- Abu Qir
Abū Qīr (Arabic أبو قير) (also Abukir or Aboukir) is a village on the
Mediterranean coast ofEgypt , 23 kilometers (14.5 miles) northeast ofAlexandria by rail, containing a castle used as a state prison byMuhammad Ali of Egypt .The name "Abū Qīr" is pronounced "Abūīr" in the local dialect (with a
glottal stop in place of the "qaf"). The name is taken from the name of an EgyptianChristian martyr , named Cyrus.Near the village are many remains of ancient buildings, Egyptian, Greek and Roman. About three kilometers (two miles) southeast of the village are ruins supposed to mark the site of Canopus. A little farther east the Canopic branch of the
Nile (now dry) entered the Mediterranean.Stretching eastward as far as the
Rosetta mouth of the Nile is the spaciousAbu Qir Bay (Khalīj Abū Qīr), where on1 August 1798 ,Horatio Nelson fought theBattle of the Nile , often referred to as the "Battle of Aboukir Bay". The latter title is applied more properly to an engagement between the French expeditionary army and the Turks fought on25 July 1799 . Near Abū Qīr, on8 March 1801 , units of the British army commanded bySir Ralph Abercromby landed from their transports in the face of a strenuous opposition from a French force entrenched on the beach. Abercromby died of wounds received in the battle.Near its shore
Nelson island is present where the remains of British officers, sailors, marines, women, and children were uncovered [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/trafalgar_waterloo/women_nelson_navy_05.shtml "Women in Nelson's Navy" - BBC] ] [ [http://newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4455033.stm "Reburial for Nelson's comrades" - BBC] ] .ee also
*
Abu Qir Bay
*Alexandria
*Cyrus and John
*Nelson's Island
*HMS Aboukir References
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