Sights in El Alamein
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Commonwealth War Cemetery
On the eastern side of town, along a side road that leaves the main highway at the Greek war memorial, is the Commonwealth War cemetery. It’s a haunting place where more than 7000 tombstones sit on a slope commanding a sweeping view of the desert. Soldiers from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Greece, South Africa, East and West Africa, Malaysia and India who fought for the Allied cause lie here. As you enter, a separate memorial commemorating the Australian contingent is to your right; look here for a small plaque with a relief map giving an insightful overview of the key battlefield locations. The memorial is supposedly visitable outside of regular hours via a ke…
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German & Italian War Memorials
About 7km west of El Alamein, what looks like a hermetically sealed sandstone fortress appears on a bluff overlooking the sea. Inside this silent but unmistakable reminder of war lie the tombs of German servicemen and, in the centre, a memorial obelisk. About 4km further on, the Italian memorial has a tall, slender tower as its focal point. Before reaching the German memorial, you'll notice on the left side of the road what appears to be a glorified milestone. On it is inscribed in Italian Mancò la fortuna, non il valore - 'We were short on luck, not on bravery'.
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War Museum
A few kilometres west of the Commonwealth War cemetery is the War Museum. It has a collection of memorabilia, uniforms and pictorial material of each country involved in the Battle of El Alamein and the North African campaigns, and maps and explanations of various phases of the campaign in Arabic, English, German and Italian complement the exhibits. There’s also a 30-minute Italian-made documentary that you can watch. The turn-off to the museum is along the main highway; just look for the large tank in the middle of the road.
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