Photo : لا روسا — CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Marsa Matrouh and Siwa · Marsa Matrouh
Ageeba Beach
A small turquoise cove at the foot of a limestone cliff, west of Marsa Matrouh.
The coast west of Marsa Matrouh is a run of low white limestone cliffs notched with coves, and Ageeba — Arabic for "the wonder" — is among the best known of them. You arrive at the top, on the plateau, where the cafés and huts are; you get down to the beach by a flight of steps cut into the rock. The sand is fine, the bottom pale, and the water holds that pale turquoise because it lies over limestone rather than coral. The cove is small: at the height of summer it fills up.
The extra bit
Come early in the morning, ahead of the coaches: the cove is small and there isn't a tree on it. And take the time to walk the plateau above, where the neighbouring coves reveal themselves one after another.
Know before you go
This is a summer place: outside the hot months most of the cafés and parasol hire shut, and the sea wind makes swimming unpleasant. Down and up again is over uneven steps with no handrail: hard with a pushchair, impossible in a wheelchair. Count on neither a lifeguard post nor changing rooms; what there is at the top is basic and paid for in cash. This is a beach for Egyptian holidaymakers: most women swim in their clothes, and a swimsuit draws looks.
