one, at about 2.5 people per km&sup2;.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Capital<\/th>\n<td>Mersa Matruh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Population<\/th>\n<td>538,546 (January 2023 estimate)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>2017 census<\/th>\n<td>425,624<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Area<\/th>\n<td>212,112 km&sup2;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Density<\/th>\n<td>2.5 per km&sup2;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Divisions<\/th>\n<td>9 kisms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Coastline<\/th>\n<td>About 450 km on the Mediterranean<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Coordinates<\/th>\n<td>31&deg;21&prime;N 27&deg;14&prime;E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Postal code<\/th>\n<td>51511 (Mersa Matruh)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Phone code<\/th>\n<td>046<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Towns and Villages in Matrouh Governorate<\/h2>\n<p>Matrouh is divided into nine kisms rather than markazes. Eight are strips of Mediterranean coast, laid out west to east from Sallum to El Hamam. The ninth is Siwa Oasis, deep in the Western Desert. Almost every settlement lies either on the coastal road or in the oasis, and the desert between them is empty.<\/p>\n<h3>Kisms<\/h3>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Kism<\/th>\n<th>Population (Jan 2023)<\/th>\n<th>2017 census<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mersa Matruh<\/td>\n<td>241,625<\/td>\n<td>188,252<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sidi Barrani<\/td>\n<td>66,319<\/td>\n<td>52,612<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>El Hamam<\/td>\n<td>65,780<\/td>\n<td>54,010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>El Dabaa<\/td>\n<td>61,363<\/td>\n<td>49,399<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Siwa Oasis<\/td>\n<td>35,901<\/td>\n<td>28,088<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>El Negaila<\/td>\n<td>34,593<\/td>\n<td>27,456<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sallum<\/td>\n<td>20,479<\/td>\n<td>15,808<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>El Alamein<\/td>\n<td>12,398<\/td>\n<td>9,932<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>North Coast<\/td>\n<td>88<\/td>\n<td>67<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Gazetteers record 97 named settlements inside the governorate boundary, and all 97 are listed below by kism.<\/p>\n<h3>Sallum<\/h3>\n<p>The far west, on the Libyan border. Sallum town sits below an escarpment beside the only land crossing into Libya.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anza el-Qalala<\/li>\n<li>As Sallum<\/li>\n<li>Byut Fadit<\/li>\n<li>Kafret Habbuni<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Sidi Barrani<\/h3>\n<p>A coastal kism of bedouin settlements between Sallum and Negaila, most of them rain-fed barley country.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Al Maktilah<\/li>\n<li>Bugbug<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar ash Shuraysat<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Abu Ghaniyah<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Hamdan<\/li>\n<li>Sidi Barani<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat at Tarfayah<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat Sidi Barani<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>El Negaila<\/h3>\n<p>The stretch of coast east of Sidi Barrani. Settlements here are kafrat, small clan hamlets named after the family that holds the land.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An-Najaylah<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Abu Hibhibah<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Abu Tirahi<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat as Sanajirah<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat as Sarahinah<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat at Tawarisah<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Aylat Amshazi<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Rahmah<\/li>\n<li>Kafret el Tawarsa<\/li>\n<li>Shaykh al Bazri<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat al Jarawilah<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat al Muthaynan<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat Shammas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Mersa Matruh<\/h3>\n<p>The capital and its immediate coast, including the beaches west of town and the fishing hamlets along the bay.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Al Qasr<\/li>\n<li>Jarawilah<\/li>\n<li>Kafr Ailat at Tafal<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Ailat Lawaj<\/li>\n<li>Kafrat Sabir<\/li>\n<li>Marsa Matruh<\/li>\n<li>Qaryat al Lahamiyah<\/li>\n<li>Qaryat al Qibash<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat Ailat Nuh<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat Ashtur<\/li>\n<li>Zawyat Harun<\/li>\n<li>Zawyat Umm ar Rakham<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>El Dabaa<\/h3>\n<p>The coast around El Dabaa town, now the site of Egypt\u2019s first nuclear power station.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dawwar Hajj as Sayyid Rizq<\/li>\n<li>El Dabaa<\/li>\n<li>Fukah<\/li>\n<li>Hijjaj al Uqaybah<\/li>\n<li>Majid Abu Zayd<\/li>\n<li>Shalane<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat Abd al Munim<\/li>\n<li>Zawyat al Awwamah<\/li>\n<li>Zawyat Sidi Musa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>El Alamein<\/h3>\n<p>The battlefield coast, taking in Sidi Abdel Rahman and the resort strip that runs east towards Alexandria.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Abu Shunaynah<\/li>\n<li>Ad Daraziyah<\/li>\n<li>Al Alamayn<\/li>\n<li>Al Qasabah ash Sharqiyah<\/li>\n<li>Sidi Abd ar Rahman<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>El Hamam<\/h3>\n<p>The eastern kism, bordering Alexandria. Most of its settlements are dawwars, bedouin farmsteads named after their founding families, plus numbered reclamation villages.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Al Hammam<\/li>\n<li>Al Katabish<\/li>\n<li>Bahij<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Abd al Ati Abu Ajuz<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Abd al Qadir Qasim<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Abd Allah<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Abu Durayah Abd al Karim<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Abu Mahrus<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar al Hajj Ahmad<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar al Hajj Raslan<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Halis<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Hamad<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Hasan<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Ibrahim Abu Shunaywir<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Khamis<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Masud Abu Faraj<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Muhammad Abu Shanab<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Muhammad Abu Shunaynah<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Musadif Yunus<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Salih Abu Masud<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Saqr<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Shindi Fannush<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Siwakah<\/li>\n<li>Dawwar Uthman Burayyik<\/li>\n<li>Izbat Sayyid Darwish<\/li>\n<li>Kafr Muhammad Abu Rumaylah<\/li>\n<li>Qaryah Raqam Arbaah wa Ashrun<\/li>\n<li>Qaryah Raqam Khamsah wa Ashrun<\/li>\n<li>Qaryah Raqam Sabaah wa Ashrun<\/li>\n<li>Qaryah Raqam Sittah wa Ashrun<\/li>\n<li>Qaryah Raqam Thalathah wa Ashrun<\/li>\n<li>Qaryat az Zuhur<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat al Habbabiyah<\/li>\n<li>Zawiyat as Sanusiyah<\/li>\n<li>Zawyet el-Saiyid Idris el- Sinusi<\/li>\n<li>Zawyet Sad Abu Shueib<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Siwa Oasis<\/h3>\n<p>Siwa lies about 300 km inland, in a depression below sea level. Its villages and the smaller oasis of Qara are the only permanent settlements in the interior.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Aghurmi<\/li>\n<li>Al Manshiyah<\/li>\n<li>El Hamra<\/li>\n<li>Izbat Mallul<\/li>\n<li>Izbat Mushandid al Kabirah<\/li>\n<li>Izbat Tanati<\/li>\n<li>Izbat Zaydan<\/li>\n<li>Qarah<\/li>\n<li>Siwah<\/li>\n<li>Zaytun<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>The governorate is a coastal ribbon backed by desert. A limestone plateau rises a few kilometres inland and runs the length of the coast, cut by wadis that carry the winter rain. Rainfall reaches about 150 mm a year at the coast and almost nothing inland. That is why settlement stops a short distance from the sea.<\/p>\n<p>The interior belongs to the Western Desert. Siwa sits in a depression roughly 18 m below sea level, fed by artesian springs, and the smaller oasis of Qara lies north-east of it. Part of the Qattara Depression falls inside the eastern boundary. Matrouh borders Libya to the west, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/alexandria-governorate\/\">Alexandria<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/beheira-governorate\/\">Beheira<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/giza-governorate\/\">Giza<\/a> to the south-east and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/new-valley-governorate\/\">New Valley<\/a> to the south.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>The 2017 census counted 425,624 residents, and CAPMAS estimated 538,546 in January 2023. That is fast growth by Egyptian standards, driven by coastal construction rather than natural increase. About 70% of the population was classed as urban in 2015. Mersa Matruh kism alone holds 45% of the governorate. The dominant community is the Awlad Ali, a bedouin confederation whose Arabic differs noticeably from Delta speech. Siwa speaks Siwi, the easternmost surviving Berber language.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy and Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Summer tourism is the largest earner. The resort strip from Alamein west to Sidi Abdel Rahman fills between June and September. Mersa Matruh&#8217;s beaches at Agiba and Cleopatra draw domestic visitors. New Alamein City is being built on the coast as a year-round settlement rather than a season-only resort.<\/p>\n<p>Away from the coast, families farm rain-fed barley, olives and figs, and herd sheep and goats. Siwa exports dates and olive oil and has built a small ecotourism trade. Fishing works out of Mersa Matruh and Sallum. Egypt&#8217;s first nuclear power station has been under construction at El Dabaa since 2022. The Sallum crossing carries most of the country&#8217;s land trade with Libya.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Mersa Matruh was the ancient port of Paraetonium, used by Greek and Roman shipping. Alexander the Great passed through in 331 BC, on his way to consult the Oracle of Amun at Siwa. The ruined temple still stands at Aghurmi. The Senussi order spread through the region in the nineteenth century and made Siwa one of its centres.<\/p>\n<p>The Second World War left the deepest mark. The two battles of El Alamein in 1942 halted the Axis advance on Egypt. The coast between Alamein and Sallum was fought over for two years. War cemeteries at El Alamein hold Commonwealth, German and Italian dead, and uncleared minefields still restrict land use in parts of the desert.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Mersa Matruh lies about 290 km west of Alexandria and 490 km from Cairo on the International Coastal Road. Buses run daily from both cities and take five to seven hours. Trains reach Mersa Matruh from Alexandria in summer only. Mersa Matruh International Airport handles seasonal flights. Siwa is a further 300 km south from Mersa Matruh on a sealed desert road, or roughly 560 km from Cairo via Bahariya. Sallum, on the Libyan border, is 220 km west of the capital.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<h3>What is the capital of Matrouh Governorate?<\/h3>\n<p>Mersa Matruh, on the Mediterranean coast about 290 km west of Alexandria.<\/p>\n<h3>How many towns and villages are in Matrouh?<\/h3>\n<p>Gazetteers record 97 named settlements, most of them small bedouin hamlets. All of them are listed on this page.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the population of Matrouh Governorate?<\/h3>\n<p>CAPMAS estimated 538,546 people in January 2023, up from 425,624 at the 2017 census.<\/p>\n<h3>Is Siwa Oasis part of Matrouh Governorate?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Siwa is one of the nine kisms, about 300 km inland from Mersa Matruh.<\/p>\n<h3>What is the postal code for Mersa Matruh?<\/h3>\n<p>Mersa Matruh uses 51511, and the telephone area code across the governorate is 046.<\/p>\n<h3>How long is the Matrouh coastline?<\/h3>\n<p>About 450 km, running from the Alexandria boundary west to the Libyan border at Sallum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matrouh Governorate (Arabic: \u0645\u0637\u0631\u0648\u062d) covers Egypt&#8217;s north-west corner, from the edge of Alexandria to the Libyan border at Sallum. The capital is Mersa Matruh, and CAPMAS estimated 538,546 residents in January 2023 across 212,112 km&sup2;. That makes it Egypt&#8217;s second largest governorate by area and its emptiest but one, at about 2.5 people per km&sup2;. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Matrouh Governorate: Towns, Villages & Population","_seopress_titles_desc":"Matrouh Governorate spans 450 km of Egypt's north-west coast plus Siwa Oasis: 538,546 people, nine kisms, and a full list of its towns and villages.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-egypt","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}